Happy birthday, Mr. Anderson...Here's To Many Many More

 It's Kevin's birthday...one of the big ones. 

If you don't know who Kevin J. Anderson is, that's too bad. For he is a man of many talents.

I first met Kevin at the Salt Lake Comic Con, as it was known back then. I was a panelist at the event and I really had no right to be on panels with multi-national best-selling authors, but in a twist of fate, that's what happened. When I found out I was going to be on a panel about writing in the steampunk genre with Kevin (I had published two steampunk short stories at that time...), I arrived early. I did this so I could do a little trickery. The volunteers for each panel place name cards on the stage. After they placed the cards, I re-arranged them so I could sit next to the panel's most famous participant.

I know it's a bit tacky (it's nothing compared to what my friend Dave Butler did on the same panel...), but I wanted to introduce myself to him and chat a little.

I can't remember how many Salt Lake Comic Cons or FanX cons ago that was, but it was many. Since then, I've tried to take a moment to at least say, "Hi" to him and his wife when she accompanies him across the mountain range at the many events he's done in Utah. I feel honored to call him a friend.

But, I'm not alone. It seems everyone who knows Kevin can say the same thing. He is personable, kind, generous with his time for his fans, and a prolific writer. He's always positive, always helping those of us with less writing experience (pretty much everyone...) to become better writers.

The writing world can seem immense, but in many ways, it's made up of many small worlds. People get to know each other and friendships are formed and cultivated. I'm glad I can wish Kevin a very happy birthday to a man who is a better person than a writer...

And he's an amazing writer. Here's to yet another trip around the sun!

Happy Birthday Son...Hope it was great!

Our youngest had a birthday today. During the past week more than one asked us how we felt that our "baby" was getting older.

And, to be honest, it makes me a little sad that our youngest is getting older. This year is a big year for our son, big changes for him.

We had a birthday party for him on Thursday. He wanted to go bowling, and hey--who doesn't want to go bowling? Exactly. We had a blast. He got to invite his friends. My son and I were able to get done with work early so we could participate. The bowling was fun (except for a few hurt fingers...) and afterword we took everyone out for dinner. Today we had another birthday celebration, this time at his grandparent's house where we had a great dinner, delicious desserts, and presents.

But the question of how we felt about him getting older keeps coming up. And I thought about that as I watched him on Thursday and again today. Sure, he's getting older--we all are. And yes, we'll miss him being younger like we've missed all our kids as they've grown. But just because we're missing that shouldn't impact him. I remember when I was his age. I was excited about the new things taking place. Of course, I wasn't the youngest child in my family so maybe I didn't catch the "Oh, aren't you sad your son's getting older?" vibe that I know my son's heard. 

So I'm going to not think about how my son's birthday affects me, but rather, will try and focus on how he's doing, what he's feeling. After all, it's his birthday today. Happy birthday son!