Hidden Order

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

With each thriller I create, my goal is to stretch myself as an author and become better at my craft. I had a lot of fun writing Hidden Order and I hope you enjoyed reading it.

The acknowledgments section is where I get to thank all the people who helped me over the past year. Of those, I owe my greatest thanks to you, my terrific readers. I work for you, and it is the greatest job anyone could ever have.

Equally important are all of the wonderful booksellers around the world who continue to help sell and introduce new readers to my novels every day. Thank you.

Once again, my dear friends Barrett Moore, James Ryan, Rodney Cox, and Sean F. were incredibly helpful. Without them, this book would not have happened. Thank you, gentlemen.

A special thanks for their support and friendship over the last year goes to Joel Brumlik, Dan Bitton, Mike Bitton, Ray Hamilton, and Shawn Landa.

I owe an additional debt of gratitude to Frank Gallagher, Steve Tuttle, Evan Jones, and John Levin.

To those who contributed to the novel, but whose names I am not able to include for security reasons, thank you for both your help and for your service to our great nation.

In Hidden Order, the Lydia Ryan and Bill Wise characters are so named because of their real-life spouses, who generously gave to two very worthwhile causes. I thank both Mrs. Wise and Mr. Ryan for their generosity.

On the publishing front, you will find no better people in the business than the amazing team at Simon & Schuster. To that end, I extend my deepest thanks to everyone at Emily Bestler Books and Pocket Books, particularly my phenomenal editor, Emily Bestler. Not only are her contributions invaluable, but working with her has proven to be one of the greatest joys of my career. Thank you, Emily.

I have surrounded myself with the absolute best, and so much of my success is directly attributable to the unparalleled business acumen of my outstanding publishers: Carolyn Reidy, Judith Curr, and Louise Burke. Ladies, thank you for everything you have done and continue to do for me and for the Brad Thor novels.

When I speak to aspiring novelists, I explain that writing a novel is only 40 percent of the work. You can write the greatest book in the world, but if no one knows about it you won’t realize much success. This is why you need an astounding publicist and why I am blessed to have the greatest one ever: David Brown. My thanks go to David and the rest of our outstanding PR team, including the world-renowned Cindi Berger and Cara Masline, as well as the second-to-none Valerie Vennix and Ariele Fredman.

I also want to thank all the stellar people on the Emily Bestler Books/Pocket Books sales staff, including Gary Urda, Colin Shields, John Hardy, the awesome art and production departments, the marvelous Sarah Lieberman, Desiree Vecchio, Armand Schultz, and the Simon & Schuster audio division, as well as the fantastic Michael Selleck, Kate Cetrulo, Caroline Porter, Irene Lipsky, Lisa Keim, Jeanne Lee, Al Madocs, and Tom Pitoniak.

Heide Lange of Sanford J. Greenburger Associates, Inc. is hands down the best literary agent ever. Her sage counsel, deep friendship, and the example she sets as a consummate professional are but the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the qualities I cherish in Heide. Add to that, Heide’s spectacular assistants Rachael Dillon Fried and Stephanie Delman and everyone else at SJGA, and you have my constellation of lucky stars that I am thankful for every day.

My dear friend and peerless entertainment attorney, Scott Schwimer, has my deepest gratitude for all he has done and continues to do for me in Hollywood. Thank you, Scottie.

This year, Thor Entertainment Group is honored to be joined by the extraordinary Yvonne Ralsky, who has helped take our game to an entirely new level. We have many, many exciting things planned, and Yvonne is key to making those happen. Thank you, Yvonne.

Finally, I would not be where I am without my beautiful wife, Trish, and our two wonderful children. They are my inspiration and I love them beyond words. They put up with my late nights and weekends at my desk, always greeting me with a smile, a hug, and a love that knows no bounds. I am truly blessed and could not ask for anything more. Now that the book is done, what adventure can we take off for?

For a look behind the scenes of Hidden Order, plus up-to-the-minute information on Brad, make sure to visit BradThor.com and sign up for Brad’s fast, fun, easy-to-read newsletter.