LJ Hackmeister...Gone Too Soon

 I first met LJ at FanX, our local comic con, several years ago. I was fortunate enough to work in a vendor floor booth with her selling books. I had one title to sell, she had many many more. I met several authors that weekend and I've kept in touch with them, at least through social media. I took an interest in LJ's post, mostly because of her health situation.

I felt bad such a young, talented author was having health issues.

I was rooting for her.

She passed away two days ago. 

I followed her posts and sometimes reacted to them. What interested me was the fact she was a nurse with access to knowledge about her condition. Every time she posted about a potential fix, she'd post an update with the the good and the bad results. I remember discussing the issue with my wife several months ago that even with a person in the medical field with access to the best information available, they couldn't fix the problems. All that knowledge and still all that pain.

Last week her posts talked about a procedure she hoped and prayed would work. The next post I saw was from another author friend saying how much he was going to miss her. He's not alone.

LJ's last project was an anthology called, Instinct: An Animal Rescuers Anthology. The proceeds go to an animal rescue in Colorado. The collection has some excellent authors and if you're interested in supporting this wonderful project, click: HERE.

As I followed LJ's progress the past couple of years, she was in so much pain...it didn't make sense, nor was it particularly fair. I'm sadden by the news as are many of us. Gone too soon.