The Steel Shark

Acknowledgments

As usual, I had a lot of help. Taking Joe Tesla out of New York and into the ocean required research and questions and a certain amount of making things up. I’d like to thank SJ Rozan for helping me with questions about the New York Harbor Patrol, and Christina Higgins for answering diplomatic questions diplomatically, as always. When I wanted to hijack a submarine, I knew Anderson Harp would have the details I needed, and he didn’t let me down. Lieutenant Commander John C. Groves of the US Navy answered approximately a million questions about life on board submarines. He is probably now sorry his mother helped me to track him down after a few decades away. Eric Boyce had a very ready answer for my question about bringing down a helicopter with a bow and arrow on a fishing line, including a story about a helicopter destroyed by someone carrying a radio with the antenna up. Professor Milton Garces explained torpedoes and sound waves to me over coffee — he even drew diagrams. When it felt like the book was going down for the last time, James Rollins and Joshua Corin provided valuable plot advice and literary support. Cherei McCarter sent me many fascinating snippets about submarines and the underwater world, and I’m grateful for each one. My writing posse helped me whip the book into shape, again: Thank you, Kathryn Wadsworth, David Deardorff, Ben Haggard, Karen Hollinger, Judith Heath, Joyce Lamb, Kit Foster (cover artist extraordinaire), and Andrew Peterson. Finally, my Ironman husband and writer son provided unending support and love.

If, after all this help and work by so many talented people, errors slipped into the manuscript, I am completely to blame. Some people will cause trouble no matter how much you try to help them!