Author And Trailblazer

This past week many of us mourned the death of science fiction author, Octavia Butler, who left us suddenly, at the age of 58.

A gifted writer who ushered in scores of readers who would otherwise never have ventured into the SF and fantasy genres, without a doubt, she will be sorely missed. For me personally, I was ushered in with total ease when I first read her late 1970s series titled, The Patternist.

As mentioned on many occasions during her notable career, her father was a shoeshine man who died when she was a child in her native Southern California, and her mother was a maid who brought her along on her domestic jobs. Yet, she rose from these humble beginnings to become one of the country's leading writers -- a female African- American pioneer in the domain of science fiction, which at the time was an area few writers of color had attempted to lend their voices. And once there, needless to say, Octavia Butler did indeed raise the bar even higher for *all* writers worldwide who sought to follow her.

You can read more here about this phenomenal American writer who was, by far, a unique author as well as a profound visionary.