The Ring of Earth - Chris Bradford [97]
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This fourth book in the Young Samurai series presents a new chapter in Jack’s adventures. But the team behind it remains very much the same – only more dedicated than ever. My thanks go to all of them: Charlie Viney, my Loyal agent; Shannon Park, my Honourable editor at Puffin; Wendy Tse, my Honest copy-editor; Vanessa Godden, Lisa Hayden, Tania Vian-Smith and all the Courageous Puffin team; Francesca Dow, the daimyo of Puffin Books; Tessa Girvan, Franca Bernatavicius and Nicki Kennedy, my Benevolent overseas agents at ILA; Trevor, Paul and Jenny, my Respectful booking agents at Authors Abroad. You’re all true samurai upholding the code of bushido!
There are so many other people I’d like to thank, but I would need a whole book for that. So I’ll just mention these few in this edition: all the independent bookstores who have supported me from the start, including Mark at Mostly Books, Abingdon; David and Gill at The Mint House, Hurstpierpoint; and Vanessa and Julie at The Book Nook, Brighton; David Ansell Sensei of the Shin Ichi Do dojo (www.shinichido.org) for all his samurai sword training; Sensei Peter Brown at the Shinobi Kai dojo (www.shinobi-kai.net) for all his ninja knowledge; the exceptionally dedicated Sensei Mary Stevens and Sensei Rob King at the Oxford School of Martial Arts (www.schoolofmartialarts.com) and, of course, Team Taurus – the real Young Samurai behind the book!; Rob Rose for your feedback and reviews (and for looking after Karen so well!); as promised, a mention to the Butcher Boys for all their sausages, steak and banter; and most importantly to my loving and supportive family, the Moles – Simon, Sue, Steve and Sam, and all the cousins – and especially my mum, dad and Sarah, I couldn’t do it without you.
Lastly, I once again offer a bow of respect to all the librarians and teachers who have supported the series and to all the Young Samurai readers out there – thank you for your loyalty to the series. You can keep in touch with me and the progress of the Young Samurai series on my Facebook page, or via the website at www.youngsamurai.com
Arigatō gozaimasu!