This book has a made-up estate in Georgia that once enslaved people. I did my best to show how wrong this was and that the family was attempting to own it and make reparations for it. I hope that our country can do that as well. As I did this, I didn’t want to hurt anyone in the Black community or any other BIPOCs, so I asked several Black people in the bookish community to read the story and help identify any hurtful words and concepts that I might have included. I am incredibly grateful to Eros Lovelace, Korrie Kelley, and Kalie Phillips for being my sensitivity readers and helping to shape my words. I appreciate your time more than you will ever know. To anyone reading this who I still offended in some way, I am deeply apologetic, and I hope you will reach out to me so that I can continue to learn, grow, and get it right for the future.
The country I live in, the U.S.A., is a mess at the moment. But I also know that we are still a country that can get it right. That we can clean our own house and be a light in the world. It may not happen in my lifetime, but if we start now, we can make it a reality.
Regardless of the state of our country, this story has a Navy SEAL in it, and I wanted to make sure I represented the honor and commitment of those men and women in the military in the right light. To show their dedication to all of us and how they serve for the greater good.
To help me accomplish this, I read three books by Brandon Webb who is a former Navy SEAL about his experience in the military and his honor of his teammates and brothers who lost their lives fighting for our country: The Red Circle, The Killing School, and Among Heroes. Brandon’s words were easy to read and left me with an overwhelming sense of gratitude for the utter punishment these people put themselves through in order to protect us. To be the shield keeping us safe.
As I read, there were a whole slew of words from Brandon’s books that inspired words in my own. Here are some of those quotes from his books that you may see, not in their exact form, which inspired me to write Nash.
“He seemed somehow exempt from all the pushing and shoving. In a community where bragging is like breathing, he never talked about himself, and he never trash-talked anyone else, either. I never heard him bitch or complain, not about anything, not once. He just went about his business and got the job done.” This quote inspired my version of Darren as Nash sees him.
“Key is the ability to scan an entire environment and identify dead space, the three-dimensional area defined by a visual obstruction that can effectively shield you from an observer’s view. In a way, the art of stalking comes down to the ability to make yourself invisible—not exactly a Jedi mind trick, but pretty close.” Nash’s ability to read a scene and sneak up on others came from here.
“If I had to identify the one skill set shared most by the men who become part of the SEAL teams, it would not be athletic ability, physical strength, or pugnacious attitude; it would be sheer brain-power. Yes, it takes a certain amount of physical grit to get through BUD/S and the rest of the training involved in becoming a full-fledged SEAL. But far more than that, it takes the ability to maintain laser-sharp mental focus under any conditions and to think your way out of insanely tight spots.” “No, in real life these men are not steroidal supermen or one-dimensional fighting freaks. They are ordinary flesh-and-blood human beings who shape-shift themselves into something extraordinary through sheer will and devotion.” Both of these quotes inspired my entire character of Nash. He isn’t just a physical work of art; he is strength from the inside out.
“He was the ultimate ladies’ man. Unlike the stereotypical bad-boy heart-breaker, though, he left no trail of resentment or ill will behind him. All the women who loved JT had nothing but good things to say about him, even after he broke up with them. They all understood that his first love would always be the Teams.” Nash’s prior relationships and his need to get back to the Teams were inspired by this.
“Then they hauled me out again, soaking wet, took me back onshore, and started pounding my Trident. This is another navy tradition. A normal pin has a little metal or plastic backing that secures it on, like a tie tack, and keeps the pin from sticking into your skin. But there was no backing on my Trident. Used to be, when you’d earn your flight wings in the navy, they would call them your “blood wings,” because the guys would literally pound the pin into you,
