Gishani pored over Depth Charge, page by page, helping craft plot, relationships, names, and giving honest feedback on readability. She helped set up the Depth Charge website and has promised to help package and ship the books when orders come in. And she has supported us both, without complaint, while I spent months chasing a dream. Gishani always told me that she believed I’d be a novelist one day. Well, here I am, and it’s largely thanks to her.

Finally, what novelist doesn’t thank his parents? We often joke that my wife and my mother compete for the title “Number One Fan,” but if longevity counts, then Mom wins. As far back as I can remember she encouraged and celebrated my writing, and my reading. She always has been my champion, cheering for me from the bleachers, no matter what I’ve done or how well I’ve done it. The love of a mother knows no bounds and I owe a life of happiness and success to her.

Though Dad likes to pretend he keeps a tight rein on their finances, I know he’d relent if Mom decides to buy 100 copies of Depth Charge. Dad has always been the rock, the strong support our family relied on while we had our fun. I can’t count how many times he bailed me out or lent practical advice and a lifetime being his son has given me the strength and confidence to even write this book. He’s also afraid of deep water, one trait I’m glad I didn’t inherit from him.

I want to acknowledge two books I read that provided good background for some themes in Depth Charge. Stalin’s Gold, by Barrie Penrose, explores the salvage of gold from a sunken British warship in the Barents Sea. It is a daring story that could have been a thriller if it wasn’t true and it provided ideas and inspiration for Depth Charge.

The Hermes Adventure, by Rex Morgan, is a fascinating firsthand account of an expedition to dive the HMS Hermes wreck, written by the son of the photographer who was on board Hermes when it sank in 1942. The book spans three generations and 40 years, from Australia to Sri Lanka, and has some amazing photos and accounts of the ship’s sinking by her surviving crew.