Alas the incredibly gifted and inspirational author Michael Crichton has passed on after a bout with cancer.  He died on November 5, 2008, but his legacy of innovative writing will live on forever.  The man who grew up in Roslyn, New York used a tedious blend of scientific fact, theory, and imagination to come up with the great "Jurassic Park" (my personal favorite), "The Andromeda Strain", and many other great books that thrilled with outstanding edge-of-your-seat story.  The novels pushed the boundaries of what could be considered true and blended the black and white borders of the unreal with the real until there was really only gray area left.  The compelling stories were so detailed (the man graduated from Harvard Medical School - how's that for a little knowledge of science and fact) that you often wondered why some rich park tycoon was not expediting a ride alongside a live Triceratops somewhere right now.  Dinosaur lover that I am, Crichton was truly inspirational to me.  Growing up I went through a Michael Crichton phase in my early teens, after seeing the movie "Jurassic Park", and I consumed most of his books within a short span of maybe a year.  He was one of the more gifted novelists of his day and like him, I strive to write novels that inform in such a suspenseful manner that you are nearly unaware of the knowledge you have gained.  I still hold his "Lost World" as one island that I am destined to find along my many adventurous travels.

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