Author Anne Rice passed away on Saturday at the age of 80. Among the many other things she did during her lifetime she inspired me as a writer in countless ways. We shared a love of history, writing very long stories, and completely ignoring the herd, I think. She challenged me on so many levels I've probably been more influenced by her than any other author I've read, too. I dedicated to her the first novel in my Darkyn series, which made me a name. I also credit her for giving me the courage to write my steampunk books, the first of which started out as a NaNoWriMo project (and which despite critical acclaim never really sold as well as the publisher expected and ended my NY career, but ce la vie .) I never had the chance to meet her in person, but I did walk past her house once. Okay, I stood outside her house and stared at it for a long time on a walking tour of New Orleans twenty years ago. I also wrote to her once to tell her how much her work meant to me. ...