The Butterfly Forest

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

As an author, one of the questions I get the most is this: where do you get your ideas? Most of the time, the answer is I really don’t know. Stories seem to sprout from scattered seeds buried somewhere in my subconscious when a current event helps spawn some sort of germination.

Not with The Butterfly Forest.

This novel got its start from a walk in the park with my youngest daughter, Ashley. She and I were in San Diego’s Balboa Park and entered a sunken stone grotto built in 1915. It is now a butterfly garden, a place filled with dappled sunlight and shadows, cool stones, milkweed, sunflower, passion vine and other flowers that attract the attention of butterflies. The butterflies attracted our attention. Some of the butterflies alighted near or on us. Ashley was fascinated by the intimacy, reaching out to give a butterfly a rest on her hand. I imagined a young, college-aged woman doing something to help protect rare and endangered butterflies. Where would a trail in the woods lead her? What if that trail led her to a place where the innocence and nobility of the journey and mission intersected with a horrifying destination? The literary result of time slowed and spent with my daughter and the butterflies that surrounded us is The Butterfly Forest.

A special thanks to Jacqueline Y. Miller, Ph.D, Curator of Lepidoptera, University of Florida — Florida Museum of Natural History; and Danielle Bennett, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Tampa, Florida. My thanks also to the following: Richard and Matil Smith, Vicki Lieske, Michael Prescott, Ben Stoner, Kate DeGraaf, Lorna Powell and John Buonpane. Thumbs up to Tom Greenberg and Greg Houtteman of EO MediaWorks for the design of my website, www.tomlowebooks.com

I want to thank my family for their strong and continued support for each novel that I write. This includes Natalie, Cassie, Christopher, and Ashley. The video book trailer for The Butterfly Forest was produced by Christopher’s company, Suite 7 Productions in Los Angeles. Most of all, I want to recognize and give deep thanks to my wife, Keri, for her unmatched passion and support for my work. I’m grateful for her guidance, suggestions and patience. She is a gifted editor with a keen eye and ear for story and dialogue. Her editing skills are insightful, intuitive and spot on. Keri, you have my heartfelt appreciation.

And now to you, the reader. I want to thank you for your partnership. If this is your first Sean O’Brien novel, I hope you enjoy the story. If you are part of the gang, let’s saddle up and ride into the wind together.