The Cuban Affair

Acknowledgments

All good fiction is based on fact, and I am fortunate to know people who know more things than I can find on the Internet.

First, I’d like to thank a man who I met in Cuba, and who gave it to me straight about contemporary Cuban politics, culture, and life. He wishes to remain anonymous for obvious reasons, but he’s given himself the code name “Lola.” Thank you, Lola, wherever you are, and take care.

There are many nautical scenes in this book, and growing up on Long Island I know many weekend sailors. I asked four of them to read and vet the scenes set on the high seas. Any mistakes in those scenes are mine alone.

First, thanks to my longtime friend Tom Eschmann, who, like my main character, “Mac,” has fished and sailed the waters of Key West, and there’s little that Tom doesn’t know about boats. Tom is not only an avid fisherman and a great sailor, he’s also an avid reader of fiction, and this happy combination has helped me lend realism to these scenes.

Similarly, my childhood friend Dan Barbiero has spent what amounts to years on the water. Dan (Yale ’66) and his wife, Helen, accompanied me and my wife to Cuba on our Yale educational travel trip, and we learned a lot about Cuban rum and other things. To help me research this book, Dan took lots of notes and many pictures of daiquiris and mojitos, and a few photos of Havana. Thanks, Dan and Helen, for making the trip lively.

I’ve often thanked and acknowledged my great friend John Kennedy, labor arbitrator, and former Deputy Police Commissioner of Nassau County (NY) and Member of the New York State Bar, for sharing with me his expertise in criminal justice and the law. And now I’d like to thank John for sharing his knowledge of the sea. John is a true Renaissance man.

My fourth sailor, Dave Westermann, is also a great friend, a great lawyer, and a great sailor. Weekend cruises with Dave on Long Island Sound and around Manhattan Island on his luxury cabin cruiser that I helped pay for have been a mixture of business and pleasure, and tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.

After thirty-five years with the same publisher, you may have noticed that I am now published by Simon & Schuster, a venerable institution in New York publishing, where I was welcomed with open arms, as though my reputation had not preceded me. Most welcoming were Carolyn Reidy, President and CEO, Jonathan Karp, President and Publisher, and my new and terrific editor, Marysue Rucci, whose own reputation as an excellent editor and author wrangler is well deserved. Thanks to everyone at S&S for making the transition easy and fun.

I would not have been at Simon & Schuster if it weren’t for the efforts and good advice of my savvy and hardworking literary agents, Jenn Joel and Sloan Harris of ICM Partners. Jenn and Sloan love the written word and it shows in the passion they bring to their profession. Sometimes we even talk about money.

This book is peppered with Spanish, and my Spanish is limited to “Corona, por favor,” but I was fortunate to have Spanish speaker Yadira Gallop-Marquez working down the hall from my writing office. Gracias, Yadira, for your patience and your time.

My good friend Michael Smerconish, novelist, journalist, TV and radio host, and political gadfly, was kind enough to share with me his experiences in Cuba, which inspired some of the scenes in this book. Thanks, Michael, for your years of support and enthusiasm for my writing.

As I’ve done in my last dozen or so books, I want to take this opportunity to thank my two fabulous assistants, Dianne Francis and Patricia Chichester. If it’s true that no one wants to see how sausages or laws are made, then it’s doubly true that no reader wants to see how books are written. It’s not pretty. But someone has to see this, and Dianne and Patricia see me, hear me, and put up with me during my many months of sausage-making. Truly, this book would not have happened without them. Thanks again, and know I am appreciative.

Social media has become a mixed blessing for authors. I love that I can reach out to my readers, and vice versa, but the nuances of social media sometimes present a challenge. The solution is to hire someone who’s less than half your age, and I did that when I engaged the services of Katy Greene, CEO and founder of Greene Digital Marketing. Thanks, Katy, for all your help, advice, professionalism, patience, and creativity. I have seen the future, and it is you.

And many thanks to my daughter, Lauren, and my son Alex, who are the perennial early readers of my manuscripts and who are repaying me for all the homework I helped them with. And thanks to my son James (age eleven), who is coauthoring his next funny novel with me.

The last shall be first, and that’s my wife, Sandy Dillingham. It’s not easy living with a writer (Cosmos help) but Sandy, a former book publicist, understands how to deal with authors — be patient but firm, compliment their writing, but be honest, and ignore their moods. Love you.

The following people or their families have made generous contributions in charity auctions in return for having their name used as a character in this novel:

Alexandra Mancusi — Cancer Center for Kids at Winthrop-University Hospital; Scott Mero — FACES (Finding a Cure for Epilepsy & Seizures), NYU Langone Medical Center; Dave Katz — Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice & Human Rights; Ragnar Knutsen — Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory; Ashleigh Arote — Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation; Professor Barry Nalebuff — Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice & Human Rights.

I hope they all enjoy their fictitious alter egos and that they continue their good work for worthy causes.