With the publication of Where She Went finally here, I would just like to say a big thanks all round; thanks to everyone who has taken the time to read and review it and to create such a lovely buzz about my creepy little story that burrowed about in my brain for three years before Little Brown released it onto the page.

Writers generally live in an insecure place, spending months locked away in our own heads creating stories we hope will entertain, divert, scare, disturb or put a smile on the faces of the people they’re intended for – the book fans.

Every writer I know is also an avid reader and we all hope that the tale we’re telling will touch something in our audience, keep them hooked, or in this case, creep them out just a bit and make them a little scared of the dark – but you never really know until those reviews start coming in.

Readers and reviewers really are the lifeblood of every book once it leaves the safety of a laptop and goes out into the big, scary world and every review is a little bit of word-magic.

Good reviews are great to read but even negative reviews (or undecided, ‘well it just didn’t do it for me,’ ones) are useful, and at least they reassure other readers that you haven’t just asked your mates to write a bunch of ‘5 star!’ ‘Must read!’ publicity puffs for you.

With so many books out there, and so many constraints on everyone’s time, I’m really just very grateful to everyone who set aside a few hours to follow Melanie Black on her journey and took the time share what they thought about it.

You’re a lovely bunch, and no mistake! Readers (and reviewers) rock!