A sad farewell ...

Karate trophies, teddy bears, ballet shoes, dance dress ... these belong in a child's room not her wake. Ayesha Chauhan was just seventeen when she passed away on March 17th after a two year battle with cancer. Can't say how sad these past few days have been ... :(

Appropriately, her memorial was on a beautiful, sunny, first day of spring. It felt like half the High School showed up for it. Click here to see the pictures.

Ayesha was my first teenage beta reader. I was nervous about putting my story in the hands of a real teenager, but I hoped to distract her from the discomforts of her treatment. When I got the ms back the first few pages were covered in careful notes, but after that, according to to her mom, she "just wanted to see what happened next". She loved it. I know that's common for friends and family, but I was still very touched by her feedback. If that novel ever sees ink I'm dedicating it to her memory. I wish so very much that I didn't have to.