BEFORE YOU GIVE ME A DOLLAR, I'D RATHER YOU READ MY WORK.

My name is Darrin Matthew Peppers. I'm a legally blind author, blind in one eye with approximately 10% vision remaining in the other. I'm also a single father who has raised my autistic daughter on my own since 2015.

I built my career working from home so I could care for her, eventually homeschooling her from ninth grade onward.

When my eyesight deteriorated and my daughter needed medical care, she came first. I postponed my own eye surgery and began using my retirement savings to support us after losing the independent marketing work I'd spent years building.

My January 2025 University of Miami Health System estimate showed $31,822 in total estimated charges and $9,200 as my responsibility even with insurance. I am now uninsured and need an updated estimate.

I'm starting with a $10,000 fundraising goal toward eye evaluations, surgery, and directly related medical expenses. This initial target is based on the last documented estimate I received while I still had insurance. Because I am now uninsured, my actual treatment costs may be higher than my previous estimate. I will need updated examinations and a new surgical estimate, and I will keep supporters informed as those costs become clear. Any funds raised through this campaign will go toward my eye treatment, surgery, and directly related medical expenses.

But I don't want you to support me out of pity.

I've spent nearly twenty years creating a supernatural adventure series called Caleb & Bastet. Volume One, Recognition, is now published.

The Prologue through Chapter Three are available free.

READ THE FREE CHAPTERS

The complete novel is already published. If you'd like to discover the story, you can register for the complimentary opening chapters through my website. The preview is free to everyone, and no donation or purchase is required. Donations to this fundraiser are voluntary and will be used for my eye treatment and directly related medical expenses.

And if you'd rather help me directly with my eye surgery, you can donate here.

I lost the business. I lost most of my sight. I didn't lose the story.

IF YOU'D LIKE TO KNOW THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY...

I BUILT MY CAREER AROUND BEING HER DAD

I've raised my daughter on my own since 2015. Being her father shaped nearly every decision I made about my career and the life I wanted to build for us.

For years, I worked independently in online marketing, specializing in website development, search engine optimization (SEO), Photoshop, graphic design, digital advertising, and content creation. I built websites, designed graphics, created videos and managed online marketing campaigns for clients while working from home. Working remotely wasn't simply a convenience. It allowed me to be present for my daughter, care for her, and eventually homeschool her beginning in ninth grade.

My daughter is autistic, and changes in routines, environments, and medical care can be especially difficult for her. I've tried to provide the stability and consistency she needs while giving her every opportunity to build a fulfilling future.

I don't want to turn her private medical history into fundraising material. She's my daughter, not an advertisement. What matters is that she needed me there, so I built my life around being there.

WHEN WE BOTH NEEDED HELP, MY DAUGHTER CAME FIRST

When my eyesight deteriorated, the independent marketing career I'd spent years building became increasingly difficult to sustain. Website development, Photoshop, graphic design, and detailed visual work require a level of precision that became extraordinarily challenging with my limited eyesight. Tasks that once took minutes could now take hours, even with magnification, accessibility software, and voice-to-text technology.

I still have the knowledge, experience, and professional skills I spent years developing. What changed was my physical ability to perform that work at the pace and consistency clients and employers require. Finding traditional employment while managing my visual limitations and remaining my daughter's primary caregiver has been difficult, so I've had to find another way to put those skills to work.

As my eyesight deteriorated, I could no longer maintain the level of work my marketing clients depended on. Losing that work meant losing the income I'd spent years building, and eventually, I could no longer afford to maintain our health insurance.

At roughly the same time, my daughter was hospitalized and needed significant medical care and additional support. It felt as though everything was happening at once: my vision was failing, my livelihood was disappearing, our health coverage was becoming unaffordable, and my daughter needed me more than ever.

I was faced with difficult financial choices, but my priorities never changed. Her medical care, keeping a roof over our heads, food, and stability came first. My own eye surgery was something I kept postponing because there simply wasn't enough money to address everything at once.

I began drawing from retirement savings I'd spent years building to keep our household going. Those early withdrawals also created a substantial tax burden. Money that was supposed to protect our future became the money keeping our present together.

Over time, the financial pressure has become increasingly difficult to manage. Even after cutting expenses and making sacrifices, keeping up with ordinary household bills while caring for my daughter and rebuilding my income has been a constant challenge. I've worked hard to stretch what remains of my savings, but living expenses don't stop simply because your ability to earn has changed.

