Short answers, pulled from the story.
Brian Charles Daley (the 22nd of December 1947 - the 11th of February 1996) was an American science fiction novelist best known for writing The Han Solo Adventures, the first Star Wars spin-off novels, and for adapting the original Star Wars film trilogy as radio dramas for National Public Radio. He also wrote over twenty Robotech novels under the pseudonym Jack McKinney alongside his collaborator James Luceno.
Daley wrote all episodes of three expanded Star Wars radio dramas for National Public Radio: Star Wars (1981), The Empire Strikes Back (1983), and Return of the Jedi (1997). The Return of the Jedi broadcast aired posthumously and is dedicated to his memory; Daley died hours after celebrating the completion of its production.
Jack McKinney was a shared pseudonym used by Brian Daley and his collaborator James Luceno. Together they wrote more than twenty Robotech novels beginning in 1987, as well as the Black Hole Travel Agency series and the novel Kaduna Memories.
Han Solo at Stars' End (1979) was a New York Times bestseller. It was the first book in The Han Solo Adventures trilogy and holds the distinction of being the first Star Wars spin-off novel published.
Brian Daley died of pancreatic cancer on the 11th of February 1996 in Maryland. He died only hours after celebrating the completion of production on the Return of the Jedi radio drama with its cast and crew.
Daley's GammaLAW quartet existed as a 1,600-page manuscript at the time of his death. His longtime friend and collaborator James Luceno edited the manuscript, and the four volumes were published posthumously between 1997 and 1999 under the titles Smoke on the Water, Screaming Across the Sky, The Broken Country, and To Water's End.