Kris (35 page)

Without doubt my stalwart business partner Dominick Salfi has been mentor, friend and champion from the beginning of this project in 2001 and has given over his law firm, Salfi Law, to the dedication of this endeavor. Gayle Hair has been my faithful cheerleader from the very beginning. My partner and CEO of KRS Media Group, Bill Findley, brought personal resources and then jumped into the trenches with us—his effort has been monumental. Marcia Findley's faith and tremendous assistance made this book a reality. Pam Findley, outside of her constant support, has personally project managed the distribution of this book.
Without her, this venture would have had little hope for success. My great love and thanks to them all. As well, I would like to thank Kennan Burch and all of my Dream Builder friends for stoking the fires of my dreams and for always showing up, including Mark Carbone for his social media expertise, Roy Reid for his public relations guidance, and Derric Johnson for his counsel.

I must thank my publisher, Dave Welday, owner of Higher Life Publishing, for his immediate dedication to the creation of this novel, my production manager, Marsha McCoy, for keeping us organized, my supervising editor, Alice Bass, for her love and expertise, and my copy editor, Kathryn DiBernardo, for her brilliant if sometimes brutal comments. Their truth and artistry can never be paid for. (The extraneous preposition is just for them.) My great appreciation goes to Doug Berger and Simon Jacobson for the “Kris” titling and Santa is Real website, my friend and colleague director of photography Elie Alakji for taking pictures in the Arctic cold, Kaye Hanna for her masterful calligraphy, and Dave Murray for the cover illustration. I should probably thank Doug twice for all the different versions of the story I made him listen to and for graphic designing most aspects of the project over the last eight years.

It is important that I not forget to thank my Norwegian friends, whom I miss dearly. Kjetil and his wife, Gunn, opened their home up to me and made me feel like family. To their friends Mikal and Marianne, who introduced me to the living folk musical art form thriving in Norway today. Much thanks to Svein Anderson, who introduced me to his Sami relations. And maybe most of all to the Sami leader, Ole Mathis, who somehow got me up into the mountains of Lapland three hundred miles above the Arctic Circle and then brought me back out
alive. He transformed the story completely by teaching me that elves and reindeer are real. He is Pel.

The goal of this project is to add a piece to the global legend of Santa, and it is hard to express the sheer hours and collaborative thought that it has taken—though the above list looks long, it is by far complete. To all who have walked this journey with me, I thank you for your belief and contribution to the cause.

Christmas is a time of joy, a time of hope, a time when we are just a little better and the world is a little brighter. As I write this, I realize there are two very important people whom I have forgotten to thank.

Santa, thank you for the gifts. Thank you for never really caring if I was naughty or nice, for inspiring my dreams and imagination, and for sharing your story with me. I will look for you in the eyes of children this Christmas season.

And to the Child whose birth has inspired the season, thank You for hope. God bless.

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Download the
eBook edition of
KRIS—The Legend Begins
.
It's available through Kindle, Nook, iBookstore and other popular eBook download sites.

Order a deluxe hardbound edition of
KRIS—The Legend Begins
to share with friends and family.

We are working now on a fully illustrated children's edition of the story, illustrated by Huaixiang Tan. To request a special premier edition, visit our website at
www.santaisreal.com

KRIS—The Movie
.
We are seeking investors to produce KRIS as a major motion picture. To find out more about this exciting adventure, visit
www.santaisreal.com

Enjoy our advent calendar
filled with short inspiring videos that embrace the meaning of the Christmas season. You'll find it on the homepage of our website at
www.santaisreal.com
.

The fully illustrated children's edition of the story titled
Santa Is Real
, illustrated by Huaixiang Tan, will be available in 2011. To request a special premier edition, visit our Web site at
www.santaisreal.com
.

KRIS—The Movie
. We are seeking investors to produce KRIS as a major motion picture. To find out more about this exciting adventure, visit
www.santaisreal.com
.

Note: The nationwide release of this book will be mid-2011, so prior to that, copies are only available through the Author's Web site,
www.santaisreal.com
.

To learn more about
Kris—The Legend Begins
, please contact me at:

www.santaisreal.com