Monday, February 11, 2008

I Grieve For Fictional Characters and the Authors Who Created Them

My favorite mystery writer has died.

Phyllis Whitney, whose surprise endings surprised me every single time, died last Friday. She was 104.

I have every single Phyllis Whitney book, and I re-read them all the time. She was a masterful story-teller. Her novels were set all over the world, and whenever I read one, I got far more than just a superb mystery with a mind-blowing shocker of a surprise ending; I also got a geography lesson, a lesson in regional cooking, and a life-lesson of some kind.

Phyllis Whitney's "Silverhill" was the first grown-up book I ever read.

Two of my favorite authors have died in the past few months: Madeleine L'Engle and now Phyllis Whitney. I counted on a new novel from both of these wonderful writers every year. What will I do now? I don't care for bestsellers, and J.K Rowling has ended the Harry Potter series.

Dying. . . dying. . .moving on with her life. . . . don't these people love me?