They

Acknowledgements

My deepest appreciation and thanks go to a wide array of people who supported me during the various stages of writing this novel:

My wife, Cathy J. Gonzalez, my daughter Hannah; my parents Jesus and Glenda Gonzalez, my in-laws, Joe and Lucy Becker; my friends Del and Sue Howison, Pete Atkins, Mark Williams, William Relling, Jr., Dave Nordhaus, Richard Laymon, David J. Schow, Gary Zimmerman, Debbie Daughetee, Kurt and Amy Wimberger, Glen & Emily Vasey, John Skipp, Buddy Martinez; to Sylvia Huth and company at Kaiser who kept me employed during the early stages of this project; to Paul at Thunderstorm Books for taking interest in the project and providing great feedback when I was tired of it; editorial peeps: Shane Ryan Staley, Don D’Auria, Jamie LaChance, Bob Strauss, and Tod Clark. To those who provided inspiration and support during the massive rewrite of this novel: Val Gunn, Michael Harrell, Bob Ford, Brian Keene, Cassi Keene, Chet Williamson, Geoff Cooper, Mike Hawthorne, Mike Oliveri, Ace and Jodi Martinez, Perry, Alex, and Carrie Martinez, Jesse Calleja, Richard Christian Matheson, John Skipp, Brian Emrich, Michael Lansu, Steve Calcutt, and Craig Spector.