AFFILATION
Available Now
Scientists around the world have either abandoned their breakthrough medical research and disappeared or mysteriously died before finishing their work. But no one knows about it. They can’t be connected. That changes when a doctor working for one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world sends out a simple company email.
Now Matthews Pharmaceuticals employees who have opened the email are turning up dead. Steven knows he’s bound to be next. Not only did he open the email, he copied the attachment to a USB stick—not that he can understand the strange chemical formulas found on it, but he knows he has something important. As he runs for his life, Steven connects with others being targeted by Matthews. They now have a common goal: to find out what is on that USB stick. What is Big Pharma hiding? What is so important that they are willing to kill? |
Teaser Trailer
Acknowledgement
Affiliation is a work of fiction. There are big slices of truth in the book of how the
pharmaceutical industry operates. These are truths I’ve learned from over 35 years spent in the
industry. But the overall premise is fiction. Could the secret be true? Absolutely. The drug
industry, Big Pharma, hides much of what it does. The industry moves and works in the shadows
to a large extent. It is very protective of its intellectual property and could punish anyone who
tries to expose those guarded secrets. Hell, if KFC can keep its secret recipe guarded in a great
big, impenetrable safe, what would Big Pharma do to keep its secrets just that – secret.
I owe so much to so many people for bringing Affiliation across the finish line to publication. For
all the people at Friesen Press whose names I do not know but who I know worked on the book,
a big thank you. From editors and design people, the suggestions you made always made the
prose better and the book look better. There are three people at Friesen Press I want to give a
massive thank you. To Lee-Ann, Teresita and Rebekah. I could not have pulled this across the
finish line without your hard work, your kindness, your enthusiasm, your patience with a newbie
author and your constant encouragement to keep going. Teresita, your cover design has everyone
who sees it stop in admiration of how good it looks. It grabs people to grab the book. Thank you.
Lee-Ann, your constant coaching, encouragement, and your willingness to be available whenever
I needed to check in and seek help was invaluable to me in bringing Affiliation to life. I owe you
so much. To Rebekah, our constant communications always left me feeling better about how the
book would be received. Your enthusiasm, advice and kindness helped me stay on track and
meant more to me than I can express in a few short words. I owe you large.
For my family, with the help of Friesen Press I got Affiliation across the finish line, but I could
not have gotten it to the one-yard line without you. For Sam, even though you’re years away
from reading this book, I hope one day you’ll pick it up, read it and say to your friends, “my
granddad wrote this.” I hope you’ll be proud to do so. For Dayna, thank you for all your help, for
showing a social media dummy how Instagram works and for reading the book and giving me
the review you gave me. You swelled my ego but also told me that maybe, just maybe, I’d
created something worthwhile. For Ethan, thank you for encouraging me by continually asking,
“who’s gonna play the characters in the movie, Dad?” That meant more to me than you know.
For Taylor, a reader of this genre, thank you for agreeing to read the manuscript when it looked
like a dog’s breakfast. For giving it a solid read and coming back with a thumbs up. Telling me it
was good was one thing, believing it was good was something else. For Nicole, thank you so
much for reading the manuscript. Your review gave me the impetus to keep going and consider
moving forward. And the note you gave me after reading the manuscript will always be a special
part of my journey. To my wife, Lise. I got this to the one-yard line, but you more than anyone
got it across the end line. Your constant encouragement, asking/begging to read it and finally
your good swift kick in the ass got me to start the publishing process. You read it when it was
messy, liked it and kept the enthusiasm going. You never wavered as we went through the
publishing process. You never wavered in your belief in the book or me. Thank you. I love you. I
love you all.
pharmaceutical industry operates. These are truths I’ve learned from over 35 years spent in the
industry. But the overall premise is fiction. Could the secret be true? Absolutely. The drug
industry, Big Pharma, hides much of what it does. The industry moves and works in the shadows
to a large extent. It is very protective of its intellectual property and could punish anyone who
tries to expose those guarded secrets. Hell, if KFC can keep its secret recipe guarded in a great
big, impenetrable safe, what would Big Pharma do to keep its secrets just that – secret.
I owe so much to so many people for bringing Affiliation across the finish line to publication. For
all the people at Friesen Press whose names I do not know but who I know worked on the book,
a big thank you. From editors and design people, the suggestions you made always made the
prose better and the book look better. There are three people at Friesen Press I want to give a
massive thank you. To Lee-Ann, Teresita and Rebekah. I could not have pulled this across the
finish line without your hard work, your kindness, your enthusiasm, your patience with a newbie
author and your constant encouragement to keep going. Teresita, your cover design has everyone
who sees it stop in admiration of how good it looks. It grabs people to grab the book. Thank you.
Lee-Ann, your constant coaching, encouragement, and your willingness to be available whenever
I needed to check in and seek help was invaluable to me in bringing Affiliation to life. I owe you
so much. To Rebekah, our constant communications always left me feeling better about how the
book would be received. Your enthusiasm, advice and kindness helped me stay on track and
meant more to me than I can express in a few short words. I owe you large.
For my family, with the help of Friesen Press I got Affiliation across the finish line, but I could
not have gotten it to the one-yard line without you. For Sam, even though you’re years away
from reading this book, I hope one day you’ll pick it up, read it and say to your friends, “my
granddad wrote this.” I hope you’ll be proud to do so. For Dayna, thank you for all your help, for
showing a social media dummy how Instagram works and for reading the book and giving me
the review you gave me. You swelled my ego but also told me that maybe, just maybe, I’d
created something worthwhile. For Ethan, thank you for encouraging me by continually asking,
“who’s gonna play the characters in the movie, Dad?” That meant more to me than you know.
For Taylor, a reader of this genre, thank you for agreeing to read the manuscript when it looked
like a dog’s breakfast. For giving it a solid read and coming back with a thumbs up. Telling me it
was good was one thing, believing it was good was something else. For Nicole, thank you so
much for reading the manuscript. Your review gave me the impetus to keep going and consider
moving forward. And the note you gave me after reading the manuscript will always be a special
part of my journey. To my wife, Lise. I got this to the one-yard line, but you more than anyone
got it across the end line. Your constant encouragement, asking/begging to read it and finally
your good swift kick in the ass got me to start the publishing process. You read it when it was
messy, liked it and kept the enthusiasm going. You never wavered as we went through the
publishing process. You never wavered in your belief in the book or me. Thank you. I love you. I
love you all.