The building industry has been good to me providing a living for my family and I, as well as offering inspiration for (fictional) scallywags and mischief. I’d like to thank my many friends I’ve made for the good times and experiences we’ve had. So I’ll give shout-outs to Stuart, Spencer, Tim, Carl, Smudge, Julian, Dominic and Richard – but everyone I’ve worked with has made their own impression on me, so thanks for that.
Then comes the writing. I will be forever grateful to Jo Caulfield and Kevin Anderson for taking a chance on me, a new, unknown writer: I learnt so much from you guys. And thank you David Tyler of Pozzitive for commissioning my material for the radio, it was such an opportunity and such fun. From working with you all I developed the confidence and self-belief to go for it and attempt writing a novel. That led me to the door of Faber Academy, and Richard Skinner – the best writing coach there is – thank you for the inspiration and words of wisdom. And thank you to my Faber Academy classmates for all the laughs, feedback and mutual support: Cassandra, Issy, Zia, Kerry, Chelise, Kim, Gabriel, Jonathan, Steve, Dani, Mary and Caroline.
I owe a big thank you to Francine Brody for the structural and editorial support – and for correcting my appalling punctuation.
Of course I must thank my family. Thank you to my wife Rebecca, who put up with me lost in my own little word for hours on end whilst I worked on this. Thank you to my two boys who inspired me that it’s never too late to follow a dream.
Most of all, thank you to my father, the greatest man I’ve ever had the privilege to know. It breaks my heart that he’s not here to see this but he always knew it would happen one day and held the faith in me even when I wavered. For his love and support I’m forever grateful.
And finally, thank you for taking the time and trouble to read this book, it’s more appreciated than you may ever realise. If you enjoyed it please do leave a review, your feedback would be great.
I’d love to hear from you so please do feel free to get in touch with me. You can find me on Twitter @mattwross and contact me via Red Dog Press.
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
About the Author
AUTHOR’S NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS