Mistress of the Sea (43 page)

I wish to thank all those who have helped in any way with this book: my wonderful agent, Jonathan Pegg, for his mentoring and unfailing encouragement; my terrific editor, Gillian Green, for giving me the chance that all new writers dream of; Caroline Newbury and Ellie Rankine for their help with publicity; Emily Yau and the rest of the team at Ebury Press; Donna Condon for her expert work in copy-editing the text; Emma Djonokusumo for her careful proofreading; my mother and first literary guide, Maureen Hall; my sister, reader and ace-typist, Caroline Duffield; my daughter, Emma, for her excellent observations; my family for standing by me and not complaining (much!). Thanks also to Verulam Writers’ Circle for listening to me read over many evenings at the
Goat
and
White Hart
and giving helpful feedback with generosity and good humour; particular thanks to VWC Chair, Ian Cundell, reader-buddies, Tim Blinko and Cheryl Alleyne, and everyone at
Get Writing
. Thanks to the Historical Novel Society and especially its founder, Richard Lee, for his really useful comments and morale-boosting endorsement when I was
close
to rock-bottom; thanks to friends at HNS Conferences in the UK and US, the London Chapter of the HNS and the support of all HF devotees at the
Zetland Arms
, and thanks to Michael Turner, founder of the Drake Exploration Society.

Thanks to the Romantic Novelists’ Association and the many friends from the Cambridge and London Chapters, Summer Conferences and meetings who have kept my spirits strong and hopes high; warm thanks to the only other members of the St Albans mini-Chapter: Barbara Alderton and Gail Mallin. Thanks to Melanie Hilton for all that she does for the New Writers’ Scheme, and thanks to my readers under that scheme for twice giving invaluable critique on this book. Huge thanks to Elizabeth Hawksley and Jenny Haddon. Thanks to all at the Festival of Romance, particularly the members of the Reader Panel.

Thanks to everyone who has ever shown an interest in my writing. If you want to know how the book’s going – here it is, thanks to you.

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Published in 2012 by Ebury Press, an imprint of Ebury Publishing
A Random House Group Company

Copyright © 2012 by Jenny Barden

Jenny Barden has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this Work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

This novel is a work of fiction. Names and characters are the product of the author’s imagination and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental

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Hardback ISBN 9780091949211
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