The Last Green Valley Read online

  Silvia Lass-Adelmann was my translator for research at the Political Archives of the German Foreign Office in Berlin concerning the Long Trek. I was also helped by archivists at the Romanian National Archives in Bucharest, at the US Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC, and at Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center in Jerusalem.

  I am blessed to have gone to O&O Academy in India to learn the principles of the spiritual philosophy of “Oneness” from my incredible teachers Krishnaji, Preethaji, and Kumarji. All three sages ended up influencing my depiction of the character Private Kumar. My experience at O&O also informed many other parts of this book and ultimately changed my life for the better. Bless you all.

  Thank you to my early readers: Damian Slattery, Connor Sullivan, and Betsy Sullivan.

  I am grateful for Danielle Marshall, my editor at Lake Union Publishing, who has had unshakable belief in this project since the beginning, and to Mikyla Bruder, publisher of Amazon Publishing, who has also been a big supporter of the Martels’ story. Thanks go as well to developmental editor David Downing, copyeditor Jane Steele, and production editor Nicole Burns-Ascue for making the story stronger and the prose tighter.

  Blessings also to my incredible publicity team—Ashley Vanicek at Amazon Publishing and Dana Kaye, Julia Borcherts, and Hailey Dezort at Kaye Publicity. I appreciate your getting the word out!

  And a big double curtain-call bow to my literary agents, Meg Ruley and Rebecca Scherer, for reading and rereading and rereading the various drafts of The Last Green Valley. Your eyes and sensibilities make me a better novelist. Thanks also to Jane Rotrosen, Sabrina Prestia, and everyone else at the Jane Rotrosen Literary Agency who keep my writing dream alive.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Photo © 2020 Elizabeth Sullivan

  Mark Sullivan is the acclaimed author of more than twenty novels, including the #1 Amazon Charts, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestseller Beneath a Scarlet Sky, which has been translated into thirty-seven languages and will soon be a limited television series starring Tom Holland. Mark also writes the #1 New York Times bestselling Private series with James Patterson. He has received numerous awards and accolades for his writing, including a WHSmith Fresh Talent selection, a New York Times Notable Books mention, and a Los Angeles Times Best Book of the Year honor. He grew up in Medfield, Massachusetts, and graduated from Hamilton College with a BA in English before working as a Peace Corps volunteer in Niger, West Africa. Upon his return to the United States, he earned a graduate degree from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University and began a career in investigative reporting. An avid skier and adventurer, he lives with his wife in Bozeman, Montana, where he remains grateful for the miracle of every moment. For more information visit www.marksullivanbooks.com.