The Dream Makers

It is hard to know if I would be on this magical journey without you my friend.

It all started one evening at the Boat House in Nainital and your invitation to join you and a crew of local brothers. A few days later, we were heading out into the Namik region for an exploratory trek.

Ten days or so in, after being battered by the late monsoon rains, running low on food but high on the experience of the deep nature that we were in, the dream of Ashoo came to me as we slept under the cracks and groans of Namik glacier.

Since that moment, the unfolding of this story has given me more than I could have dreamed of.

So too has our friendship my brother. Thank you for being the incredible human and spirit that you are.

I still blush a little with embarrassment when I look back at the first versions of the manuscript. But you had such belief and vision in Ashoo’s story, even in its early scribbles.

Your certainty that this is was a story worthy of becoming a book, helped turn my little spark into the light that is burning brighter each day that we get closer to publication.

Your support means so much to me and when Ashoo makes it out into the hands and hearts of people into the world, it will be in large part thanks to you my friend.

Thank you, dear Jane, for all your support and unshakeable belief over the last five years.

One of my favourite moments of any week is seeing your name pop up in my in-box, knowing one of your magical sketches or illustrations has just arrived.

Words cannot express the joy that I experience seeing Ashoo’s adventure, and the worlds that exist in my imagination, come to life so beautifully through your gift Kalyani.

From the early pencil drawings to exquisite each finished painting, every step, every conversation that we have brings me so much.

And beyond our collaboration, I am even more grateful to have got to know you and to share so much of our journey over the last few years.

Thank you Kalyani, thank you!!

If you would like to see any of Kalyani’s incredible work, you can check her out at www.kalyani-ganapathy.com or connect on Instagram @ganapathykalyani.

Life brought Mo and I together in a hotel lobby in Melbourne. Turns out we were both in the wrong place, but at the right time.

Mo thanks so much my friend for all your support, encouragement and advice. You have a skill at storytelling that draws people in, even a coffee with you mate is like an adventure. Without trying, you have taught me so much.

Thank you also for the generous gift of your time and your magic in directing the little videos that help give everyone a sneak peek into Ashoo’s world.

Thank you, my brother, keep dreaming!

If you are looking for some help in creating stories and messages that connect and inspire. Mo is your man. Check him out at momacrae.com or you can connect on his linked in.

I can still remember and feel our first few conversations.

I didn’t think of myself as an author – still don’t if I am honest. So to be talking to an ‘agent’, especially one who came to highly recommended, was both fun and surreal.

Thank you so much Greg for all your support, hard work and the mix of compassion, expertise and honesty that you bring to everything that you do.

This journey still feels more like an imaginary game that I am playing, and that somehow the world is playing along too.

Thanks for being on Ashoo’s team!