Tragedy At Moon Books Publishing

Good morning, friends and fans.

This is a special note to inform you of the death of my friend Brandon Mullins late last night. Brandon was the CEO of Moon Books Publishing in Indiana, who was also responsible for bringing my books to you in audiobook format, as well as in paperback and eBook formats to Amazon. He also created the brilliant new-look covers for my books and series. With the release of "Prodigal Sun" and "Opsaal" - my 14th and 15th audiobooks - earlier this month, 2022 was really looking promising for both of us. Unfortunately, tragedy struck.

Late last Monday night local time, I was given the sad news by Brandon's wife Elizabeth, that he'd been taken seriously ill. More precisely, he'd been discovered sitting at his PC, clinically dead. That is, he had no pulse or respiration, and his wife and son had no idea for how long before they'd found him there. The paramedics summoned were able to successfully resuscitate him, and he was taken to a nearby hospital where he was placed on life support. Based on what was said, it's hard to tell what the cause for this was, as stroke and heart attack were both ruled out - or if he would survive, but I remained hopeful. He was placed on a hypothermic treatment and his temperature lowered for 12 hours, before being gradually raised again to normal over the next 24 hours. The aim of this treatment was to try to preserve what brain and heart function remained, but alas this was unsuccessful.

Over the few years of working together at Moon Books Publishing, Brandon and I had become good friends and we chatted online on an almost daily basis, when our different time zones and schedules allowed. Brandon was the driving force behind getting all my books onto Amazon and Audible and converting them into audiobooks since 2019. Living in South Africa can be such a handicap sometimes, and as an indie author trying to get anything done in the world from here, I was met with a lot of frustrating red-tape and obstacles - which he generously took upon himself to roll out of the way.

His friendship and support have been instrumental in my growth as a published writer, in expanding my brand, and most importantly, in not giving up due to continued lack of progress. As a publisher, he gave me that which I craved most as a writer and creator - creative freedom, and fandom.

I will miss Brandon Mullins not just because he was my publisher, but because he was my friend. We chatted online almost every day, even though we lived in different countries and time zones, and mostly we talked about our shared interests and things we got up to in our daily lives.

When I said something he thought was funny he would laugh and say something like "hehehe you goof". When I was down, he made me smile. Our daily chats had become part of my routine. Over the last 3 years of our friendship, he brought me many smiles. Mostly I will miss Brandon because he believed in me, made me feel good about myself, and supported my writing.

If it weren't for him, I'd not have advanced as far as I have since joining Moon Books in 2019. 2021 was a very good year for us book-wise, and we figured we were off to a good start for 2022. The light was bright, and our hopes were high. It just goes to show that nothing is set in stone.

His passing was so sudden and unexpected, it caught me by complete surprise. Things like this just aren't supposed to happen, but they do. I have few real friends, and now I have one less.

Farewell my friend, I already miss our chats and that creative buzz we shared.

To Elizabeth and Nathan, and those who knew him longer and better than I, I offer my sincerest condolences for your loss.

What impact this will have on my books published through Moon Books Publishing has yet to be determined, and I will keep you informed of any changes should they occur.

Meanwhile, thank you for your continued support.

Until next time, keep reading.