In memory of Jim Baen,
October 22, 1943 - June 28, 2006
July 2, 2006
 

Jim Baen was an innovative science fiction and fantasy editor-publisher who lived too short a life. He set high standards for print publishing and adapted to the web and new ways of promoting and distributing books.

For more on Baen's life, you can read David Drake's obituary.

I've never formally met Jim Baen (though I may have come across him way back when at CCNY), but he helped change my life. By his starting an e-magazine, I was able to sell a science fiction story. That may not sound like much, and it probably means more to me than most other people. But a publisher sets a direction, and being open to new people has an immeasurable value for any writer trying to break in. I would have liked to have had the opportunity to say thank you to him in person, but that won't happen.

So I thought I'd leave a virtual flower to his memory. Flowers are the most ethereal of life forms and the most resilent. They die and they return. Their presence is always felt.

Perhaps the most ethereal vision of a flower is one with dewdrops, whose life could be measured in minutes. But the combinaton of the two is an archetype for everyone.

 
A flower with dewdrops, in memory of Jim Baen
 

"Thank you, Jim Baen."
 
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