I lost a friend last week. Melisa Michaels, author of the Skyrider space opera series as well as other speculative fiction books, died on Friday afternoon. She was recently diagnosed with stage four lung cancer and was preparing to undergo treatment. Everyone thought she would have at least a little more time, but that wasn’t to be.
I discovered Melisa’s books many years ago, and devoured the Skyrider series as fast as I could get my hands on the books. I found Melisa herself on Prodigy. Yeah, I said Prodigy, back there in the Dark Ages of the Internet. I remember her being a bit surprised that someone had found and read her books without previously knowing her, and for my part, I was quite geeked out to be able to interact with an author whose work I enjoyed. More recently, we connected through Facebook where she would post and comment on many diverse and interesting things, from politics (oh, boy, did those spark some commentary!) to little things she found amusing. Things like a not so well translated Amazon product description or review, or an author’s odd use or misuse of a word or phrase. She enjoyed gardening and quilt making, a good fountain pen and painting. She was smart and opinionated and sometimes a bit cranky, but she was also true to herself always and open to considering other opinions and ideas. She helped me become a better writer, probably more than she realized.
When she was diagnosed, she took the news in stride. Some might say she had a fatalistic attitude, but in truth, she was at peace with knowing that she was going to die. She didn’t cry that it wasn’t fair, or why me, or react in anger. That was typical Melisa. She rode life’s ups and downs with an air of grace and acceptance that I think many of us could learn from. Don’t get me wrong here. She didn’t just curl up in a corner when things took a turn downward, but she also accepted that, sometimes, that’s just life and you can either face it and go on, or retreat and surrender. She chose to move on with things.
Rest peacefully, my friend. I am still trying to grok not seeing your name on my Facebook feed. I will miss your posts that made me think and learn, and the way you would get confused by some things because you always interpreted so literally. I will miss you. ===============================================================
Do you like science fiction and fantasy? I would be very happy if you would check out my books and other stories. You can find more information about them all at the link below. Thank you!
And So On... 