Forty Acres: A Thriller (36 page)
Read Forty Acres: A Thriller Online
Authors: Dwayne Alexander Smith
Acknowledgments
T
he journey from coming up with the idea for
Forty Acres
to having the book finally published was like a dream come true.
First and foremost, I’d like to thank Mr. Bill Teitler. Bill and I met initially to discuss one of my screenplays. Typically, during a first meeting between producer and screenwriter, the producer will ask, “so, what else are you working on?”
I told Bill about my half-finished manuscript called
Forty Acres
. . . and he loved it. For a year he poked at me to finish, but I was too busy. Finally, he convinced me to let him read what I had. Bill liked it and asked if he could show it to a literary agent he knew. Then things really took off. Without Bill Teitler’s encouragement and tenacity
Forty Acres
might still be sitting in a drawer.
Also, a huge thank you to the Friedrich Agency: Lucy Carson, Nichole LeFebvre, Molly Schulman, and most of all to my agent Molly Friedrich. When I walked into their offices in New York for the first time, the enthusiasm in the room was palpable. Being new to publishing, there’s a lot I don’t know. Led by Molly Friedrich’s wisdom, the support, guidance, and patience that these amazing women showed me has been invaluable. And even when the pressure was on, Molly’s frank yet delightful wit always kept me smiling.
And thank you also to the team at Atria Books for their hard work on
Forty Acres
. Publisher Judith Curr, Daniel Loedel, Stacey Kulig, Jeanne Lee, and my editor Peter Borland. Molly said I was lucky to have Peter as an editor and from the moment I met him I knew she was right. Peter’s passion and insights were truly an inspiration. Everyone at Atria did a great job. I couldn’t be more proud of the final product.
I write alone, but not really. Instead of a writing partner, I use the people around me as sounding boards. I always feel self-conscious about calling up friends to test yet another idea, worried that I bug them far too much. Surprisingly, they are usually very generous with their time and show a great amount of patience as they help me find my way.
A heartfelt thanks to my friends William Massa, Gordon Chou, Suzanne Miller, Al Valentine, Robert Brody, Glen Beltran, Greg Zehentner, Michelle James, Craig Feagins, Angel Nieves, and Felicia Rivera.
One final thank you to my fiancée, Stephanie Warren, for making an exciting time in my life . . . even more exciting.
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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2014 by Damn Good Idea Productions
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First Atria Books hardcover edition July 2014
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Jacket design by Lucy Kim
Jacket photographs: Cotton field © Dana Tezarr/Getty Images, Afican Black Eagle © Stephen Alvarez/Getty Images, Barbed wire fence © Stephen Shepherd /Getty Images
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Smith, Dwayne.
Forty acres : a thriller / Dwayne Alexander Smith.—First Atria Books hardcover edition.
pages cm
Summary: “A thriller about a Black society with a secret”—Provided by publisher. 1. African American lawyers—Fiction. 2. Secret societies—Fiction. 3. Human trafficking—Fiction. I. Title.
PS3619.M58165F67 2014
813’.6—dc23
014000803
ISBN 978-1-4767-3053-0
ISBN 978-1-4767-3055-4 (ebook)
Contents