I wish to acknowledge and thank my loving, beautiful wife, Anne, and my wonderful son, Mason, for their patience, support and understanding during the long hours necessary to complete this challenging literary project – hours that, under other circumstances, would have been devoted to them. Thanks, guys, for your tremendous sacrifices on my behalf.
I cannot say enough about my publisher, Great Little Books, LLC, for recognizing and appreciating my literary potential and then demonstrating the courage, commitment, and entrepreneurial savvy to invest its financial and human resources in my first novel’s publication. Without GLB it would never have happened.
And to GLB’s principals, Linda Dini Jenkins and Barbara Worton, two very classy ladies and enormously talented writers themselves: thank you for your infinite energy and the many hours you devoted to this novel’s publication. Along the way, you educated me on the complex but fascinating process of book editing, printing, publication, distribution, promoting and marketing. To their respective spouses, Tim and Geoff, I also wish to express my appreciation: to Tim, for the most entertaining and educational tour of Manhattan I’m sure I’ll ever experience; and to Geoff, for his wonderful sense of humor and faithful laughter at my often lame attempts to be funny.
Many thanks, of course, to Dom Rodi, for his artistic magic which graces the book’s cover and his creative contribution to the book’s title. Dom’s talent is exceeded only by his soft spoken kindness and generosity.
Thanks also to Glenna Dowdy and Pat Collins, both good friends and former colleagues: to Glenna, for helping name “Mayson” and to Pat, whose assistance with the Italian vernacular truly made Mayson Corelli come to life. Gratitude is also due Deborah MacDonald and Pat Fielder, good friends whose encouragement and enthusiasm for my writing kept me going through those dark, gloomy days every writer experiences from time to time.
Finally I wish to acknowledge my deep indebtedness and undying gratitude to my good friend and Hilton Village Office pal, Jerry Fitz-Patrick, for introducing me to Linda Dini Jenkins and GLB. Thanks, Jerry, for opening that seemingly impenetrable first door to book publication.