Little Heaven

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

MY THANKS TO THE USUAL SUSPECTS: my rockin’ agent, Kirby Kim; my kickass editor, Ed Schlesinger; Jennifer Bergstrom and Stephanie DeLuca and everyone at Gallery Books. To my father, who read and offered his thoughts on the first draft; my mother, who’s always pulling for me; my wonderful wife, Colleen, who supports me through this strange and meandering journey; and our son, Nicholas, who just does what he does and makes us smile every day. To artist extraordinaire Adam Gorham, who provided the awesome illustrations throughout this book—grazie mille! To the fine writers who were willing to read the manuscript and offer their kind words, I’m deeply appreciative for your generosity.

Now, if you’re one of those readers who skip to the end of the book and check out the acknowledgments before finishing, I ought to post a warning here.

SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS!

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REALLY, I’M DEAD SERIOUS. SPOILERS AHEAD.

OKAY?

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

So. Amos Flesher. Anyone with a passing knowledge of religious fanaticism and cults will see where I drew inspiration for that character’s portrayal—the aviator shades, the fussy hairdo, hell, even the method by which Amos dispatched his unruly worshipers. In fact, it’s even more depraved than you might suspect: for Flesher’s final speech, delivered to his flock minutes before their demise, I liberated the odd snatch of dialogue from the transcripts of Jim Jones’s own speech to the disciples of his People’s Temple—the one where he compels his followers to drink the Kool-Aid. You can find it online, if you’ve got a mind to read it. When Flesher says, “I’ll never detach myself from any of your troubles. I’ve always taken your troubles right on my shoulders” and “Say, say peace”—those were lines spouted by Jones his own self as he prodded his people to drink up. The rest of it, okay, I pulled that out of thin air. But a few of those lines belong to ole Jimmy, the crazy rat bastard. So, uhhhh, I guess credit where credit’s due?

Thank you most of all, dear reader. Obviously no writer would be able to do what they do without an audience out there to receive his or her words, so I’m especially grateful for the support of those who take the time to read the Cutter books. Merci!