With so many wildlife species in peril it’s easy to overlook some of the smaller and less glamorous creatures (at least in some people’s eyes) that are staring down the barrel of extinction.
I’m especially grateful to real-life ‘vulture man’ Andre Botha, manager of South Africa’s Endangered Wildlife Trust Birds of Prey Programme, for suggesting I write a book which touched on the plight of vultures. The senseless killing of these magnificent birds, as described in this book, is happening now. It’s a tragedy not just for the birds themselves, but for the wider natural environment which depends on them to keep the landscape healthy and habitable. Andre assisted with my early research and read and corrected the finished manuscript.
As always I’m indebted to many people who gave their time and knowledge to help me with researching and reviewing this story. I’ll try not to forget anyone.
Annelien Oberholzer did an excellent job yet again of correcting not only my Afrikaans and other South Africanisms, but also several other errors. Sydney psychotherapist Charlotte Stapf provided valuable feedback on the motivations of my characters and other aspects of the story. I’m grateful to former South African Defence Force sniper Fritz Rabe for his help with firearms matters; to Mike Reid for his time and his comments on helicopter flying; and Mike Furner and Tyler van der Merwe from JNC Helicopters, Virginia Airport, Durban, for information on car tracking.
My friends Peter and Alison Nairn showed me the sights of Durban several times; Warrant Officer Bobby Freeman, Regimental Sergeant Major of the Natal Mounted Rifles, gave me a tour of the regiment’s impressive base (and even more impressive mess); Tema Matsebula provided valuable feedback on the manuscript; and Section Ranger Dennis Kelly from Hluhluwe–iMfolozi Park answered my many questions about poaching and the trade in illegal wildlife products. Thank you, all.
As with many of my previous books I’ve handed over the surprisingly tricky job of thinking up character names to a number of worthy charities and causes. The following people made donations to have names assigned to the cast of Red Earth: Mike Dunn, Chris Mitchell, Nicholas Duncan (on behalf of Nia Carras) and Suzanne Fessey, contributed to Painted Dog Conservation Inc.; Annie Nolan (on behalf of Boyd Qualtrough), and Yvonne Buttenshaw (on behalf of John Buttenshaw) donated to Breaking the Brand (an Australian NGO focusing on the reduction of demand for rhino horn in Vietnam); and my former boss, Nick Greiner AM (on behalf of his grandson Angus ‘Banger’ Greiner), and Lisa Paulsen (on behalf of Egil Paulsen and Tracy Zietsch) made donations to causes close to their hearts. Jordan and Tim Penquitt are the sons of my friend Roger, who kept my morale up when we both served in Afghanistan.
Thirteen novels on my wonderful team of unpaid editors – my wife Nicola, mother Kathy, and mother-in-law Sheila – once again did an excellent job helping me to iron out timelines, correct inconsistencies and improve my characters. Thanks, too, to my other ‘family’ at Pan Macmillan Australia – Publishing Director Cate Paterson, Production Editor Danielle Walker, and copy editor Brianne Collins for their hard work, wise counsel, and their faith in me. Thanks, too, go to my agent, Isobel Dixon, and Pan Macmillan’s affiliates in the United Kingdom and South Africa. I’m grateful to all of you for helping me live my dream.
I often use social media, not just to waste time, but to kick around ideas and get feedback from readers and friends. If you’d care to look for me on Facebook or Twitter you can find me as Tony Park Author, or via my website, www.tonypark.net. I’d love to hear from you.
Lastly, if you’re still reading this, thank you. I couldn’t do this without you.