Dancing Daze (21 page)

This book would not have been possible without a LOT of people’s help (my very own corps de ballet!). First up my light-footed family: Mum, Dad, Kate, Emma, and Richard. I love you all to bits. I wouldn’t be able to write without all the emergency school runs and babysitting.

My own family, Ben, Sam, Amy, and Jago, are also trip-the-light fantastic. Ben never complains when I take off to festivals or on tours (or drag him to the ballet); Sam is my teen guru; and Amy and Jago let me waltz them around the kitchen on a daily basis, which always makes me smile.

I am deeply indebted to three wonderful women from the Irish ballet world who all helped to make Claire’s story come alive — Harriet Parsons, Rachel Goode, and Monica Loughman, the original “Irish Ballerina.” Harriet told me about her ballet journey a long time ago, and I’ve held it in my head and in my heart all this time. Rachel and Monica gave up some of their very precious time to answer lots of dance-related questions. Thank you all so much for your valuable help. Any ballet-related mistakes are entirely my own!

There is no company called the Budapest Ballet, and Claire’s Budapest Dance Academy is also fictional, but the dancers from the real Hungarian Ballet and their talent, passion, and dedication were a huge inspiration. I was lucky enough to see them perform in the wonderful Budapest Opera House, and thanks to all at Brody House in Budapest, especially Will, for a magical visit. For photos of this very special research trip, see
www.askamygreen.com
.

As always, I have to thank my dear friends Tanya, Andrew, and Nicky, who have seen their fair share of my (real) dancing over the years, God love them; and of course my fabulous writer friend Martina “Zuma” Devlin; and quick-stepping friends in children’s books: Judi Curtin, Oisin McGann, Marita Conlon-McKenna, David Maybury, David O’Callaghan, and Tom Donegan. And finally, Kim Harte and all the fab children’s booksellers in Dubray Books. Booksellers rock!

My agents, Philippa Milnes-Smith and Peta Nightingale, are always in step beside me; and Mags and crew at Children’s Books Ireland (CBI) choreograph fantastic book events on a daily basis.

When the Walker gang danced into my life, I was one lucky girl. Huge thanks to Gill Evans and Annalie Grainger for sculpting my every step into shape. Annalie was so dedicated to the cause that she traveled all the way to Budapest to check out the city for herself. She’s a true Amy Greenster and knows Amy and Clover almost as well as I do at this stage. Thanks also to the lovely Jo Humphreys-Davies and Jane Harris for supporting the lifts; Sean, Hanna, Molly, Heidi, and the sales and marketing gang for making sweet music (about the book); and Katie, Nicola, and Sarah Coleman, who were in charge of the cover. And a lovely job they did too — I adore my new look. And finally, Conor Hackett is my leading man in Ireland, a great friend in books and a true gentleman.

I must mention my forever-young editor and fount of all knowledge Kate Gordon. Kate has been part of the Amy Green team right from the start. And a big thanks to the Young Editors who worked on this book with me and gave me such fantastic feedback, Yazmin de Barra and Anna Aldridge. It’s a better book because of you, girls. I hope my next Young Editors do half as good a job as you did! (Look out for the next Young Editor Competition on the Amy Green website.)

And a big shout-out to three Amy Greensters, Rachael Mehak D’Silva, Mary Olabanji, and her best friend, Jessica Habenicht, because I promised. And also to the girls at Saint Catherine’s in Rush, especially Leah and Kellie. Thanks for reading the books and for your lovely e-mails and letters, girls.

And finally to YOU, my dear reader. Thank you so much for all your e-mails, letters, cards, and photos. It’s YOU who make the writing worthwhile. I thank you, Amy thanks you, Clover thanks you, Seth blows you a big kiss, and Claire does a big curtsy for you . . .

Please do drop me a line. I love hearing from Amy Green fans. My e-mail is
[email protected]
. Or check out the Ask Amy Green fan page on Facebook,
www.facebook.com/askamygreen
.

All my ballet best,

Sarah XXX