Rising Tide

have to schedule a single entity to do what was done by three. Their team has done such a great job with many other tasks I’ve had them do on my behalf that I felt comfortable taking this next step. The only thing I don’t have them doing for this book is the editing, final proofreading, and narration of the audiobook. These tasks will stay in the capable hands of Marsha Zinberg, Donna Rich, and Nick Sullivan.

This novel is the twentieth in the Jesse McDermitt Caribbean Adventure Series. The first ten were quickly dubbed the Fallen Series by my readers and the next ten the Rising Series. But all twenty are part of the Jesse McDermitt Caribbean Adventure Series.

John D. MacDonald wrote twenty-one Travis McGee novels and for the last couple of years, I’ve struggled with whether or not I would match that number, out of respect for the man I consider the world’s best storyteller.

I have decided that there will be a twenty-first novel in the Jesse series, and God willing, quite a few more. Randy Wayne White has already shattered the Travis McGee ceiling and I make no effort to hide the fact that I try to follow Randy’s path in making decisions.

So, the title of the next Jesse book will be Steady as She Goes. But I’m not married to the idea of ten more with Steady in the title. We’ll see how that goes.

Finally, I owe a great deal of thanks to you, my loyal readers. You’ve been with Jesse for—believe it or not—twenty-two years of his life, though it’s only been a little over seven years in the writing of the stories. Fallen Out started in the spring of 1999, when Jesse retired from the Marine Corps. During the ensuing time, you’ve seen his daughters grow up, sometimes rather quickly, as I adjusted the time setting to catch up to current time. You’ve seen Jesse move from one relationship to another, sometimes with tragic consequences. For those of you who have stayed with us through it all, you have our undying gratitude.