Come In, Collins
Page 25
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From TEARS OF SELENE
by Bill Patterson
Coming soon
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For news about the RIDDLED SPACE Series, please visit my dedicated microsite.
DEDICATIONS
This book is dedicated, first and foremost, to The Wonderful Wife™, Barbara, who put up with countless hours of writer widowhood, in order that this book should see the light of the day.
To my brother, John, whose unstinting support for my writing efforts, including the cans of Beanie Weenie, kept my going in the face of constant rejection.
To the English Department of the United States Military Academy, and it’s then head, BG(ret) Jack Capps. He was the first person ever to encourage me to write a book, and led a department whose drive for excellence gave me the tools I needed to become a good writer.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This book would not exist if it were not for the support of The Wonderful Wife™, Barbara, who put up with a rather distracted husband, odd sounds coming from the Cave of Horrors, where the computer sits, and countless evenings of non-standard dinners.
To Samuel Peralta, who graciously accepted me into the Paradisi Chronicles
To M. Louisa Locke and Cheri Lasota, who graciously opened up the Paradisi Universe to other authors
To Felix R. Savage, who first accepted me into the larger indie author community
To Craig Martelle and Michael Anderle, who challenged me to finally put all the puzzle pieces together and produce the Riddled Space series.
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No acknowledgement would be complete without a short discursion into the genesis of this book.
On October 18th, 2015, my brother John was driving to Mass at the Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in Baltimore, MD, when he began having crippling chest pains. He pulled over to the side of the road, called 911, and lost consciousness. Although police and paramedics were there within five minutes, and despite over 45 minutes of resuscitation efforts, he was declared dead around 1030 AM. He never married, and had no children. As his closest able relative, I was appointed to clean out his house and sell his belongings.
Twelve days later, National Novel Writing Month began. I am the co-Municipal Liaison for the Central New Jersey region, and thus, on the hook to write at least 50,000 words. It would have been quite easy for me to beg off, citing the events above. But John would never have wanted me to do that. In fact, he would want me to do NaNoWriMo anyway, as a way of showing other writers that, yes, you can fit in writing around personal tragedy.
So I wrote Come In, Collins. Some 20% of the manuscript had to be cut, and a lot more had to be writen. But nearly everything before the “Discovery” chapter was created in those dark days after I suddenly lost my younger brother.
So, I must acknowledge my best friend, roommate of thirteen years, and all-around wonderful brother, John D. Patterson. Come In, Collins. is the direct result of his constant encouragement of my writing career. He was my second cheerleader (The Wonderful Wife was the first), and without his support, I might not have stuck with writing.
If you ever find yourself in Baltimore, head over to the Basilica. During Sunday 1030 Mass, if you close your eyes, you can well imagine him still wafting the bronze incense burner at the head of the procession. He rests in section TTT of the New Cathedral Cemetery, should you feel inclined to visit.
Farewell, John, and thank you for everything.
About the Author
Bill Patterson is the author of a computer-aided design software book, and a former magazine columnist. His fiction has been published 90 Minutes to Live (JournalStone, 2011), and his nonfiction in Rocket Science (Mutation Press, 2012), where his piece "A Ray of Sunshine" was nominated for the British Science Fiction Association's Award for Non-Fiction.
He is also one of two Municipal Liaisons for the Central NJ Region of the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) challenge. Bill also serves as an Event Host for the Princeton Writing Group.
He and his wife of 34 years, Barbara, live in Central New Jersey.