Growing up in suburban Milwaukee wasn’t the most exotic or exciting life, but I found a kindred, dreaming spirit in my oldest friend, Christopher Winters. In high school, Chris and I shared musical tastes, wrote poetry, and went to coffeehouses while other friends were partying. Later on, it was with Chris that I did my first shipwreck dive, and we’ve shared countless adventures, both topside and underwater in years hence. The fact is, I always looked up to Chris. He took up acting, wrote a children’s book as a teenager, and took a bus to New York to try to get it published. He later became an award-winning maritime historian, author, and photographer. His focus, drive, and talents have always been an inspiration to me. Oh, and on a trip to Sri Lanka together, Chris started calling me “Tusker.”

Back when I was writing for Gear Patrol, I worked with a young editor named Chris Wright. I sparred with Chris occasionally over his suggested changes to my articles, but deep down I knew he was usually right and he made me a better writer. I told Chris that one day when I wrote my first book, I wanted him to edit it. With Depth Charge, that day arrived, and I cannot emphasize enough how much his editing improved the book you are reading. If you’re going to write a novel, never, ever, skip the editing. And if you can, hire Chris to edit it.

Nick Milanes, another Gear Patrol alum, came recommended by Chris to do the proofreading of the final layout. It takes a certain kind of person to proofread a 60,000-word 300-page book full of foreign names and arcane diving references, and Nick is that person. There’s nothing worse than opening a new novel and finding mistakes and typos, and the fact that Depth Charge looks so good is largely down to Nick.

The idea for Depth Charge was hatched in Jamaica, fittingly while my wife, Gishani, and I were staying at Goldeneye, Ian Fleming’s former estate. We were sitting by the lagoon after a morning snorkel when I got a bit of bad career news over e-mail. The decision to embark on a novel crystallized right there, and we immediately starting hatching plot ideas and possible publishing strategies, mere meters from where all of the James Bond novels were written.

The simple fact is, not only would Depth Charge never have been written, but I’d never have become the writer I am, if it weren’t for Gishani. Over our two decades together, she has always encouraged, cajoled, scolded, motivated, critiqued, and supported my writing efforts. She was there with me when I was writing my gear and watch reviews, taking the photos. And she always listens when I read out even my most boring work.