A Word from Author Dr. Craig Mueller Same Characters, Two Stories: A Literary Alternate History. What’s Next? After writing Jackpot, I received a review that got me thinking about what other stories these characters might tell. The review itself is immaterial now, but it sparked a fascinating question:What if I took the same characters I’d grown to love and placed them in a completely different reality? Could I transform them from a romantic thriller into a medical thriller centered on a cancer cure conspiracy? This was literary alternate history—the same DNA, but a different organism entirely. The Assignment became my answer to the question: “What if their lives had taken a completely different path?” Same characters, different circumstances. Same relationships, different dynamics. Same core personalities, but facing entirely new challenges that revealed different facets of who they could be. I found myself asking: Would readers enjoy this kind of reimagining? Would they find it as fascinating as I did to see familiar characters navigate an entirely different story? The creative process was a bit otherworldly—like being given permission to play “what if” with my own fictional world. I was essentially creating a parallel universe where the same souls inhabited different lives, faced different choices, and revealed entirely new dimensions of themselves. Rather than choosing between two versions of the same story, I’d created two distinct stories that happened to share remarkable characters. Each book stands alone, yet together they offer something unique in literature—parallel narratives that explore the infinite possibilities within the people we think we know. I hope you’ll read both and share your impression. I’m also curious: which story do you believe has the most cinematic promise as a movie or series? The romantic thriller of Jackpot or the international conspiracy of The Assignment? What’s Next? Of course, the story doesn’t end in Atlanta. The Marchitello Estate in Italy beckons, where ancient vineyards hide secrets—and everyone has one. What’s brought Gina back? A secret revealed—or threatened too. Will Gus stay or go? That depends on how many secrets he can stand.   If you thought the conspiracies in Atlanta were complex, wait until you see what—and who–the Marchitello family has been protecting since World War II. Some secrets are buried so deep, they’ve become part of the soil itself. And when the past collides with the present, even the most loyal families must choose: Will the truth set them free, or destroy everything they’ve built? Because when Gus follows Gina to Italy, he’ll discover that some family histories are worth killing for—and some are worth dying to protect.

A Word from Author Dr. Craig Mueller How Jackpot came to be In the fall of our daughter’s senior year in high school, she approached my wife and me with a brochure for a European trip the following summer. Eight countries in sixteen days. Why not. One morning, as we left Switzerland and drove into Italy, I was overcome by the sunflowers. They were lifting their faces to the sun. I watched them do their version of ‘salutation to the sun.’ I told my wife beside me that if I ever won the lottery, I’d spend much more time traveling in Europe. With that comment, I reached for my journal and began writing what would become my novel, Jackpot.  For years, as I tinkered with the story, my wife and I discussed what would change in our lives if we won the Powerball Lottery — especially if we were starting out, like Gus and Gina. We, too, had dreams and fantasies. Then, I began asking friends and family what they would do if they won, and here’s what I concluded: most people have a wild fantasy about winning the lottery. Still, no one can say with certainty what they would do in that situation, or any problem, until they are in it. Have you ever found yourself in a situation where, prior to being in it, your attitude toward it was completely different? In my life, there are too many to count—after all, I am married, have children, siblings, friends, and a career. One thing I’ve concluded is that the only constant in my life is change—growth is optional.  On our European trip that inspired me to write Jackpot, I discovered that the richest moments were found in train rides, sunflower fields, new experiences with the people I love, broadening our world views, and shaping our lives. Turns out, I had the winning ticket all along.

A Word from Dr. Craig Mueller The Patient Who Changed Everything: What Inspired “The Assignment” I was standing behind the desk in my office on a Friday afternoon when my receptionist asked if a patient could see me privately for a moment. That serendipitous visit changed my life—and eventually became the inspiration for my novel, The Assignment. The patient, Jerry, stepped into my office carrying a white three-inch binder. His wife would be returning from Mayo Clinic in a few days, he explained. After nine months of treatment with no progress and too weak to continue, she was coming home to die. He wanted me to use a biofeedback device on her. Jerry set the binder on my desk. “This doctor has had great success curing cancers,” he said, asking if I would read the material over the weekend so we could discuss it Monday. I looked at the cover: “Who is William Donald Kelley, DDS?” By Sunday evening, I had read through Dr. Kelley’s protocol and formed a plan. I would test Judy’s electrical conductivity using my Bio Energetic Stress Testing (BEST) device—technology based on Reinhold Voll’s Electronic Acupuncture—and run specific frequencies through her body to see if anything would improve her electrical conduction. When I arrived at their rental property that Sunday afternoon, Judy was lying in a hospital bed in the front room, as gray as the pajamas she wore. I wasn’t even certain she acknowledged my presence. I began the treatment, measuring her electrical response at acupuncture points, primarily on her hands and feet. Her tone was remarkably low. Following Kelley’s protocol, I selected frequencies that brought her stressed points back into normal range, then instructed Jerry on the nutritional supplements to give her. Being a Doctor of Chiropractic, I had no experience with terminal cancer. I wasn’t treating cancer, I was treating Judy–trying to help her body become more vibrant. What happened over the following weeks amazed me: Week one: Judy was sitting up in bed and recognized me. Week two: She was walking to the bathroom unassisted. Week three: Judy answered the door herself—Jerry had gone to the store. Then Jerry called with devastating news. Judy had died. They had been doing so well, he explained, that they decided to go out for a real meal. That night, Judy woke with severe abdominal pain. Emergency surgery revealed an intestinal obstruction. She contracted a post-operative infection that led to sepsis. When Jerry brought me her death certificate, the cause of death was listed as post-operative infection—not cancer. The autopsy he had performed revealed no trace of cancer anywhere in her body. The cancer was gone. This experience opened my eyes to possibilities I had never considered. What if bioelectric medicine could truly eliminate cancer? What if there were researchers developing such technologies but being silenced by those who profit from keeping patients sick? That question haunted me for years and eventually became the foundation for The Assignment. In my novel, biomedical engineer Gus Meier discovers how to embed cancer-stopping frequencies into medical devices, but finds himself caught between desperate patients and a deadly pharmaceutical conspiracy. It’s fiction. Mostly. I mention Dr. Beard, Dr. Kelley, Dr. Voll, and Dr. Gonzales; they are all real. The potential of bioelectric medicine—is also very real, with real dangers faced by those who dare to challenge established medical paradigms. Judy Sullivan’s story taught me that extraordinary breakthroughs can happen quietly, witnessed by just a few people. But what if those breakthroughs could reach the world? What would someone risk to make that happen? For Judy, and for all the patients who might benefit from such innovations, this story needed to be told. Have you ever witnessed something that challenged everything you thought you knew? Share your experience in the comments below.