The Novice

Acknowledgments

In addition to those people I acknowledged in The Magicians’ Guild, I would like to extend an extra thank you to:

The friends and family who generously gave their time to read and critique this book at short notice: Mum and Dad, Yvonne Hardingham, Paul Marshall, Anthony Mauriks, Donna Johansen, Jenny Powell, Sara Creasy, Paul Potiki.

Jack Dann, for launching The Magicians’ Guild with such flair and enthusiasm. Justin Ackroyd for letting me take over his bookshop, and Julian Warner and the staff at Slow Glass Books for their assistance.

Fran Bryson, my agent and hero. And the publishing team at HarperCollins for turning my stories into such lovely, attractive books.

The first half of The Novice was written during a residency at Varuna Writers’ Centre, granted by the Eleanor Dark Foundation. Thank you to Peter Bishop and the Varuna team for an inspiring and productive three weeks.

And finally, thank you to everyone who has emailed me with praise for The Magicians’ Guild! Knowing I gave you all a few hours enjoyment and escape makes it all worthwhile.