To KJ: Thanks for reading my thriller and providing constructive feedback, even though it is not your kind of story. I love and appreciate you beyond what mere words can describe.
To my parents: Thank you again for continually encouraging me to believe this is what I’ve been made to do in this season of life.
To Josh and Liv: Thank you, thank you. Your unconditional love and support during my storytelling journey have been invaluable, inspirational & instrumental in making this happen.
To Brenton: Thanks, bro, not just for your moral and practical support during my journey, but also for your fantastic feedback on the original version. I hope you enjoy this very different final version.
To Evan: Thank you for your enthusiasm as I wrote this and for such insightful feedback as a storytelling brother. Knowing I could not write the first version fast enough for you inspired each chapter. Yet, you will be surprised how different (and how much better) the final version is.
To Craig: Your practical suggestions and Pommie feedback as I was converting this from a book to an online serial were both inspiring and encouraging. Thank you so much for helping this story fly higher than I dared imagine.
To Sian and Marilyn: Thank you for being such fantastic Beta readers for version 1 and providing many valuable insights from a woman’s perspective. And special thanks to Marilyn for your feedback as an American.
To Eva & Tayto, Steve & Nat + Norman & Django, Chris & Coralee + the Zoo, and the staff at The Pelican Waters Sebel during Covid lockdown: Thanks for providing me with refuges along the way where I could recover and be inspired as I wrote versions 1 & 2 of this adventure.
To the myriad of friends and colleagues who gave that little word of encouragement or strength along the way: Thank you for your support at every step.
To Kit & her team at the Manuscript Appraisal Agency: When you returned my appraisal of version 1, I was shattered. But when I understood what you were saying, it transformed this story into something so many degrees better. Thank you for being tough and true.
To Emma: I so appreciate the many hours you spent drafting illustrations of the logo for my front cover. What a great final painting - it’s like you could see the image in my mind and then improved it.
To everyone who has worked on developing new technology, a world I’ve loved and lived in since I was ten: Thank you for always wanting to go to new places, whether for the challenge, the money, or simply the buzz of knowing that you could, so you did.
To those who work tirelessly in armed forces and security services across the globe to protect a way of life that those you protect often take for granted: Thank you for investing and sometimes giving your lives, so we can enjoy a freedom that allows us to write stories of fiction that may make you look like villains. You have my profound respect and heartfelt gratitude for all you do and sacrifice.
To all who have endured online abuse simply because you do not call yourself male: I am so sorry for how and why you’ve been disrespected. You have my admiration for your passion and persistence, as well as my heartfelt apologies for the gutless pigs pretending to be men as they hide behind anonymous monikers.
To the greatest author and creator of all: Thank you for making every one of us unique, and giving us the ability to live incredible stories, even if some of those stories are not so nice.