The Whole of My World
Page 26
That you are reading this book is largely due to my agent and friend, Elizabeth Troyeur, and her unwavering support and limitless patience. (She said this was the one and she was right. As usual.) Special thanks to the brilliant team at Random House Australia, especially Zoe Walton and Catriona Murdie for their gentle guidance and boundless wisdom. I am confident they now know more about AFL than either of them ever dreamed of – or wanted to. Now if I can just drag them along to a game . . .
A huge thank-you to my long-suffering writing partner, fellow author, first reader and dear friend, Melanie Benjamin, for reading more drafts of this manuscript than anyone should have to and never once complaining. Her feedback, encouragement and insight into the publishing world has been critical to my development as a writer. To Jacqueline Tomlins and Sarah Nichols for their excellent feedback and unbridled enthusiasm for this story, despite having a healthy antipathy for all things football. To PD Martin, crime writer extraordinaire and friend, for her practical, no-nonsense critique and her laser-sharp editorial eye. To Eliza Graham for reading a late draft at short notice in record time and still managing to offer brilliant feedback. To my oldest friends, Rose Giannone and Elena Christie, who have been spurring me on and inspiring me to write since our schooldays. (And thanks for the feedback, Rose.) To Anna for keeping me company on the boundary line on those bleak and wintry afternoons at Glenferrie. And to my reader, friend, babysitter, sounding board and personal cheersquad, Veronica Pardo, who was also happy to beat me upside of the head any time I suggested this book might not happen.
Peter Bishop and the Eleanor Dark Foundation gave me the time and space to revise early drafts of this novel at Varuna, more than a decade ago. Guiding me in the battle was Mark McLeod, who nailed it from the start, and my talented friends and fellow writers in the trenches, Steven O’Connor, Meg McKinlay, Ian Trevaskis, Gillian Wadds and Kylie Stevenson. Their company, enthusiasm and certainty that this would happen, despite all evidence to the contrary, drove me onwards at those darkest of moments.
To the Writerscave dwellers, to Karen Dionne and the crowd at Backspace, as well as the team at Done Deal Pro, especially Will Plyler and Craig Mazin – you have all taught me about story, craft and collegiality, demonstrating a generosity of spirit that I can only hope to emulate.
To the Phoenix Park Writers and staff – thank you for sharing your stories and wisdom. And to the talented women of Tuesday Writers – you’re next!
A very special thank-you to my family: the Webbs and Dunstons in New Jersey, who are supposed to be the ‘dreaded in-laws’ but have turned out to be great friends and the most devoted fans, especially Madeline, Allan and Joanne, who I could hear cheering for me all the way from America. To my sisters, Ryse and Amanda, their kids Ellyahne and Liam, Jessica and Kirsty, for their support, encouragement and unwavering loyalty, and to my twin brother, Damien, for letting me steal from our lives. (The good bits, anyway.) To my mother, Linda (Yolanda) Hayes, for never doubting – not for a second – that this would happen, and to my much missed father, Geoffrey Hayes, for so eloquently showing me the power of language and the poetry in football. We miss you, Dad.
But most of all to Frank, Hannah and Emily for letting me close the door and write. There would be no novel without you. And, frankly, no point.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted by any person or entity, including internet search engines or retailers, in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including printing, photocopying (except under the statutory exceptions provisions of the Australian Copyright Act 1968), recording, scanning or by any information storage and retrieval system without the prior written permission of Random House Australia. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.
Version 1.0
The Whole of My World
Published by Random House Australia 2013
Copyright © Nicole Hayes 2013
The moral right of the author has been asserted.
A Woolshed Press book
Published by Random House Australia Pty Ltd
Level 3, 100 Pacific Highway, North Sydney NSW, 2060
www.randomhouse.com.au
Addresses for companies within the Random House Group can be found at
www.randomhouse.com.au/offices
First published by Random House Australia in 2013
National Library of Australia
Cataloguing-in-Publication Entry
Author: Hayes, Nicole
Title: The whole of my world / Nicole Hayes
ISBN: 978 1 74275 861 9 (ebook)
Target Audience: For young adults
Subjects: Man–woman relationships – Fiction.
Grief – Fiction.
Love stories.
Football stories.
Dewey Number: A823.4
Cover photographs: girl and bleachers © ~skye.gazer/Flickr via Getty Images; clouds ©
iStockphoto.com/Raver32
Cover design by Christabella Designs
eBook production by Midland Typesetters, Australia
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