... that no one here has said anything about the death of one of the most prolific and well-loved writers of our time, Sidney Sheldon.

Being me, I wrote a poem about him. We became 'friends' through an exchange of emails and my newest book over the last couple of years, and I'll miss him for the rest of my own life, I'm sure.

Here's a link to Mr. Sheldon's poem:

http://alicecbateman.com/AnotherFriendinHeaven.html

I just talked to my Mom this afternoon, and she hadn't yet heard that Sidney Sheldon died, so maybe none of you here knew either. I didn't find out for five days myself - amazing how the news of Anna Nicole Simpson's death completely took over the media, but the death of a man who had three hundred million books in circulation was barely mentioned.

Hope everyone's well and happy, and writing!

Love and Blessings to All,

Alice

Sometimes there is nothing more brutal or cruel as honesty - I have to honestly admit I had not heard of Sidney Sheldon ...........

I have since read about him - see a small clip below - however his genre may not be to my liking - however he was a very prolific and successful writer.

He was an achiever, a writer and an entertainer to millions and I therefore share your feelings of loss.

As for Ann Nicole Smith - I had never heard of her either - but I do applaud her 'over the top' life style. She apparently didn't die of a drugs overdose - she thought she was another Marilyn Monroe - she marries a very elderly billionaire with obvious repercussions - give us more of these larger than life characters I say - harmless fun to read.

To Sidney Sheldon and Ann Nicole Smith, (if I have her name right!!), rest in peace ..............

"Mr. Sheldon’s books have been published in 51 languages, making him, by many accounts, the most widely translated author in the world. His best-known titles, all published by William Morrow, include “The Other Side of Midnight” (1974); “A Stranger in the Mirror” (1976); “Master of the Game” (1982); “If Tomorrow Comes” (1985); and “Are You Afraid of the Dark?” (2004)."

Sidney Sheldon seems like an old old friend to me, I've read so many of his books. Sad that I never met him in person, but it was wonderful for me to be able to exchange even a few emails with him. He wasn't exactly a 'literary' writer, but he wrote interesting stories in ways that kept the reader involved with the book. Maybe you should read something like his "Doomsday Conspiracy," it's quite an interesting story premise and doesn't have any gratuitous sex or anything in that book. Not that his books have a lot of sex either, but they certainly are about life on a broader scale than most of us live. I think you'd enjoy 'Doomsday,' though, I'm just reading it again.

Anna Nicole never made the tabloids in Britain, eh? She certainly was a scandalously splashy figure over here. As you say, 'over the top,' and a very interesting 'character.' She had a lot of heartache in her life though, was subjected to a lot of jealousy and other negative things. And tragically her only son, about 20 years old, died within forty-eight hours of Anna giving birth to a baby girl - he died right in the hospital room in the Bahamas where she gave birth.

Hard to believe you'd never heard of Sidney Sheldon with 300 million of his books in print and so widely read, Sir Rusty, but I have the feeling if you start with one of his books, you'll soon be seeking out others. I've read the full spectrum of books over the years except the classics like Sartre, I'm saving all of those other-century authors for my 'retirement.'

Thanks for commenting, my Dear, nice to know you care enough to have looked up these two people, especially Mr. Sheldon.

Love and GIANT HUGS,

Alice

Sometimes there is nothing more brutal or cruel as honesty - I have to honestly admit I had not heard of Sidney Sheldon ...........

I have since read about him - see a small clip below - however his genre may not be to my liking - however he was a very prolific and successful writer.

He was an achiever, a writer and an entertainer to millions and I therefore share your feelings of loss.

As for Ann Nicole Smith - I had never heard of her either - but I do applaud her 'over the top' life style. She apparently didn't die of a drugs overdose - she thought she was another Marilyn Monroe - she marries a very elderly billionaire with obvious repercussions - give us more of these larger than life characters I say - harmless fun to read.

To Sidney Sheldon and Ann Nicole Smith, (if I have her name right!!), rest in peace ..............

"Mr. Sheldon’s books have been published in 51 languages, making him, by many accounts, the most widely translated author in the world. His best-known titles, all published by William Morrow, include “The Other Side of Midnight” (1974); “A Stranger in the Mirror” (1976); “Master of the Game” (1982); “If Tomorrow Comes” (1985); and “Are You Afraid of the Dark?” (2004)."