Aaron Allston 1960-2014

[rthstewart]

Most of the CJers already know, having learned the devastating news last night via Twitter or Facebook, or woke to it this morning. Aaron Allston, the wonderful friend and mentor, a terrific writer, punster and humorist, author of so many popular books in the Star Wars EU, died yesterday at VisionCon.

You can read tributes here at Club Jade,

Comments

[heliopausa]

I've just been over and read at Club Jade - he sounds a really lovely and valued person; sympathies to all in the community which has lost him.

[rthstewart]

That was very kind of Helio. There are lot of grieving people. FB, Twitter and Tumblr are FULL of pictures of Aaron with fans. He has been a fixture for 20 years and had a lot of friends.

[elouise82]

I had just recently started following him on Twitter, and was working up my nerve to tell him how much I love his X-Wing books (they make me laugh and cry, sometimes at the same time, only I suspect I'll be crying over them a lot more from now on). I wish I hadn't waited.

As devastated as I am by the news, I can only imagine the grief must be tenfold for those of you who actually knew him in person, not just through his books. My heart goes out to all of you.

[rthstewart]

Regrets suck and I'm sorry. If you check out my facebook, you'll see a zillion pictures and tributes, plus the Club Jade summary. I can manage pretty well until I see some of the pictures I remember being taken, or this beautiful one that appeared on Tumblr and has been reblogged everywhere by mandiblebones with the missing man in the X-Wing formation, http://mandiblebones.tumblr.com/image/78085338317
Or the Dragon Con tribute that is being planned.

CJ has been around for nearly 20 years, give or take, and in that time many have lost a loved one. What is really hard this time is that for many, this is the first time they have lost a peer and friend, a contemporary. And Aaron was just an amazing, brave, self-deprecating person who loved what he did. He loved being with fans; he was a fan and it's really hard to imagine a world without him in it.

[anonymous]

I'm so sorry for your loss, Rth.

Clio1792

[rthstewart]

Thanks. It's been a horrendous two weeks. Aaron's death was ghastly and last night we were at a Mardi Gras dinner where the man with the Stage III or IV lung cancer got the baby in the King Cake (and therefore the duty of hosting the party next year). Just... awful. And I hate what fandom is doing to me and Mr. Spock can be counted upon to remind me daily what reviewers say, which is that I am an utterly worthless writer. There's something about always getting hit hard while you're down.

[l_a_r_m]

I'm so sorry to hear about your friend, rth. He was so young! I saw a few posts on tumblr and he sounds like such a great guy. <333

[rthstewart]

Very young... death sucks but this one is hard for so many in the community because even if they've lost parents or grandparents, this is the first time they have had a friend and peer die. Awful two weeks. I'm really having a hard time with everything now, all the death and misery, Mr. Spock's criticism which neatly mirror the shit I'm getting in the Pit. I wouldn't know or recognize a nice, kind, gentle, or good thing if it bit me in the ass.

[l_a_r_m]

<3333 Sending you all the good thoughts and love from Paris!!!

and omg, dear lord get out of the Pit! let those psychos eat each other, you are owning all of them on your work alone*

Just the other day on the bus, i was thinking about coming back to fic writing and narnia with a story where Lucy becomes conflicted with her identity while living undercover and challenges the gender binary ------> seriously, i can't imagine how my original FFnet self would have received such a story six or seven years ago. I can't believe how much I've changed... thematically, artistically, the way i view relationships... lol i'm sure you're not surprised! I imagine you've seen lots of newb authors come into their own.

anyway, Hugs and love!!! xo

*oblig OMG DON'T DELETE YOUR STORIES RTH jic, i always freak out when you get like that

[rthstewart]

Aww, you writing again would be lovely. Yes, people do change and what they write changes too. I've certainly seen Lucy as very fluid in her faith -- I've not thought of fluidity in her gender identity but there would be great ways of building on that from the Narnia experience. I was thinking of how humans might all look the same to certain Narnians -- two arms, two legs, hair on top, in the way that certain species without sexual distinctions -- sexual monmorphic where the male and female look nearly the same -- like certain birds, where until very recently it was assumed that this stable pair bonds were between male and female and were in fact females

RIP Aaron

[anonymous]

I just heard the awful news. Aaron was a class act, always encouraging, funny, warm and approachable. He was fixture in the old Star Wars world, one that will be sorely missed in these new days. Perhaps it will be given to us to hear his laughter as it fades through the background of our memories, a genial presence drifting through time, space and story. May The Force Be With Him.