Another Sad Chapter Closed

It is with great sadness that I write that Ed Kaufman, the former owner of the mystery bookstore, "M is for Mystery" has died. Ed announced his retirement last Christmas at the annual MWA and SINC holiday get together. It was obvious from the announcement and the singular lack of enthusiasm by the new owner of the space that we mystery authors had lost the last and final space in the Bay Area dedicated solely to mystery novels (as the S.F. Mystery Book Store had also recently shut its doors).

I'd like to thank Ed for all his support over the years. He loved mysteries and his store, as a gathering place for authors and readers, reflected that. Even more importantly, though, he made a no-name mystery author like myself feel so thoroughly, well, professional. Like I was a real author. And you say, well, you had a book published, doesn't that make you feel like a real author? Sadly, no. Ed rolled out the carpet and kept asking me when my next book was going to be out and actively made me feel like the real deal. Being an author is basically to court doubt every time you sit down at one's computer. Ed, for a brief hour, made me feel that I was part of the author crowd. That people didn't line up out the door for me to sign their books, but that I was still, yes, the real deal. I thank him for that. It was more important than he'll ever know. Ed was the real deal himself. He will be missed.