An enormous amount of research goes into a book like this. Much of it is desk research, but not all.
I’ve called on several sources without whose help this book would be lame. A couple I’d like to publicly thank but can’t. They’ve signed secrecy agreements with various governments and are a little nervous about any public spotlight. Not because they’ve done anything wrong, but because they want to keep their lives uncomplicated. And who can blame them for that? The reason these people helped me is purely so that the facts, when facts need to be told, are indeed fact and not fabrication. Notice I didn’t say ‘fiction’, because this book is as much about fiction as anything else. None of the events in this book has happened and I hope they never do. But I digress.
Where the Special Air Service is concerned, I called on the services and knowledge of an experienced officer from that regiment. I couldn’t have written this book without his patient assistance. So, thank you very much, Captain X – you know who you are.
The Royal Australian Navy figures in this story. I admire anyone who goes to sea, and most especially when it’s in the defence of their country. Mark, a former RAN communications NCO, tirelessly put up with my incessant emails and questions about seemingly insignificant details, and then put in the time and the effort to read an early draft of the story. Thanks, Mark, for all your help, which was always delivered with a smile.
Wing Commander Peter Spiess, from RAAF Williamtown, helped me bring to life the F/A-18 sortie towards the end of the book. I also received assistance from a former USAF F16 fighter pilot who patiently helped me on a number of details. I’d like to point out that while the radio work between the pilots featured in the story is reasonably authentic, it’s a little overstated in parts to make the meaning clearer for the reader.
Thanks also to Bonnie Warn from the Australian Federal Police for pointing me in the right direction on a few issues.
The medical information contained herein was vetted by my friend and personal physician, Dr Malcolm Parmenter. Malcolm also suffered through an earlier draft and pointed out several flaws that I’ve since bandaged.
I’d like to thank the search engine Google.com for saving me a good year in research time.
I’d like to thank Andrew Sargant, my friend and former business partner, for his eternal encouragement and willingness to read unfinished manuscripts. Thanks, Sarge, I owe you.
Then there’s Rose Creswell and Annette Hughes, from the Cameron–Creswell Agency, thank you for believing in me.
And finally, I’d like to thank the people at Pan Macmillan: the fiction publisher, Cate Paterson; the senior publicist, Jane Novak; and all the fantastic, hardworking sales representatives nationally and internationally, who made the writing of this book possible.