Joe Sanchez, Archives Technician, The National Archives at San Francisco, for educating me on the Alcatraz materials stored at the facility and the time frame in which the documents arrived there; and for providing me with the current disposition of former inmates.
Roger Lamm and Bob Goldberg, for sailing around the island and giving me difficult-to-obtain views of Alcatraz. Gaining perspective on an island requires not only being on it physically, but viewing it from the outside looking in.
Mark Safarik, Senior FBI Profiler and Supervisory Special Agent (ret.). The novel is dedicated to Mark, but without Mark’s eighteen-plus years of tutelage on behavioral analysis, I would not have been able to conceive of the story, let alone write it with any degree of accuracy. Mark also helped me with Vail’s “New York problem”-and did his usual, detailed review of the manuscript.
Jeff Jacobson, Esq. My brother was my initial point of contact and answer machine for issues and questions pertaining to MacNally’s legal problems and Scheer’s sordid background.
Scott Portier, electrician, for instruction on how to torture someone using exposed electrical wires. That sounds odd, but it is what I asked him about, and it is what we discussed.
Kevin Smith, my editor. I’d like to say that after four novels, Kevin and I have fallen into a rhythm. But I can’t-because we were in lockstep from the moment we started working together on The 7th Victim. In baseball, some pitchers prefer to work with certain catchers because they call a great game and coax the best performance out of that pitcher on a given day. Kevin is my personal catcher…helping me throw the well-pitched game with minimal errors.
On the topic of errors, kudos to Anais Scott, my copyeditor. I’m increasingly convinced that Anais is not really human. She sees things-catches things-that everyone else’s brain slides past. When I think I’ve found something on which she goofed (we’re all human, right?), she replies with a detailed explanation as to why I was wrong. So I stand corrected. She’s right-and for that, I benefit.
John Hutchinson and Virginia Lenneville of Norwood Press for producing the classy Karen Vail trilogy boxed set and for being the driving force behind the Inmate 1577hardcover release. They are a class act, and I’m excited to be working with them.
Daniel Tibbets, Thomas Ellsworth, and Hutch Morton of Premier Digital Publishing. Their vision, vast experience, and enthusiasm for this project were instrumental in successfully launching me into the eBook realm. Special shout-out to Lorianne Tibbets for her sharp proofing eyes and behind-the-scenes assistance.
Joel Gotler and Frank Curtis, my agents, for taking care of the business side of publishing so that I can spend more of my time doing what I do best.
Jill, my wife, who has put up with insane schedules, long hours, and the unrelenting stress of multiple deadlines. I look forward to spending more time with you.
Additionally, many thanks to my draft readers, whose sharp eyes caught a litany of typos: C. J. Snow, and Jeff and Danielle Jacobson.
Thanks, as well, to those who have helped me get my books into readers’ hands: the awesome Tom Hedtke, Vicki Lorini, Keith Kilby, and Nathan Spradlin; John Keese; Valerie Burnside, Kara Schneider, and Jeff Bobby.
Marc Stiles; Patrick Malloy; Pam Woods, Kirk Pasich; J. B. Dickey, Fran Fuller; Joan Hansen; Patrick Millikin; Bobby McCue, Linda Brown; Jennifer Ballot; Scott C. Maynard, Amanda Kruse, Patrick McGhee, Sheree Tolman; Peter MacHott, Willie Davis, Jennifer Griffiths; Bonnie Lewis, Chris Bravo. Douglas Thompson; Russell Ilg; Jeane Coggan, Kristine Williams.
Ed Kauffman; Robert Snyder, Bob Blake, Francis Murphy, Ted Pelonis; Andrew Gulli; John and Shannon Raab; Terry Louchheim Gilman, Maryelizabeth Hart; Patrick Heffernan, Lori Burns, Linda Tonnesen; Chris Acevedo, Daniel Piel; Barbara Peters, Will Hanisko; Terry Abbott.
Stuart McMillian, Guy Farris, and Melissa Crowley (News10’s Sacramento & Co.); Janice DeJesus of The Contra Costa Times; Elise Cooper.
Jane Willoughby and Ingram Losner; Wayne and Julia Rudnick; Len Rudnick; John Hartman; Andrea Ragan; Russell and Marion Weis.
Special thanks to Terri Goodwin Landreth and Sandra Clark Soreano for taking the lead to organize the entertaining “Fans of Alan Jacobson” Facebook group, which connects me with my readers and fans. To check it out, go to http://on.fb.me/ic8lVl.
Fact vs. Fiction: Walton MacNally’s Alcatraz escapes
The escape of John and Clarence Anglin and Frank Morris was a real event, and was the most daring, careful, and impressively planned prison escape in United States history. The actual timeline and events were more fantastic than portrayed in Inmate 1577; the breakdown of penitentiary rules and executive discipline was undeniably shocking, and each successive blunder played an increasingly important role in the success of the escape. Ironically, if any one of the lapses had been corrected, the attempt would have been foiled. But these failures-from administrative shortsightedness and odd decisions among the Bureau of Prisons budget misers to the blunders made at the local level, resulted in one of the most fascinating, and nearly mythical, stories in US history. Please continue reading at inmate.alanjacobson.com.
About the Author
ALAN JACOBSON is the National Bestselling Author of the critically acclaimed thrillers False Accusations, The Hunted, The 7th Victim, Crush, Velocity, and Inmate 1577. Alan’s novels have appeared on numerous “Best Books of the Year” lists, including the Top 10 for Library Journal, The Strand Magazine, Suspense Magazine, and the Los Angeles Times.
Alan’s eighteen years of research and training with law enforcement have influenced him both personally and professionally, and have helped shape the stories he tells and the diverse characters that populate his novels. His books have sold internationally, and two of his novels are currently under development in Hollywood.
As part of his work with the FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit, Alan coauthored a personal safety booklet with senior FBI Profiler Mark Safarik that they are providing free on Alan’s website, AlanJacobson.com.
Follow Alan on Facebook and Twitter (@JacobsonAlan) or use the links posted on his website.
