A Love Like This

by Maria Duffy

  I’m very lucky to have a lot of great friends and I’m always afraid I’ll offend somebody by leaving them out. So I apologise if your name isn’t here but to all my friends, please know that I value your friendship more than anything and next time we’re out, the drinks are on me! Thanks to my very lovely friend, Niamh O’Connor, whose long phone calls keep me sane and whose kindness makes me believe there’s good in the world. Thanks to Denise Deegan, Michelle Jackson, and Niamh Green, who entice me out of my writing cave to go and drink some wine and laugh like I’ve never laughed before. I’ve named Niamh Green ‘Wizard of Titles’ because as well as picking the title of my last book, One Wish, she also came up with the title, A Love Like This. Writing a hundred thousand words is easy when compared to picking titles so I owe Niamh a huge thanks for her input. Thanks to my long-time friends Lorraine Hamm, Angie Pierce, and Bernie and Dermot Winston. Even when my writing takes over and I lose touch for a while, they’re always there for me when I resurface, proffering a glass of wine and a friendly ear. An extra special thanks to Bernie for her amazing cakes, which are always the topic of conversation at my launches. A huge thanks, as always, to Vanessa O’Loughlin from writing.ie and Inkwell Writers, for her insightfulness and advice. Thanks to my wonderful neighbours in Larkfield who support me so wonderfully. I’ve said it before but I thank my lucky stars that I live where I do. It’s a rare thing in this day and age to be friends with everyone who lives on the street but that’s how it is here in Larkfield. I’m already looking forward to our big trip next year, girls!

  And so, to the professionals who take my words and work their magic to form them into the book you have in your hands. A million times thank you to my lovely agent, Tracy Brennan from the Trace Literary Agency. Tracy is a wonderful agent, a great support, and a lovely friend. I look forward to seeing where this journey brings us. Thank you to my lovely editor in Ireland, Ciara Doorley, who makes my words sparkle and Emma Dunne for copy editing. Thanks to Breda, Jim, Joanna, Bernard, Ruth, Siobhan, and all the team in Hachette Ireland who’ve supported my books from the start. A special thank-you has to go to Nicole Frail from Skyhorse, who has given me the opportunity to be published in the US. It’s been lovely working with you, Nicole, and I look forward to exciting times ahead. Thanks also to Emily Shields from Skyhorse who I had the pleasure of meeting in New York last year and who has been so lovely to work with.

  One of the most wonderful and at the same time scariest moments of writing a book is releasing it onto the world. I think writers are largely insecure and we spend our lives biting our nails. I send it to my agent and quiver until she’s read it, send it to my editor and can barely breathe until she comes back to me, and when it goes out to the shops … well I just want to hide! And that’s when you, my lovely readers, come in. I’ve been overwhelmed these last few years by the response from readers. I still can’t believe that people go into book shops and pay with actual money to buy one of my books! It’s such a thrill for me that will never grow old. I also cherish every email, tweet, Facebook message, etc. because it’s contact from the people who read the books that make this job worthwhile. If you want to get in touch, you can do so through my website mariaduffy.ie or on twitter at @mduffywriter. So thank you from the bottom of my heart, my lovely readers, for investing the money and the time to read my stories and I hope I can continue to entertain you in years to come.

  Maria x