Acknowledgments and Dedications

Most books or novels have a page near the beginning that acknowledges someone who might have been helpful in the creation of the book or a page that dedicates the book to someone who the author might feel provided some kind of inspiration toward the creation of the book.

I do have an acknowledgment page in both Killer of Killers and The Vase. In KOK, my first book, I dedicated the book mostly to my family, (my brother, wife, and sons,) but I also acknowledged the martial arts academy who assisted me with the martial arts terminologies and philosophies. KOK has a lot of martial arts philosophies, and those philosophies are the same ones from that particular martial arts academy. It's where my son trained, and being a regular attendee, I was able to interview the senseis (instructors) and the shihan (that's the top guy who runs the place) and use the terms and philosophies that are used in that academy.

I dedicated The Vase to my colleagues and coworkers at the school and district where I work. I've had such a great experience being a teacher in the school district of my home town, that I thought it would be appropriate to cite them in the acknowledgment page for my second book.

My third book, Killer Eyes, the sequel to KOK is coming out this summer, but I haven't really considered to whom I will dedicate that book. The question is who inspired me for that book? A lot of people really have inspired me, and not all of those people were mentioned in those first two books. Probably no one really cares, but dedications are personal things - to the author if no one else.

That's why most authors dedicate their books to their spouses, their children, or even their parents - people who touched their lives in some personal way, or had a hand in the creation of the book - which is what I did for my first two books. But now that I'm on my third book, due out in a couple months, it's time to think about who's next. Not sure. Maybe I won't have an acknowledgment page. Not for my third, nor for my fourth, the John Dunn book. Still, it remains to be seen. We'll see.