In Thailand, a big thank you to Natty who – when I was writing Kitty’s past and the temperature soared to forty-five degrees, breaking the air-conditioning – did her best to keep me sane and cool. And to Patrick at the Rayavadee Villas on Phra Nang Beach, who warded off the monkeys and kept me fed and watered.
Also a huge thank you to Ben Brinsden, who patiently guided my writing of CeCe’s texts, and helped me understand the challenges of dyslexia.
The biggest thanks of all have to go to Olivia Riley, my fantastic PA and helpmeet, who traversed Australia with me and kept me going. Nothing was too much trouble and I really couldn’t have done it without you, Livi.
To all my fantastic publishers across the world, who have supported both me and the Seven Sisters series from the very beginning, even though most of them have since admitted they thought I was crazy to embark on such a huge project. Jez and Catherine at Pan Macmillan, UK; Knut, Pip and Jorid at Cappelen Damm, Norway; Georg, Claudia and the team at Goldmann, Germany; Donatella, Antonio, Annalisa, Allessandro at Giunti, Italy; Marite and Una at Zvaigzne ABC, Latvia; Jurgita at Tyto Alba, Lithuania; Fernando, Nana and ‘The Brothers’ at Arqueiro, Brazil; Marie-Louise, Anne and Jakob at Rosinante, Denmark, to name but a few. You have all become my friends and we have shared so much laughter together when I have visited for a tour. Thank you, thank you, thank you, for being such caring and wise godparents to the sisters, and to me.
I am hugely grateful to Ella Micheler, Susan Moss, Jacquelyn Heslop, Lesley Burns and of course, Olivia Riley – more commonly known as ‘Team Lulu’ – who have provided vital research, editorial assistance and domestic back-up behind the scenes during what has been a chaotic year. Thank you all for your patience and ability to multi-task at short notice as I, and my life, become ever more busy. And to Stephen – husband, agent, adviser and best friend – I simply couldn’t do this without you.
Harry, Bella, Leonora and Kit – I’m so proud of each one of you. You make me scream with laughter, frustration and happiness, and never fail to bring me down to earth. I love you all.
Lastly, as always, to my readers around the world: you have taken my sisters to your hearts, laughed, loved and cried with them as I have done when I am writing their stories. Simply because we – and they – are human. Thank you.
Lucinda Riley
April 2017
Bibliography
Munya Andrews, The Seven Sisters of the Pleiades (Spinifex Press, 2004) John Bailey, The White Divers of Broome (Pan Macmillan Australia, 2002) Annie Boyd, Koombana Days (Fremantle Press, 2013)
Diney Costeloe, The Throwaway Children (Head of Zeus, 2015)
J. E. deB. Norman and G. V. Norman, A Pearling Master’s Journey (BPA Print Group Pty Ltd, 2008) Susanna de Vries, Great Pioneer Women of the Outback (Harper Collins, 2005) Mark Dodd, The Last Pearling Lugger (Pan Macmillan Australia, 2011) Martin Edmond, Battarbee and Namatjira (Giramondo, 2014)
Aji Ellies, The Pearls of Broome (CopyRight Publishing Company Pty Ltd, 2010) Barry Hill, Broken Song: TGH Strehlow and Aboriginal Possession (Vintage, 2002) Ion L. Idriess, Forty Fathoms Deep (Angus and Robertson Limited, 1945) John Lamb, Silent Pearls: Old Japanese Graves in Darwin and the History of Pearling (Bytes On Colours, 2015) Peter Latz, Blind Moses (IAD Press, 2014)
Carl Strehlow, Die Aranda-und Loritja-Stamme in Zentral-Australien (Ed. Stadtisches Volkerkunde-Museum Frankfurt am Main and Moritz Freiherr v. Leonhardi, Vol. 1-5, Frankfurt 1907-1920)
TGH Strehlow, Journey to Horseshoe Bend (Giramondo, 2015)
John G. Withnell, The Customs and Traditions of the Aboriginal Natives of North Western Australia (Dodo Press, 1901)
You can read more about Tiggy
and her sisters in
The Moon Sister
coming
autumn 2018