AcknowledgementsA big thanks to the following: my whole family, who have made me stronger and helped me to achieve; Pip and Martin, for their backing and for some amazing adventures; Sam and Megan for their friendship and critiques; my good friends for keeping me smiling; Parliament Hill School, for providing me with a good grounding as a reader and a writer; all the students and lecturers on the Creative Writing BA and MA courses at Roehampton University, who helped me develop as a writer (in particular Louise Tondeur and Leone Ross for ‘growing’ my fiction); the members of authonomy.com, who provided valuable feedback; Andy Sweetman (DNA Graphic Design) for helping me realise my front cover; and lastly the team at Sparkling Books for supporting me and my novel.
“The boy stood on the bu
