Not As We Know It (14 page)

Thank you first to God, for giving me all I have and loving me in all I do.

Thank you, my friends and family, and Jonny and Gemma, for your constant support, advice and vast capacity to listen to me moan when writing's just not working. Thank you, Maggie, for listening to every idea I have and believing in each one, and thank you, Laurie, for your example of how to be courageous.

Thank you, Penny, for your unflagging support and belief in my writing.

Thank you, Charlie and Chloe, for helping me find my mojo again, for your insight and your advice in making this book happen. Thank you, everyone at Andersen, for turning words into beautiful books and getting those books into readers' hands.

Thank you, Caleb and Rocco, my constant source of joy and inspiration. You make me laugh every day.

Finally, thank you to Chloe. Thank you for being my best friend. Thank you for putting up with the highs and lows of making books.

Tom Avery is the author of the middle-grade novels
My Brother's Shadow,
which was longlisted for the Carnegie Medal, and
Too Much Trouble,
winner of the Frances Lincoln Diverse Voices Children's Book Award. He was born and raised in London in a very large, very loud family, descendants of the notorious pirate Henry Avery. Tom has worked as a teacher in inner-city schools in London and Birmingham, and he lives in Amsterdam with his wife and two sons. Learn more at tomaveryauthor.com.