Marie Croke

A long time ago I picked up a copy of Dragonquest off the basement bookshelf. It was already torn and bent up, but it had a picture of a man holding a baby dragon. I was probably ten. Ten + Baby Dragon = Win.

I can’t honestly say that Anne McCaffrey was the most influential author in my youth (that distinction lies with L. Frank Baum), but she was second.

So, in the wake of her death, I wanted to thank her…

For teaching girls all across the world that we can ride dragons too.

For proving brains are just as important as brawn.

For showing how talent isn’t always set, that it can grow and morph and sometimes even explode into being.

For setting the stage for female characters to continuously become more and more on par with male ones.

For proving to me that motherhood and writing are not mutually exclusive.

For giving me the inspiration to wish that some day a little girl will dream of living in my worlds.

Thank you, Anne McCaffrey. May you rest in peace.