Thanks, Anne.
Nov. 23rd, 2011 12:54 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
furtechTo work with an icon is a rare opportunity. When that artist turns out to be everything you imagined and hoped for is an experience that will be treasured for a lifetime.
Anne McCaffrey, Larry Niven and Robert Heinlein were my three heroes. Their books-- the characters, new worlds, compassion-- were the catalyst that changed my life. One of my fondest memories is opening the pages of a brand-new copy of "Dragonsinger" late on a winter night, reading it alone by the light of the Christmas tree as the rest of the house slept. Anne's books in particular affected me: it was her dragons and dragonriders who ignited a passion in me to produce animated films-- a major left-turn from my earlier plans to attend business and law school. I wanted to see these creatures and characters brought to life.
Years later I was able to work with Anne in such a development. While that project never got a green light, I was able to meet and work with her for several years. She was at once elegant and gracious and heroic, whether she was working with her horses or serving tea. Within moments of meeting her any person would feel they've known her for years. She was your favorite, eccentric aunt you never knew you had. She put you at ease the same way her books drew you in and made you feel you were a part of her world.
Her tales were heroic and epic, where tragedy was healed with quiet hope. Her bold female characters were the reason so many of my first projects had heroines instead of heroes: her protagonists were complex in ways that traditional male heroes rarely revealed themselves to be.
I am grateful that she wrote so many stories for us to enjoy. She lived a life of integrity and inspiration and kindness. All of the things that made her such a wonderful person live on in her books and her characters. Thanks, Anne.
Anne McCaffrey, Larry Niven and Robert Heinlein were my three heroes. Their books-- the characters, new worlds, compassion-- were the catalyst that changed my life. One of my fondest memories is opening the pages of a brand-new copy of "Dragonsinger" late on a winter night, reading it alone by the light of the Christmas tree as the rest of the house slept. Anne's books in particular affected me: it was her dragons and dragonriders who ignited a passion in me to produce animated films-- a major left-turn from my earlier plans to attend business and law school. I wanted to see these creatures and characters brought to life.
Years later I was able to work with Anne in such a development. While that project never got a green light, I was able to meet and work with her for several years. She was at once elegant and gracious and heroic, whether she was working with her horses or serving tea. Within moments of meeting her any person would feel they've known her for years. She was your favorite, eccentric aunt you never knew you had. She put you at ease the same way her books drew you in and made you feel you were a part of her world.
Her tales were heroic and epic, where tragedy was healed with quiet hope. Her bold female characters were the reason so many of my first projects had heroines instead of heroes: her protagonists were complex in ways that traditional male heroes rarely revealed themselves to be.
I am grateful that she wrote so many stories for us to enjoy. She lived a life of integrity and inspiration and kindness. All of the things that made her such a wonderful person live on in her books and her characters. Thanks, Anne.
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Date: 2011-11-23 09:18 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-11-23 05:19 pm (UTC)My developing tastes quickly lead me away from McCaffrey's work (I think the third dragonrider book was the last of hers I read) but I still remember her fondly. She, along with Heinlein, Norton, and Sturgeon, cemented my doom as a life-long SciFi fan.
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Date: 2011-11-23 07:45 pm (UTC)Oddly, the other writers I adored include Clifford D. Simak, Alan Dean Foster (initially from his Trek books), Gordon R. Dickson and the Robert Silverberg-edited anthologies.
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Date: 2011-11-23 07:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-11-24 01:32 am (UTC)Oh, BTW, I'll be in Florida next week, so no Indian and dogwalk for me!
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Date: 2011-11-24 02:15 am (UTC)Her son is VERY good on keeping it going.
Anne, RIP.
-J
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Date: 2011-11-24 08:23 am (UTC)...But you never see kids or "young adults" (juveniles) browsing through them.
On a separate note - will you be visiting LOSCON?
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Date: 2011-11-24 09:17 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-11-24 09:19 am (UTC)I should be at Loscon on Saturday most of the day, probably from early afternoon on into the evening and the masquerade. Roz or Elayne should be able to find me.