The Deep

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

MILLE GRAZIE to the people responsible for getting this book into your hands—my wonderful agent, Kirby Kim; my fantastic horror-guru editor, Ed Schlesinger; and Stephanie DeLuca and the whole publicity team at Gallery.

Beyond that, thanks to my fiancée, Colleen, for putting up with my slovenly habits and somewhat brooding demeanor on the days when the writing got dark. And to my eighteen-month-old son, Nick, for sleeping pretty well while I wrote the last few chapters of this book, giving me a much-needed energy boost (even if that run of restful sleeps didn’t persist).

Also, thanks to my folks for being nothing like Bethany and Lonnie, the two appalling parental units featured in this book. I’ve heard it said that an emotionally-scarring childhood is great fodder for fiction, but I’m thankful that I don’t have to draw inspiration from the poisoned waters of that particular well.