Though Marcus, as with all of the characters in this story, is not based on any one specific military veteran, many thousands of wounded warriors throughout the United States share his very real struggles. The Veterans Crisis Line is a free, confidential resource available to anyone, even if they’re not registered with VA or enrolled in VA health care. The caring, qualified responders at the Veterans Crisis Line are specially trained and experienced in helping Veterans of all ages and circumstances. Since its launch in 2007, the Veterans Crisis Line has answered more than 3.5 million calls and initiated the dispatch of emergency services to callers in crisis nearly 100,000 times. In November 2011, the Veterans Crisis Line introduced a text messaging service to provide another way for veterans to connect with confidential, round-the-clock support, and since then has responded to nearly 98,000 texts. If you or someone you know is a veteran in crisis and need to speak to someone urgently, call 1 800 273 8255.
Acknowledgements
Thank you to Rocco Rivetti for patiently imparting your wisdom and talent in detailed concept editing of the first two drafts of Big Green Country. Your keen instinct and insight into the human condition, gentle nudging and general all-round backing and faith in my work has taught me how to open all the drawers with more abandon, pull it all out and turn it upside down, peek into the glove box, populate the minutiae, dig for buried motivations in order to reveal the underlying feelings of my characters and the land they live in.
No manuscript of mine is ever complete without a round of expert treatment by book midwife Elaine Silver, who helped me to pick up the pacing two-years in. Thank you for speaking up for those who needed to be given a louder voice. And for your unstoppable scratching beneath the surface of this love affair of mine with regards to the lesser-known and more remote aspects of a region that I will never exhaust in my writing.
Michelle Wellington, for sharing the rich details of your teenage musical influences as a Northern California native. Though we’ve found so many common references between us in discussing the music of our transatlantic youth, the soundtrack of Bridget and Maggie’s coming of age is largely thanks to your invaluable insight and passion for the music of the ‘80s.
Thank you to early readers, Lesley McCullaugh, Kerry Parnell, Lindsey Chadwick and Dana Weitzenberg. Releasing this complex tale to the world was made so much easier after your insightful feedback and suggestions.
When I tasked proofreader Brenda Bellinger with the job of poring through this story with a fine toothcomb and employing an especially eagle eye in identifying my many subtle Britishisms, neither of us imagined how many had stubbornly hung in there, hoping to avoid exposure. In that vein, any bloopers, words or phrases that sound more British than American are the sneaky survivors of a long process!
Friends and family and my extended reader/writer community rallied me constantly and enthusiastically through more than three long years of writing and editing, revising and figuring out my path to publishing with this, my first work of fiction. You all know who you are. Together, we’ve gone through some wild times in Sonoma County over the past few years and we’re ever stronger together.
Morning walks with my rescue dog Rosie kept me sane and somewhat fit during this extended writing process. It was sweet, patient Rosie who accompanied me on my location scouting/research trips into Humboldt County and faithfully sat by my writing desk for hours at a time.
My three wonderful sons, Rocco, Luc and Dominic are my joy and inspiration as I pursue my passion for asking deeper questions of the world. I love you guys and thank you for making my life as a Mom so rewarding. Thank you, Dom for capturing my author headshot for Big Green Country under an ancient oak in our backyard. Fortunately, for me, Mr. Motivator, my husband is my biggest fan. Ultimate kudos go to Timo for encouraging and cajoling me all the way to the top of my steepest writing hill yet. Many hundreds of mugs of P.G.Tips tea graciously delivered to my desk have had a lot to do with it.
Translating contemporary culture into fiction has allowed me to the share stories of those who don’t ordinarily have much of a voice in our modern society in order to expose the cracks in the system and the dangers posed to the more vulnerable among us. I hope this book makes a difference.
Last but not least, if you’ve enjoyed Big Green Country, please do take a few minutes to give it a brief review online. Good, genuine reviews are golden and so, big thanks to any reader who feels this story warrants a few positive words to share with the world at large.
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