On Losing A Friend

That heart-rending news…that a friend has passed…that a life so full of promise and inspiration is gone…

Not the kind of news anyone ever wants to hear, but alas, it’s true.

My good friend, David J Rodger, passed away yesterday.

I’ve known DJR since at least 2000 when I was running an online dark fiction zine called Nocturne. When his short story hit my inbox, I knew from the first few lines that it, and he, were special. A different breed. The kind of writer I aspired to be, who once told me “I consider you a true friend – a genuine soul amongst the masses”.  <3

For 15 years, he’s been a friend, a confidante, a mentor of sorts…ALWAYS there with kind words or advice, ALWAYS sharing his craft and offering to read my writing, encouraging me to keep working, to keep creating, to find my voice, tirelessly working to produce awe-inspiring stories of his own – and in that he succeeded. Many of his books adorn my shelves. To be included in the acknowledgments was an unexpected thrill & means so much to me.

It was easy to like DJR. Casual, charming, full of stories, sharing his view of the world, of his many adventures, his life. His view (dialing in from the Sky Bunker), words written at the oak refectory table that once sat in his parent’s house. His emails, sometimes hurried & buzzing with adrenaline, or long and filled with epic travelogues. I always brightened when one of his messages hit my inbox (sliding in on a light beam), or the occasional random text from some far-off place.

His infamous Da Vinci method of creating is something we talked about often, a habit I adopted…polyphasic sleep to achieve maximum creative output. Sharing the vibe of the creative bubble and those 4 am creative bursts…

I’m heartbroken that he’s left us, that his light & life have gone dark, but those of us whose lives he touched will make sure that spark never goes out. I can only hope his pain has ended, that he’s somewhere with peace & light.