Beneath the Bleeding

Acknowledgements

The music is what keeps me going through a book. It’s the unacknowledged balm, the inspiration, the rhythm and delight. I work in a room alone so I can have it as loud or as soft as I want. I can listen to the same track as many times as I feel like without anybody accusing me of trying to drive them crazy. Every book is accompanied by old friends and new discoveries. So for this book, thank you to Richard Thompson, Sigur Rós, Deacon Blue, Roddy Woomble, Mary Gauthier, Ketil Bjornstad, Elvis Costello, Rob Dougan, Michael Marra, Rab Noakes, Karine Polwart, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and the Blue Nile. Thanks too to Radio Scotland’s Iain Anderson, who has cost me a small fortune in CDs and downloads. And a particularly big hand for Sue Turnbull who came all the way from Australia to introduce me to Sigur Rós and Peter Temple.

I had two major orthopaedic surgeries between the previous book and this one, and I am very grateful to Mr David Weir and the nursing team at the Newcastle Nuffield Hospital for my magnificent new knees, and also for the inspiration for one element of this novel.

Some of the people who helped with this book have asked not to be named. I hope they don’t feel their trust was misplaced. Harry and Louise assisted me with aspects of the medical stuff and the helpful staff at the Alnwick Garden unwittingly provided food for thought.

Finally, thanks to my loyal team at Gregory and Co, at HarperCollins and at Coastal Productions, particularly Jane, Julia, Anne, Sandra and Ken.

But most of all, thanks to Kelly, who makes everything better.