And maybe writing this will make it so, even while the sky darkens and the wind howls at my door.
And maybe I can say that before another day passed Roland came himself with some primroses for the mantelpiece and a basket of strawberries to ask if we might forget our quarrel and talk in the old way. And that I told him I had my own cottage to clean now and a child to care for but, if I had time, we might walk out along the river and enjoy each other’s company as we once did.
Acknowledgements
First, my thanks to Hayley, Kate, Josh, Gareth and all at Clink Street for guiding this book safely into print.
It has taken me a good while to discover how to tell this story. Many people have helped along the way. For answering questions, offering suggestions, correcting errors and supporting in other ways, I would like to thank Adrian Barker, Michael Buck, Alan Buster, Jane Carroll, Mary Fee, Russell Kennedy, Neil Parker, Richard Porter, May Rigler, Zimmy Ryan, Liz Treasure and Tom Treasure.
Jane Kennedy, who was encouraging me to write before I had begun to think of myself as a writer, has offered invaluable insights.
While preparing The Book of Air for publication, I have benefitted greatly from the encouragement and professional advice of Jenny Rogers and Phil Wilkinson.
I am grateful to my agent Victoria Hobbs for her care and attention in promoting this book and pushing me to make it better, and to my friend and colleague Tahmima Anam who nurtured it from its early days through many drafts.
Finally, my thanks to Leni Wildflower, whose love, companionship and fearless support has made this project possible.
About Joe Treasure
Raised sixth in a family of nine, Joe Treasure enjoyed a capriciously Bohemian childhood. Having received his educational grounding at the hands of Carmelite priests, he escaped to Cheltenham Grammar School where he excelled only in music and art. His architectural ambitions were thwarted by low grades in maths and physics. The local college of further education allowed him to pursue more congenial subjects, after which he surprised everyone, not least himself, by winning a place to read English at Keble College, Oxford.
Settling in Monmouth, Wales, Joe taught English and ran an innovative drama programme. He moved to Los Angeles at the turn of the millennium to join his wife, Leni Wildflower. Temporarily unemployed, he set about fixing up Leni’s house and turned to writing fiction.
In 2004, at the end of George W Bush’s first explosive term in office, they relocated to London where Joe studied creative writing at Royal Holloway. He wrote The Male Gaze, a novel that drew on his American experience, mingling social comedy with political drama. Offered a two-book publishing contract with Picador, he went on to explore the divided loyalties of an Anglo-Irish family in Besotted, a novel that celebrates the enduring bonds of brotherhood.
The Book of Air is Joe’s first venture into speculative fiction. He and Leni currently live in Balham, London.
Copyright
Published by Clink Street Publishing 2016
Copyright © 2016
First edition.
The author asserts the moral right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior consent of the author, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that with which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
ISBN:
978-1-911525-09-7 - paperback
978-1-911525-10-3 - ebook