Vail 02 - Crush (56 page)

Laura Stine
, my project editor. Laura is the embodiment of dotted i’s and crossed t’s. With so many moving parts at the production end of publishing a novel, it’s essential to have a chief at the helm making sure the hard work gets packaged into a polished final product.

Anais Scott
, my copy editor. There are an unfathomable number of details to keep straight across four hundred pages, and having someone trolling my sentences with Anais’s extraordinary attention to detail is vital.

Jen Ballot
, my publicist. Jen did an unbelievable job setting up a successful, aggressive, and full-scale book tour in the most challenging retail and promotional environment in decades.

Joel Gotler
and
Frank Curtis
, my agents. As fortunate as I am to have Roger Cooper as my publisher, I’m equally as blessed to have two agents with the decades of experience Joel and Frank possess. They have freed me to think less about the business of rights, subrights, and contracts—and more about creating unique stories and characters.

Gil Adler
and
Shane McCarthy
, the producers who bought the film rights to
The 7th Victim
and my (eventually) forthcoming novel,
Hard Target
. They have made my first Hollywood experiences special, memorable, and enjoyable. I couldn’t have asked for better people to work with in this process.

Jill
, my wife, best friend, and editor. I’ve joked that there’s a lot of me in Karen Vail . . . but there’s also a fair amount of Jill in Karen Vail. Jill’s influence is felt throughout the manuscript, not just from our trips to (and experiences in) the wine country, but also behind the scenes, in her critical review of the story and characters. She has put up with me being sequestered in my office toiling away at these pages all day and night, and well into the morning hours. Thanks for being patient.

To
my readers
. . . Thanks for your support, for spreading the word about “Alan Jacobson” to friends, family members, neighbors, colleagues, book clubs, and bloggers. My promise to you is that I will always try my best to entertain you with unique characters and interesting stories. Come out and see me sometime at one of my signings. I’m here for you.

Thanks, as well,
to those who went above and beyond to help sell my books
: Nanci Gill, Carey Pena, Gretchen Pahia, Larry Comacho,
Dave Anderson, Helen Raptis, Leslie Martin, Kelly Jackson, Dan Elliott; Marianne McClary, Nick Toma, Mark S. Allen; Bill Thompson; Tom Hedtke, Beth O’Connor, Vicky Lorini; Colleen Holcombe; Jeff Broyles; Terry Abbott; Pam Chadwick, Doran Beckman; Mary Ann Diehl; Judy Wible, Jackie Kelly; Gunjan Koul; Douglas Thompson; Jean Coggan, Kristine Williams; Shana Pennington-Baird; Russ Ilg; John Hutchinson, Virginia Lenneville; Ruth and Jon Jordan; Alex Telander; Jared Martin; Debbie White, Alison Meltcher; Torey Harkins; Jeff Bobby; Joel Harris; J. B. Dickey, Maryelizabeth Hart, Terry Gilman, Patrick Heffernan; Joan Hansen; Bobby McCue, Linda Brown, Pam Woods, Kirk Pasich; April Lilley, Christine Hilferty; Lorri Amsden; Jeffrey Jacobson; Corey Jacobson; Russell and Marion Weis; Marci and Paul Ortega; Len Rudnick; Wayne and Julia Rudnick; Marc Hernandez, Ronny Peskin; Marc Benezra (fifty times over); Bill Kitzerow (you da man!); Mikel London, Tim Murphy, Dennis Hoover; John Hartman; Perry Ginsberg; Florence Jacobson; Pete Bluford; Andrew Gulli; Art O’Connor; Sarie Morrell; Anthony and Herta Peju, Peter Verdin, Katie Lewis, Stacee Cootes, Alan Arnopole, Robert Sherman, Helena Frazier; Micheal Weinhaus; C. J. Snow; Aaron Matzkin; Heather Williams; Mike and Betsy Schoenfeld; Josh and Debbie Sabah; Dena Benezra; Richard Grossman; Mimi Graham-Rose; Susanna Yao.

Author’s note
: For obvious reasons, some of the locations mentioned in the novel are fictitious; many, however, are real. For those of you visiting the region, stop by the real wineries and restaurants mentioned in
Crush
for some world-class Napa Valley wine (for a list of these wineries, wines, and restaurants, visit
www.crush.alanjacobson.com
).

I’ve attempted to ensure accuracy—but despite my best efforts, it’s likely I’ve blown some fact somewhere among these four hundred pages. This is not a function of the aforementioned esteemed professionals I consulted, but rather my own error. If I unwittingly omitted anyone from the acknowledgments, please forgive me.

ALAN JACOBSON
is the national bestselling author of the critically acclaimed thriller
The 7th Victim,
which was named to
Library Journal
’s “Best Books of the Year” list for 2008. Alan’s years of research with law enforcement, particularly the FBI, influenced him both personally and professionally and have helped shape the stories he tells and the diverse characters that populate his novels.

Both
The 7th Victim
and one of Alan’s forthcoming thrillers,
Hard Target
, are currently under development as major feature films with an A-list Hollywood producer.

Visit Alan at
www.AlanJacobson.com
.

For more information on Crush, visit
www.CrushNovel.com
.

Copyright © 2009 by Alan Jacobson

 

Sherlock Holmes quotes used with permission of the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Literary Estate

 

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eISBN : 978-0-786-75148-8

 

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