The first person I would like to mention is my wife’s aunt, Margean Gladysz, for her gift of providing the inspiration to write. It was the publishing of her adventures (A Spy On The Bus: Memoir of a Company Rat) that prompted me to even attempt to write a novel.
When I first came up with the idea for this book, being in the Science Fiction genre, I wanted the science to be as realistic as possible. So, the first person I contacted for technical assistance was Julie Edwards of the Mars Society. I asked if she could put me in touch with anyone that might be willing to answer questions as they arose. Julie proved to be a great contact, as she put me in touch with Brian Enke, the author of Shadows of Medusa. Brian’s assistance in orbital mechanics proved to be invaluable. Later, Julie was instrumental in putting me in touch with Alan Chen, who contacted Steve Foss, who then contacted Darrel Robertson. The cover art is based on original artwork by my wife, Lou Ann, which also appears within the pages of the book, and porthole photos by Darrel Robertson at the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah. Lou Ann also drew the sketch of the bolo, as well as the one of Earth, Mars, and Luna. Ben Slack finalized construction of the cover by using his computer skills to combine the artwork and add graphics. Thanks, Ben. J. B. Markus generated technical drawings. I think you will find he converted my pencil on graph-paper sketches to a usable spacecraft design, quite well. Now, I just need to find someone to build the real thing.
I would like to thank Dr. Geza Nagy of Infrastructure Composites International for answers to questions regarding the Mars Society’s Flashline Arctic Research Station Habitat construction, as well as Michelle Webb, Technical Services Representative for the Charlotte Pipe Company, for coming up with the weights and measures for the water pipe-storage concept and helping to establish the feasibility of such a system. Also, Dr. John Lennoff assisted with a bit of material science, in the form of leaded acrylic in place of the leaded polycarbonate, I had envisioned.