Acknowledgements

I would like to thank the lovely people who have been involved in the process of bringing The Summer Queen from first idea to finished novel. Obviously the writing and crafting is mostly my input, but no author is ever an island and so many have helped me along the way.

I would like to thank the team at Little, Brown UK, especially my editor Rebecca Saunders who is always there for me and braced for my ‘enthusiasms’. Also my copy-editors Richenda Todd and Hannah Green; their eagle eyes and advice have been so helpful. Any errors that remain are mine.

My agent Carole Blake and everyone at Blake Friedmann are without compare. I have the best agent in the world – it’s official.

I owe a big thank you to Thea Vincent at Pheonix Web Designs for putting together my marvellous website, which is a constant work in progress.

My thanks to the regular bunch of readers and writers at Facebook and Twitter for daily discussions on all things historical, medieval, and especially the Marshal family! I can’t name you all individually but you know who you are. A special shout-out too to my Australian fanclub and thank you so much for the T-shirt!

Another thank you goes to my dear writer friend Sharon Kay Penman, who is an example to every author of historical fiction.

I couldn’t have written The Summer Queen without the insight and rare talent of my very good friend and colleague Alison King.

And last but never least, a special thank you to my husband Roger who has a knighthood for services rendered, with a special mention for a constant replenishment of my tea mug and biscuit plate!