Wicked Break (23 page)

Once again, it takes a huge cast to make me look anywhere close to good….

Mario Acevedo, Margie Lawson, Tom Lawson, Sandy Meckstroth, Jeanne Stein, Kevin Tracy, and Sue Viders all read some early version of this novel and offered suggestions that made it much better.

My agent Victoria Sanders continues to be an enthusiastic supporter and guiding force—I can't thank her enough, but I'll continue to try.

Big thanks to all the people at Dutton, NAL, and Penguin Group USA who have gone above and beyond to help me, including Brian Tart, Lisa Johnson, Beth Parker, and Molly Boyle. Special thanks to my editor extraordinaire Martha Bushko, who, with much humor, patience, and an unerring eye, reminds me of where I'm trying to go no matter how much I try to veer off course.

To the family and friends too numerous to name—your support the first time around made the whole trip more enjoyable than I could've imagined. Thank you.

To Stephanie and Hannah—I am a grumpy old troll to live with when writing a book. Thank you for supporting grumpy old trolls. I love you both.

Jeff Shelby grew up around the beaches of southern California and graduated from the University of California at Irvine. Shelby recently moved to Colorado with his wife and their daughter but he returns to California as often as possible to go surfing.