2012: A Year of A Thousand Thank Yous!

Wonderful humans, can you believe that the Earth has twirled on its axis 365 times since "Miranda The Polkadot Panda" was launched? It seems quite astonishing that we have been hurtling through space at such a rapid pace, with scarcely so much as a tremour in our teacups. And yet - here we are, after all that swirling and swooshing past many heavenly bodies, a year onwards, our annual journey around the sun now nearly complete.

The Launch Of Loveliness, 17 December 2011

So much has happened in that year, and I have so much to say thank you for. A thousand reasons to be grateful, to be precise! That is how many Polkadot Pandas have hopped, skipped and jumped their way into the world since the 17th of December 2011! Incredibly, the number has grown incrementally over the past year to reach this wonderful milestone, just in time for Miranda's first birthday.

None of this would be possible without each of you peering at that cheerful cover and seeing a little something about Miranda's spirit that enchanted you - each one of you has helped to transform the hopeful twinklings of my dream into a steady glow of realisation, and I cannot thank you enough.

Miranda has gone far and wide, from the warmth of Australia to the cool mountain air of Switzerland, past the Tower Bridge in London and into that shimmering city of skyscrapers, New York. She has of course also found herself many a new family beneath the watchful frown of Table Mountain, and Polkadot Pandas have been sighted all over Johannesburg, Nelspruit, Durban and the Eastern Cape.

Every one of you has been a valuable part of this journey, you are each a beautiful petal on the thousand-petalled-flower that has bloomed so beautifully for Miranda The Polkadot Panda in 2012. There are a few people, however, who deserve my thanks more directly:

• My aunt, Annamarie van Rensburg, who took my cuddly little Panda into the Gauteng region and tirelessly promoted her there. She has been a source of great motivation to me, urging me on with her infectious enthusiasm and mischievous chuckle, clambering into a heavy Panda Suit on countless occasions to dispense the warmest Panda hugs imaginable. She endured in the region of 18 hours in that sweltering suit at the Cape Town Book Fair, in what became her own fur-encapsulated sauna, without a word of complaint or discomfort. A true Panda Heroine, to whom I am extremely grateful.
• Caren Houlihan, graphic designer and miracle worker extraordinaire, who is so adept at pulling rabbits out of hats I am convinced that she is a magician and simply hides her wand very well. Caren has learnt to deal with my many unusual and often last-minute requests with an amused smile and focused determination, and has made marvelous happenings a commonplace occurrence. I am not entirely sure what I would do without her.
• As ever, my mother, who has supported me unfailingly and encouraged me without hesitation or doubt. There are some instances where words are too clumsy to capture the essence of what one wishes to convey, so instead of even trying to express the enormity of my thanks, I will say no more.
• My wonderful father, who reminds me every day of the importance of gratitude, the immense joy one can derive in helping others, the value of compassion and love. How lucky I am to have him.
• All of my truly fantastic friends, who I won't single out by name, because they each know how much their support means to me and how greatly I appreciate the splashes of bright colour that they add to the work-in-progress canvas of my life, beautifying it constantly.
• To the latest addition to the Ani family, Chelsey White - she is a truly remarkable young woman and I really look forward to many happy hours working together.

It is my hope and sincere belief that when I settle down in a year from now, fingers poised above the keyboard and a steaming cup of something delicious beside me, I will be saying a great many more thank yous. Everything that has happened in this first year would not have been possible without your support, enthusiasm and an understanding of what Ani Mallover stands for and hopes to achieve - spreading a glittering shimmer of enchantment and making the world just that little bit more lovely, one book at a time.

As we all prepare to enter 2013, I would like to leave with you a quote from that crazily-feathered character, Fred,

"You’ll find the way if you listen to your heart,
It is the truest part of you, the thing that sets you apart."

Lots of love xxxx Ani