The Dreamsnatcher (29 page)

I am so grateful to all the wonderful children I’ve taught over the years who constantly inspire characters, conversations and plot lines. Thank you to the dazzling Sara Getter for playing
Moll so brilliantly in the film trailer for the book, to Annika Arora for advice on the cover and to May Stanton for following Moll and Gryff from the very start. And I owe a massive thank you to
my friends, to everyone who kept on believing I’d get there despite the setbacks. Thank you to Thomas Webb for never doubting; to Cat Graham for reading and editing early drafts; to Harriet
Agnew for loving Lyra and Pantalaiman with me all through school; to Hana Geissendorfer and Vic Glendinning for inspiring me to work as hard as they do; to Heather Holden-Brown for wise advice
throughout the process and to the Angus Girls (Georgie Majcher, Lucy Walton-Rees & Eleanor Howse) for all the memories that inspired Moll’s life in the wild – camping up the glen,
swimming in the rivers, walking over the moors. Thank you also to the incredible Salvesen Clan for all their ongoing love and support – to Vesen, Lica, Hal, Emily and, of course, the totally
wonderful Steph.

To Pete Ingram, my Romany pal and author of
Wagtail Tale
, thank you for talking to me about the Romany ways – for carving chrysanthemums, dancing wooden puppets and chatting gypsy
recipes. And thank you so much to Dave Peacock, from Chas and Dave, for letting us film the trailer for the book in such an incredible setting. Sitting in your Romany wagon and riding your gypsy
cob bareback through the forest was nothing short of magical.

But the book would never have happened had it not been for my parents who gave me a childhood filled with adventure and wonder, and let me grow up as wild as Moll. Thank you to my father for
roaming the hills with me in search of eagles’ eyries, for setting up ridiculously competitive obstacle races in the garden and for building tree houses perilously high up in the branches.
And a monumental thank you to my wonderful mother, who read and edited countless early drafts, and who is the reason I love reading and writing as much as I do. Thank you for teaching me to dream
– and to dream big – and for telling me never to give up. Thank you to my brothers, Will and Tom, for finally admitting I’m funny, for endless teasing (Moll is as punchy as she is
because you taught me to be tough!) and for your love and support. Thank you to my little sister, Charis, for sending me anything remotely magical you get your hands on (you have Moll’s eyes)
and thank you Tron for offering me the most shrewd business advice I’ve ever heard from a thirteen-year-old.

Last of all, thank you to my husband, Edo, for telling me to write in the first place, for being overly enthusiastic about early drafts (when I see now that they were a bit pants), for giving me
a Roald Dahl writer’s shed at the bottom of the garden and for being as patient, loyal and loving as Gryff. You made me write the book I did.

Abi Elphinstone grew up in Scotland where she spent most of her childhood running wild across the moors, hiding in tree houses and building dens in the woods. After being
coaxed out of her tree house, Abi studied English at Bristol University and then worked as an English teacher in Africa, Berkshire and London.
The Dreamsnatcher
is her first book and a
sequel will be published in 2016. Abi’s favourite book is
Northern Lights
by Philip Pullman and if she had a daemon it would be a wildcat with attitude.

Website: www.abielphinstone.com and www.moontrug.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/abielphinstone

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