I was very saddened to hear of the death of K. D. Wentworth this week. I only knew her from her critique of my Writers of the Future semi-finalist story and a subsequent e-mail exchange, but she seemed like a genuinely warm person who was devoted to the contest and to helping aspiring writers. My thoughts go out to her family and all those close to her.

Today I received her last “message” to me: an Honorable Mention in the 2012 Q1 competition. I’ll take that to mean “not bad, but raise your game”.

And, you know what? That’s really the best advice any writer can get.