The road from magazine journalism to long-form fiction is filled with potholes and mind-numbing doubts and perilous missteps. For mortals like me, the journey can only be completed through the help of others. Here are just a few of the people and institutions who helped me shape the final draft of Alone on the Shield.
My brother, Scott Landers, and my wife, Taffy, had the courage to read the first draft of this book in its dreary entirety. Scott wrote a detailed and actionable critique of it, and Taffy’s comments helped me shape the characters of Pender and Annette. To appreciate their sacrifices, it’s important to know that I offered the first draft to the Department of Homeland Security, suggesting it could be read to the detainees at Guantanamo Bay in lieu of waterboarding, but they felt waterboarding was more humane.
Several writer groups provided immense help: the Chicago Writers Association (especially founder Randy Richardson), the Off-Campus Writers Workshop (especially my Critique Group colleagues), and the Novel-in-Progress Bookcamp in Wisconsin.
Four beta-readers risked their sanity to review the next-to-final draft of this book, wading through an avalanche of typos, misspellings, and fragments of old drafts floating like space debris through the current draft . . . and helping me fix flaws in plot and characters: Larry Green, my friend and colleague of forty years or so, is a man of letters, and his spirit of independence and rebellion against ill-informed authority inspired part of Gabe Pender’s character.
Andy Marein and Rhonda McDonnell are veterans of the Novel-in-Progress Bookcamp and accomplished writers who bring intellect, empathy, and integrity to everything they do, including the analysis of a colleague’s work.
Geoff Coulson’s day job is warning preparedness meteorologist for the Meteorological Service of Canada. Geoff took the time to educate me about extreme weather events in the northern plains and prairies of North America. There aren’t many, and a derecho of the magnitude described in this book hasn’t been observed in the Canadian Shield, but it lingers on the edge of possibility.
My special thanks to two editors: Chris Nelson gave me early encouragement and direction, and Richard Thomas (of Darkhouse Press) provided the comprehensive critique that shaped the final draft. All writers should have the benefit of editors like these, and more important, all writers should appreciate the unique value they bring to our work.
And finally, my thanks to Al Hembd, a veteran of the shooting war in Vietnam and a friend who took the time to share his thoughts about this book, and especially about Gabe Pender.