Jern’s update
No forgiveness cuts deeper than the kind you owe yourself.
Memento Mori was born from a single image: a rainy night, a young man sitting alone in a dim bedroom, talking to a skull as if it were the only soul who truly listened. The moment whispered of guilt, grief, and the hazy boundary between the living and the dead. From that one scene, Mason took shape—and the story began to take root, dark and unrelenting.
The inspiration found me while travelling through Ireland. I had a long stopover in Cork, a city that hums with contradictions. The River Lee winds through its heart like a silver thread, dividing and rejoining. The University College Cork nestles among the trees, its Gothic arches and shadowed courtyards carrying a quiet sort of dignity. On damp evenings, the city glows—streetlights reflected in wet cobblestones, church spires piercing low clouds. There’s a weight to the air there, the scent of rain and stone and older secrets that never quite wash away.
This is my third trilogy, but writing Mason pushed me well beyond my comfort zone. There were moments I found myself hesitating—small personal hurdles that mirrored his own quiet struggles. Mason is fragile, yet resilient; I often cheered him on as he stumbled through the dark. But there were times, more than I’d like to admit, when I wanted to reach through the page, still his restless mind, and simply hold him for a while.
Memento Mori wasn’t an easy story to write, but it was worth every step. I grew as a writer—and as a person—and the story became everything, and more, than I had first imagined on the page.
I’m often asked what genre Memento Mori belongs to. On the surface, it’s a murder mystery—a tangle of secrets, lies, and quiet reckonings. But at its core, it’s a story of love—not the simple kind, but the kind that binds the broken together, that grows in the cracks, that turns strangers into family.
Because in the end, Memento Mori isn’t just a reminder that we die.
It’s a reminder that we live—and that even in the darkest corners, there is always something left worth saving.
— Jern
Eddie’s update
Most excitingly for me, I have released the audiobook for Murder in Treggan Bay. I’m really pleased with how it came out, and thoroughly enjoyed giving a voice to Noah and all the residents. This week, I hope to start recording The Watchman’s Secret. If you want to know more, remember I did some segments for the NosillaCast podcast.
- Recording an Audio Book — by Eddie Tonkoi - Podfeet Podcasts
- Producing an Audiobook — by Eddie Tonkoi - Podfeet Podcasts
I’m writing a follow up, a structured series on how I am recording the current book.
Finally, I have also been busy working on translations, which are now on Kindle Unlimited for German and Spanish versions of both Treggan Bay Mysteries, and a German version of Lanta. More is coming soon, I just need to keep spinning the plates.
— Eddie
Latest releases
With Jern completing older trilogies and writing new stories, it has been a productive year.
- The Boy with the Crow (Memento Mori Book 1)
- Lanta (German)
- The Watchman’s Secret (German and Spanish)
- Murder in Treggan Bay (German and Spanish)
Upcoming
Memento Mori (The Mason Trilogy)
- The Boy with the Crow (Released Jan 15)
- Judas and the Ghost (Feb 12)
- The Boy the Wolves Took (Mar 12)
Treggan Bay Mysteries
- Murder at Torre Manor (Soon)
In closing
The first half of 2026 promises to be another busy period of releases, and we haven’t even mentioned werewolves yet. If you have any questions or just want to reach out, please do get in touch.