Prior to becoming a SEAL, Brandon did two six-month WestPac (Western Pacific) tours as a search-and-rescue swimmer, one on the USS Kitty Hawk and one on the USS Abraham Lincoln—much like Finn in the book. The idea for this novel was inspired by an actual serial-molester event that occurred during his tour aboard the Lincoln in the mid-1990s, when the US Navy had just integrated women on board. The identity of that serial molester was never discovered.
A ship’s crew is ill-equipped to deal with a complex crime, not to mention the external political forces that would come into play. At the time, Brandon thought, What if these were murders?
It took twenty-five years and a writing partnership with John to bring that idea to the page.
While the characters of Steel Fear are fictional, the USS Abraham Lincoln is as real as blood and bones, as Finn would say, and we’ve sought to depict the ship as accurately as possible. For example, the décor of the captain’s “Lincoln Room” really was remodeled based on the set of Spielberg’s 2012 movie. (And yes, that little spot just behind elevator 4 is in fact called “The Finger.”) That said, there are certain features, locations, and other details of the ship’s layout that we have intentionally changed, simplified, or obscured for security reasons.
Running a military vessel like the Lincoln takes a vast crew of talented and dedicated people whose tireless efforts often go unseen and unsung.
Turns out, the same is true of making a novel.
The authors send their abiding thanks:
To Alyssa Reuben at the Paradigm Agency for brilliantly shepherding our maiden voyage as novelists every step of the way (and for her Ninja-level editing skills).
To Anne Speyer, Jennifer Hershey, Kim Hovey, and Kara Welsh at Bantam Books for being our enthusiastic partners-in-crime; we could not have conceived of a more ideal publishing partnership.
To Carlos Beltrán for his stunning cover design, and Virginia Norey for the perfection of her book design.
To Hilary Zaitz Michael and Jack Beloff at William Morris Endeavor, Ben Smith and Adam Docksey at Captivate Entertainment, writer Aaron Rabin, and Alex Sepiol and Jake Castiglioni at Peacock for their dedication to bringing Steel Fear to the screen.
To Captain Putnam H. Browne, commanding officer; Command Master Chief James W. Stedding; Captain G. Merrill Rice, senior medical officer; Rear Admiral John F. G. Wade, commander, Carrier Strike Group 12; Lieutenant Charlie Koller, Lieutenant Christian Litwiller, MC3 Amber Smalley, and MCC Mark Logico, all from the USS Abraham Lincoln; and at Naval Air Force Atlantic in Norfolk, to Commander Dave Hecht, Deputy PAO Officer Mike Maus, MC2 Kaylyn Jackson-Smith, MCCS Dustin Withrow, MC Alan Lewis, and Ensign Clara Navarro for their generous assistance in John’s visit aboard the Lincoln.
To David Krueger, M.D., George Pratt, Ph.D., and J. T. Swick II, M.D. for lending their psychiatric, psychological, and medical expertise.
To Nick Coffman, George Hand, and Sean Spoonts for sharing their technical and military expertise.
To Geoff Dyer, author of Another Great Day at Sea; Cary Lohrenz, author of Leadership Without Fear, and Icon Productions, producer of the documentary Carrier, for their outstandingly informative descriptions of life on an aircraft carrier.
To Harry Bingham and Hal Croasmun for their expert guidance in how to put one word in front of another and have it all go somewhere (these two guys are SEAL-level in the writing sphere!); and to Eve Seymour (aka G. S. Locke) for her life-savingly expert critique of our first draft.
To Michael Ledwidge for his generous early endorsement.
To Deb and Charlie Austin, Dan Clements, James Justice, Ana Gabriel Mann, and Abbie McClung, for soaking up every word of early drafts and offering their own words of critique and encouragement.
And finally to you, the reader following these words right now, for coming with us on this journey. Don’t unpack your bags just yet; if you’re willing, we have more travels still ahead of us.