ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The author wants to thank the following individuals for making this book possible:

My wife, April, for holding down the fort; Matt, my brother and editor-in-arms; High Plains Scuba, for certifying me as an open-water diver two decades ago; Bahamas Divers, for providing my first introduction to the reefs of their beautiful island nation; KT and Sara Col-orosa, for helping me get some necessary time off from work; Brian Woodward, for manning my desk while I was away; Mrs. Brant, who got me started on the path to a good education; Gary Goldstein, my dreadfully busy editor; Arthur Maisel, Lou Malcangi, Karen Auerbach, and the other professionals at Kensington; Jim Donovan, my agent and trusted advisor; and my father, for teaching me early on the values of personal motivation and self-reliance.

I also want to thank Dennis, Frederico, Tony, Patrick, Axel, Erin, Anastasia, Brian, and the other very special staff of a quiet (and intentionally unnamed) resort on Andros Island, who helped me learn about the area and the fundamentals of technical cave diving and made me feel more than at home. Thanks also to fellow divers Drew and Chrissy Kinsman, for sharing their underwater images (and Led Zeppelin–inspired videos), and to the other friends I met in the Bahamas, especially globetrotters Andrew and Lydia.

Finally, a special thanks goes out to those who helped support me in achieving success with my first novel, Below: Tony Morelli (and TONMO!), Craig McClain (aka Dr. M), Danna Staaf and her Squid A Day blog, Jake Gengler at B&N, Web designers Wally Thompson and Dave Holmstrom, KT, Gwen (my other mother), the Arkwoods, the Alabama clan, superfan Sara Heideman, bulk book buyers Chinn, Beck, Kala, Norv, and Curtis, Mom (as always), and all my wonderful friends and fans—your support has been invaluable, especially at those times when I felt like I couldn’t write another word.