Chapters (77)
- Cover
- Endorsements
- Books by Elizabeth Goddard
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Dedication
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
- FORTY-FOUR
- FORTY-FIVE
- FORTY-SIX
- FORTY-SEVEN
- FORTY-EIGHT
- FORTY-NINE
- FIFTY
- FIFTY-ONE
- FIFTY-TWO
- FIFTY-THREE
- FIFTY-FOUR
- FIFTY-FIVE
- FIFTY-SIX
- FIFTY-SEVEN
- FIFTY-EIGHT
- FIFTY-NINE
- SIXTY
- SIXTY-ONE
- SIXTY-TWO
- SIXTY-THREE
- SIXTY-FOUR
- SIXTY-FIVE
- A Preview of Book 2 in the ROCKY MOUNTAIN COURAGE Series
- Author’s Note
- Acknowledgments
- About the Author
- Back Ads
- Back Cover
But back to my story and the Iraq Museum—the facility held and displayed tens of thousands of relics from Mesopotamian, Babylonian, and Persian cultures. As of this writing, according to the FBI government site, up to ten thousand items remain missing, though elsewhere I read that nearly fifteen thousand are still missing, but obviously items continue to be found and returned. The FBI still lists the “Iraqi Looted and Stolen Artifacts” under the FBI Top Ten Art Crimes.
In my research, I learned how the Iraq invasion opened the doors for opportunists around the globe, including some within our armed forces, to take these items and sell them to the highest bidders, private collectors, and willing museums. My character, Chance Carter, was born to carry the burdens of these crimes from the past during his service in the Army to the present in modern-day Montana—and the deeper, sinister layers of my fictional story based in truth were born.
Acknowledgments
Special thanks to John Byas, US Forest Service Special Agent in Charge, for numerous phone calls and emails to answer my many questions and provide opportunities for my character to proceed as planned within the novel I had plotted! That said, mistakes are all on me along with taking a little artistic license.
Big thanks to Roxanne Henke and her small-plane pilot husband who prefers flying to acknowledgment. I appreciate learning everything that could go wrong in a small plane and also how to crash-land on a forest road! My deepest gratitude to my writing buddies who persevered with me through those years before we were published and now through the even more grueling years of keeping up with writing deadlines! You encourage and support me, and you’re there every day via our virtual world as if sitting in the cubicle right next to me—Shannon McNear, Lisa Harris, Susan Sleeman, Sharon Hinck, and so many more. You know who you are.
A very special thank-you to Janet Langell for taking in the strays and sharing your story about the dog who lost his boy. I loved that precious tale, and I’m so glad you allowed me to share it here (though Aunt Nadine was a complete figment of my imagination, and you are quite different and amazing!). And thank you, too, for watching out for my “lost boy” who stayed behind in Michigan to finish his degree when we moved to Washington.
I’m so grateful for the most amazing publishing team at Revell! Lonnie Hull DuPont, you ushered me into the trade publishing world. You will always be near and dear to my heart. Rachel McRae, I’m so grateful that God brought you to this place and that you chose me and this Rocky Mountain Courage story as your first acquisition. Amy Ballor, you keep my stories and facts straight! Karen Steele and Michele Misiak, you always have my back, and for that I’m eternally grateful.