“Next time I’ll take you up during the day. We could follow the coast, like from L.A. to Seattle. It’s amazing.”
He looked so pale, but maybe it was the light in the cockpit. Was there fresh blood on his shirt? She couldn’t tell.
“Are you going to be okay, Danny?”
“I think so. If I can’t hang, we’ll stop. I promise. But I want to get across the border first, if we can.”
“Then what?”
“There’s people who owe me favors,” Daniel said. “And buddies of mine I don’t mind owing. Maybe they don’t have the juice that Gary does, but they’ve got some pull. Maybe it’ll be enough.”
What if it isn’t? was the obvious question to ask, but she didn’t feel like asking it. She had the sudden notion that they could just fly like this forever, stopping now and then for fuel, taking off again, going where they wanted. That wasn’t the way life really worked, and she knew that. But for now she would pretend it was.
We’ll land where we land, she thought. And I’ll take it from there.
[ACKNOWLEDGMENTS]
One of the best things about being an author is that I get to work with a lot of great people. It’s like finding one’s tribe.
Many thanks to Dave Barbor, Kerry D’Agostino, Holly Frederick, Cathy Perifimos and all the great folks at Curtis Brown, especially my agent, Katherine Fausset—your support, creative insight and unfailing good humor are deeply appreciated. Besides, you like Drew Brees. This is important.
I feel so fortunate to have landed at Soho Press, where I get to work with passionate, talented and, what can I say, really nice people. I don’t know who I’d rather crash a party with than the Soho Criminals. Thank you, Bronwen Hruska for continuing the fine tradition of founding editor Laura Hruska and for adding your own vision and talent to a wonderful company. Thank you, editor Juliet Grames, for your editorial insight and for understanding that sometimes I need to be talked off a ledge. Thanks as well to Mark Doten, Michelle Rafferty, Scott Cain, Ailen Lujo and Justin Hargett for your support and hard work. Thanks also to a group of Soho authors who unfailingly support each other and are just a blast to be around. Cara Black, who went out of her way to offer her friendship and advice, Tim Hallinan, the King of the Novel Café and the person I would always want to be on a panel with, Leighton Gage, Henry Chang, James Benn, Stuart Neville, Lene Kaaberbøl, Agnete Friis, Jassy Mackenzie—it’s a pleasure to be your label mates.
Thank-you, David Shoemaker, for designing a cover that I’m thrilled has my name on it, and my amazing web designer/host Ryan McLaughlin, who has been such a pleasure to work with over the last few years, and to copy editor Maureen Sugden, for her incredibly thoughtful and detailed attention to my MS and for understanding way more about commas than I ever will.
I’m incredibly fortunate to also be published by HarperCollins UK—and I have had so much fun working with editor Jane Johnson, editor Emad Akhtar and the rest of the team there. Thanks for the blingin’ gold foil! I hope to meet all of you in person some day soon, so we can settle once and for all where the “rug” in “rugby” comes from.
In my own life I’m fortunate to be surrounded by wonderful writers who have helped me immeasurably. Purgatory, Hellions, the Pit, the Fiction Writers Co-op, and of course, the Writing Wombats—all of you have been an unfailing source of cheer and support. Special thanks go out to beta readers Sherrie Super, Clovia Shaw, Sue Layborne, Jenn Nelson, Judi Fennell, Steve Prosapio, Christy Gerhart, Carol Galante and Gretchen McNeil. Other writers in my life whose support, emails and tweets have helped me on many a late night include Jenny Brown, Denise Dumars, Toni Dwiggins, David Fitzgerald, Jennifer Hillier, Jennifer Hubbard, Elizabeth Loupas, Jan O’Hara, Pat Shaw, and Robin Spano.
Other friends and associates who have enriched my life, bought me booze and generally made me happy to be around, including: John Amussen and Andrea Bailey, Maryelizabeth Hart, and the folks at Mysterious Galaxy, McKenna Jordan and staff at Murder by the Book, Maureen and Ed and the wonderful Ashland Mystery Reader’s Group, my fellow Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America, Ben Lucas, Billy Brackenridge, Bill Galante, Richard Burger, Lisa Gollin, John Clair, Tess Amato, Jordan Foster, Ebbins Harris, Tommaso Fiacchino, Tony Mandracchia, Todd Tatum, Sarah McCarry, Jim Bickhart, Anne Fishbein, Vivian Archer, Joe Touch, Deb Baumann, Callista Card, and Pete Sloman. I hope I haven’t forgotten anyone, though I’m sure that I have. I would be nowhere without my friends and family, and I’m grateful every day that all of you are in my life.
The wonderful folks in Puerto Vallarta who helped me with research and generally made me feel welcome, including: Tom Williams, Chuchi TresPesos, Heidi Di, Katherine Hardin, Maureen Power Marugan, Christine Vincent, Doug Danielson and the PV Writers group.
I owe special thanks to: Brian Thomas, for house-sitting and making sure the felines were fed and happy. Mimi Freedman and Jon Hofferman, my Buffy night companions and videographers. Dana Fredsti and Bryn Greenwood, for their multiple reads, editorial assistance, and in Bryn’s case, her ability to “literary it up” when I was panicking about creating readers guides.
I’m saving the most important thanks for last.
There are two people who deserve special kudos: Pilar Perez, who introduced me to the city of Puerto Vallarta and without whose friendship this book never would have been written. And Nathan Bransford, my former agent, who would not let me get away with a single flabby sentence or lazy plot point. It’s a working relationship that I will always treasure.
Finally, I would be remiss if I did not make this disclaimer: Puerto Vallarta is a beautiful, culturally vibrant city, with great restaurants, beaches and scenery, and I would not hesitate to vacation there any time. My main character’s fictional bad luck should not be taken as a disincentive to visit this wonderful place.
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