The Amazing Airship Adventure (6 page)

Special Thanks

Derrick Belanger
would like to thank all of the people who offered feedback and advice while he wrote this exceptional story: Harrison and Chris Cramer; Jennifer Viers; Leigh Meinig; Karen Cohn, your advice was invaluable; Neely and Juliana Hanski; Tina and Maxine Gosselin; Beth Mason and her family; Griffon Garcon; Mike Hogan; Mark Wayne McGinnis; Stephen Seitz; Steve Emecz; Lynn Gale; Dr. Watson's Neglected Patients; The Undershaw Preservation Trust; Stepping Stones School; Century Middle School and the Adams 12 Five Star School District; Sir Arthur Conan Doyle; and, of course, the world's two biggest kids, Chuck and Claudia Davis. Without your valuable insights, I don't think I could have made this delightful adventure.

The author would also like to thank his parents, Dennis and Ellen Belanger, and grandmother, Barbara Rousseau, for their support; Brian Belanger, the best big brother he could ask for; Traci Belanger, for letting Brian out to play; Abigail Gosselin, his wife, for not minding too much the time the writing took away from family and chores; and Phoebe Belanger for patiently waiting for the second book to be dedicated to her.

Brian Belanger
would like to thank: my brother Derrick for writing this book and collaborating with me on all the other stories I hope we get to tell; my wife Traci for providing a sounding board and understanding that sometimes I've just got to draw; Steve Emecz for being a publisher extraordinaire; Sir Arthur Conan Doyle for creating Sherlock Holmes and his supporting cast, and Godzilla, for proving that monsters can be heroes, too.

Author Derrick Belanger
is the editor of the bestselling two volume anthology,
A Study in Terror: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Revolutionary Stories of Fear and the Supernatural
, which may be too scary for readers of this book. He is a middle school Language Arts teacher, and he loves young adult literature as well as anything and everything to do with Sherlock Holmes. Derrick lives in Broomfield, Colorado with his wife, Abigail Gosselin, and their two daughters, Rhea and Phoebe.

Illustrator Brian Belanger
is the cover artist and a contributor to the bestselling two volume anthology
A Study in Terror: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Revolutionary Stories of Fear and the Supernatural
. He has always loved to draw, laugh, dance and sing, but not always when other people are around. Brian lives in Manchester, New Hampshire with his wife Traci.

You can learn more about Derrick and Brian Belanger by visiting their web site,
Belanger Books
, at:
www.belangerbooks.com
.

Illustrator Dedication

To Mom ---

Who gave me my lifelong love of books
. See what happened?

Save Undershaw

A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this book will go to
The Undershaw Preservation Trust
. Undershaw is a former home of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes. It now houses the
Stepping Stones School
, a school for special needs students. The money raised from the sale of this book will help preserve the building, so you can go see the place where Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote,
The Hound of the Baskervilles,
the most famous Sherlock Holmes story of all time.

To learn more about Undershaw, please visit the web site at
www.saveundershaw.com
.

To learn more about the Stepping Stone Schools, please visit the web site at
www.steppingstones.org.uk
.