Desperate (34 page)

At the end of every writing journey, it is a special pleasure to acknowledge the multitudes of talented people who have helped along the way. This work of fiction is no different than my previous in that I owe a debt of gratitude to those who assisted with its creation.

As a general disclaimer, I used experts for the many of technical details depicted in this novel, and any shortcomings in accuracy are mine alone. I’d like to thank Peter George, Nelson Ronkin, and Brian Milas, for their insights into corporate data security systems. Thank you to Brian Noe for sharing his knowledge about firearms. Phil Redman, an expert in wireless communications, offered the inspiration for what eventually became Olympian, while Lee Chong directed me regarding the more technical aspects of lithium ion battery manufacturing.

As with all my books, they would not read as they do without the keen insights and editorial eyes of my early readers, Clair Lamb, and my mother, Judy Palmer. My father, Michael Palmer, contributed his time and energy to the manuscript as well.

I auctioned the chance to name two characters in
Desperate
to benefit Raising a Reader MA and I’d like to acknowledge Donna Di-Fillippo for her continued efforts to help families of young children (newborn to age five) develop, practice, and maintain habits of reading with their young children at home. The winners of the auction picked the names Matt Simons and Jack Hutchinson.

I’m fortunate to have a fantastic publishing team including Meg Ruley and Rebecca Scherer of the Jane Rotroson agency. I’d also like to acknowledge the dedicated efforts of the team at Kensington, Steve, John, Laurie, Lesleigh, and Adeola. I’m grateful for your support.

I’d also like to give a special thank you to Tory Veiga for his insights and talent.

Desperate
is not a story about adoption, though adoption does play a pivotal role in the plot. It is my personal view that adoption is a beautiful way of bringing about the joy and blessing of adding a child to a family. I would like to acknowledge everyone involved in the process—from the lawyers, agencies, and social workers, to the families with adopted children, and birth mothers and birth fathers who help to make this blessing a possibility.

As Nat King Cole sang in his beautiful song, “Nature Boy”: “The greatest thing you‘ll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return.” To that end, I thank my wife and children who are there to reinforce this idea every day.

As always, I’d like to acknowledge my readers. Thank you for letting me entertain you for a while. It’s truly my pleasure.

KENSINGTON BOOKS are published by

Kensington Publishing Corp.
119 West 40th St.
New York, NY 10018

Copyright © 2014 by Daniel Palmer

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.

Kensington and the K logo Reg. U.S. Pat. & TM Off.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013920821

ISBN: 978-0-7582-9343-5

First Kensington Hardcover Edition: May 2014

eISBN-13: 978-0-7582-9344-2
eISBN-10: 0-7582-9344-5
First Kensington Electronic Edition: May 2014