My lovely neighbor, a man called Robert. He is the one who sparked my imagination and love for drawing. I did try to draw myself, but after years of slow progress, I realized I was too fidgety and impatient to sit for hours and hours in order to draw one "perfect" line. Thus, I took a different approach and focused on writing. Robert was more than interested in helping my writing journey by drawing the characters and book covers. Perhaps one day he will finally take my advice and create a platform of his own on the web, and if that day comes I will credit him properly.
The illustrations were made by another artist. Since she went silent on my DM's, I am unclear whether I am allowed to credit her or not, though I doubt calling her Asper would reveal who she is. Perhaps one day I will have the pleasure to work with her again.