Sylacauga is a lovely small town located in central Alabama near the Cheaha Mountains. They have a full-time sheriff and police force and a population of around 12,000 folks who will probably read this book and wonder if I’ve ever been to the place. I assure you that I have, but please keep in mind that this is a work of fiction and I have taken great license with streets, buildings, and local landmarks just to make it easier on myself. Like many small towns—north, south, east, or west—Sylacauga is a peculiar blend of friendly, good folks and a smattering of bad. You can find out more by visiting the place yourself or going to Sylacauga.net. While you’re on the web, you can also look up the name Billy Jack Gaither to see the darker side of small-town life.
This book has been a long time coming for me. When I first wrote Blindsighted, I knew that one day I would delve into Jeffrey and Sara’s past, so in subsequent books, I left some clues for folks as a little reward for those who were paying attention. My sincere thanks to y’all for being there from the start and making it possible for me to keep doing what I love most: being a writer.
My agent, Victoria Sanders, is a great friend and champion of my work. Meaghan Dowling and Kate Elton are the best editors a girl could ask for. Ron Beard, Richard Cable, Jane Friedman, Brian Grogan, Cathy Hemming, Lisa Gallagher, Gail Rebuck, and Susan Sandon are my heroes. Sales, design, and marketing teams have my thanks for their generous support. There are plenty more people to name, from the ladies in Scranton to the guys who drive the trucks, but space being limited, please know you all have my sincere gratitude for the wonderful job you do.
Dan Holod reviewed gun stuff for me, but any mistakes are entirely my own fault—and please remember this is a work of fiction, not a how-to manual. Yet again David Harper, M.D., came to the rescue, making Sara really sound like a doctor. Steve Asher and friends at the National Hemophilia Foundation helped with some tricky problems and I hope I got everything right. Patricia Hawkins, Amy Place, and Debbie Hartsfield (formerly the Smart sisters) provided some interesting facts about their hometown, and I hope I managed to capture the flavor of the place through them.
Fellow authors helped me keep my chin up. I won’t name them here, but you can find most of them in Like a Charm, the serial novel I worked on while writing Indelible. Markus Wilhelm deserves special thanks, as does Harlan Coben, who is the only person on earth allowed to call me number two.
Lastly, I’ve had Sara drive a BMW in every one of these books in the hopes that the nice folks over in Munich will thank me with a shiny new 330ci. No luck yet, but I’ll keep trying. Likewise, Tom Jones and Shelby Lynne. Y’all don’t call…y’all don’t write…