I'm not looking for someone else to take over my responsibilities. I'm trying to regain the independence I worked so many years to build, provide a stable future for my daughter, and finally address the eye surgery I've had to postpone.

I applied for public assistance, too. My daughter eventually received Medicaid coverage, for which I'm grateful, but I remained ineligible. We also received food assistance for a short period before it ended amid asset limits and work-requirement issues.

Although I continue working and creating in the ways my eyesight allows, rebuilding financial independence has been difficult. My goal is to regain the ability to support my daughter and myself through my own work.

I'm not sharing this because I want sympathy. I'm sharing it because there's a reason I haven't simply scheduled the surgery and moved on with my life.

THE BOOK THAT TOOK NEARLY TWENTY YEARS

Long before I lost most of my eyesight, I began creating a story called Caleb & Bastet. What started as a personal passion grew into an entire supernatural adventure universe filled with ancient guardians, hidden history, conspiracies, mythology, science, humor, and a black cat with an extraordinary personality.

But for years, Book One was the obstacle.

The original versions of the first three books followed Caleb from childhood until he was around eighteen. I knew the story had potential, but something about the beginning wasn't working.

My mother, who helped inspire my love of books, gave me advice during her battle with cancer that I never forgot:

"You keep telling me you know how the story ends, so why not start at the end and work your way back?"

So I did.

I developed later installments, expanded the world, and eventually realized that Caleb needed to begin his journey as an adult. I rebuilt Book One, expanded the supporting characters, and preserved the strongest parts of those early manuscripts as flashbacks and history throughout the series.

From 2024 through 2026, I devoted much of my available time to completely rebuilding and finishing Caleb & Bastet: Recognition. What began as a necessary rewrite of Book One became nearly two years of writing, restructuring, refining the mythology, working with professional editors, and preparing the manuscript for publication.

At the same time, I used my background in graphic design, website development, SEO, and digital marketing to build the world surrounding the books. I developed the website, promotional artwork, character visuals, videos, and marketing campaigns while adapting my creative process to my limited eyesight.

After nearly twenty years of developing the series—and approximately two years devoted to rebuilding its opening novel—Recognition was finally published in October 2026.

My mother never got to see this version finished.

My daughter did.

And that means more to me than I can adequately put into words.

MORE THAN FICTION — KEEPING THEIR MEMORIES ALIVE

There's another reason this series is deeply personal to me.

Several human characters carry the names of people who have been part of my life. And the cats in these books weren't simply invented for the story. They were inspired by real feline companions I loved, many of whom are no longer here.

I wanted to give them something lasting.

In the pages of Caleb & Bastet, they get to live again. They have adventures, protect the people they love, and become part of a world that can continue long after I'm gone.

Beneath the supernatural mysteries, action, and humor, there's a personal tribute to the people and animals who helped shape my life.

This series isn't only about the world I've imagined. It's also about the people and companions I never wanted to forget.

THE FUTURE I'M TRYING TO BUILD

Publishing Recognition was a dream nearly twenty years in the making. But this journey isn't simply about seeing my name on a book cover.

It's about creating a more secure future for my daughter and myself through the work I've spent so many years developing.

Book One was the difficult part. Books Two and Three are already written and awaiting further editing and production, and later installments have been developed as well. My goal is to continue releasing the series steadily as time, resources, and professional editing allow.

I also haven't stopped using the skills I developed during my marketing career. I continue writing, developing the story universe, building my website, producing promotional materials, and reaching readers using accessibility technology, voice-to-text, and modern creative tools.

Losing most of my eyesight changed how I work, but it didn't take away my imagination or my determination.

Through the hardest moments, my faith kept bringing me back to the same message:

Finish the books. Do the work. Release them. Trust God with what happens afterward.

So that's what I've done.

Getting the eye treatment I need could improve my quality of life and help me continue working toward independence while caring for my daughter. Building this book series into a sustainable livelihood could give us something just as important: a future supported by my own work.

I'm not asking anyone to guarantee that future.

I'm asking for a chance to keep building it.

Thank you for taking the time to read our story, for considering a contribution toward my medical care, and for supporting an independent author who refused to give up.

Whether you donate, read the free chapters, purchase the novel, or simply share this fundraiser, I appreciate it more than you know.

— Darrin Matthew Peppers

Author of Caleb & Bastet: Recognition — Volume One

CalebAndBastet.com