ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First of all I would like to thank my pals in the Clive Cussler Society for their continued support and for encouraging me to write a book on my own. Here it is, gang! I’m grateful to Wayne Valero, president and founder of the CCCS, for his insightful suggestions on how to improve the pile of pages I sent him. My line editor Gabe Robinson cut away thousands of words that were cluttering up the manuscript, but the surgery vastly improved the flow of my deathless prose. A special thanks to Clive Cussler who taught me during our NUMA Files collaboration to strive for a fresh point of view and avoid writing clichés like the plague. Oops! Many thanks to John and Shannon Raab at Suspense publishing for this opportunity to bring forth my first solo effort since the NUMA Files. I especially appreciate Shannon’s enthusiasm, astute editorial and art sense, and her help in navigating my way around the new world of e-books and blog chats. And thanks to my wife Christi for constantly reminding me during those down spells that I am better than I think I am.