Darrell K Sweet, 1934-2011

Artist Darrell K. Sweet, 77, died December 5, 2011. Sweet’s first illustrations were for Ballantine Books in 1975, and when the Del Rey imprint was formed in 1977, he produced many of their covers. Since then he has created illustrations for most of the major SF publishers, including Berkeley, Ace, and Tor. He is perhaps now best known for his illustrations of Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series, but he also produced memorable covers for Stephen R. Donaldson’s Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Xanth series by Piers Anthony, and novels by Jack L. Chalker, Terry Brooks, L.E. Modesitt, Jr., and many others.

Sweet was born in 1934 in New Brunswick NJ, and graduated from Syracuse University in 1956 with a degree in fine arts. He already had a reputation as a painter of animals, still lifes, and pastoral scenes when he started illustrating SF. He was nominated for a professional artist Hugo in 1983, and was a Chesley Award finalist many times. Reposted from www.locusmag.com

Ben Indick dies on September 28, 2009

Ben Indick, one of my "oldest" friends in the fannish world has died. I'll write a more detailed piece later. I'm currently at a loss for words.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

To the Family and Friends of Ben Indick.

Ben Indick passed away yesterday morning, Monday, September 28.

He was the husband of Janet Indick, father of Karen Maizel and Michael Korie, grandfather of Valerie and Jennifer Maizel, and brother of Dorothy Eisengart and Joseph Indick.

The funeral service is tomorrow, Wednesday, September 30, 12:45 PM
at the Sanctuary of Abraham and Sarah at Cedar Park/Beth El Cemetery in Paramus, NJ (directions below).

The family requests your help in forwarding this announcement and/or calling Ben’s family members and friends to let them know.

Following the funeral, the family will receive visitors at 428 Sagamore Avenue, Teaneck, NJ 07666 (directions below). Shiva will also be observed Thursday from 4:00pm-8:00pm, and Friday from 10:00am to noon.

Contributions in Ben’s memory can be made to The Dramatists Guild Fund, a tax-exempt charity which supports emerging playwrights. The Guild, of which he was a lifetime member, is a group that was dear to his heart. Each contribution will be acknowledged. Checks should be sent to:

The Dramatists Guild Fund
1501 Broadway #701
New York, N.Y. 10036

Donald M. Grant, RIP

Donald M. Grant, founder of the publishing company bearing his name has died at 82. Don was almost single handedly responsible for the Robert E. Howard publishing boom in the 1970s. He also published many other works by Joseph Payne Brennan, William Hope Hodgson, Glenn Lord and The Gunslinger series by Stephen King.

He was a supporter of Baryon from the early days and was a terrific person. Although he has not been active in the field in the past few years, his company will continue maintaining his high standards.

My best to his family.

David Eddings dies

David Eddings died on June 2, 2009. He had been in declining health and died of natural causes. His wife and writing partner, Leigh, died in 2007 after a series of strokes. David was best known for the eight book series The Belgariad, the five book series The Mallorean, and The Dreams. His last published book was THE YOUNGER GODS, the conclusion to The Dreamers in 2006. He was in process of writing a new novel – unlike anything he had written before at the time of his death. It will probably never be finished. His first Book HIGH HUNT was about four friends on a hunting trip after returning from Viet Nam. THE LOSERS was about the outcast and those lost to the system; it, to me, was one of his best although I don’t think it received much recognition. He will be missed.