I was very saddened by the news of the loss of author Lucas North from our Australian writing community. Lucas was a tour de force, a prolific novelist, and writer generally, and someone who contributed a significant amount to us all. He reviewed an early draft of my debut novel's manuscript and provided invaluable feedback. I first met him when I attended a workshop that he ran on dealing with rejection, which despite the obvious self-depreciating humour in the title, was one of the best workshops I have attended, and what I learned there often encouraged me to continue in the face of difficulties over the years. Really the workshop was about resilience. Lucas was incredibly resilient and hard-working in the craft. In fact he achieved a considerable amount in terms of writing success, but the most important thing is that he continued to make a contribution to us all. Our community will be the poorer for his absence.
Lucas was the first Writer in Residence I met at FAWWA when I started working there; a very sweet helpful guy and intense writer. Although I didn't see him often, it was always uplifting to talk with someone who wrote so well and was so dedicated to the craft.
ReplyDeleteYes, he was a lovely person a great part of our community.
DeleteI don't believe I ever met him, so I can't comment personally, however, the depth of the grief at his passing and the respect for him as a person and for his writing is striking.
ReplyDeleteVale, Lucas.