Monday 16 January 2012

Howard Hopkins, 1961 - 2012



It's with great sadness that I write this post in memory of writer Howard Hopkins, perhaps better known to western readers as Lance Howard, whose 30+ books were published by Hale under their Black Horse Westerns imprint.

Howard was one of the first authors I ever swapped emails with and he was generous enough to send me a book or two and he was one of the first BHW authors I read. We are also exactly the same age, born on December 12th 1961. It seems he died of heart failure whilst walking in the snow on January 12th.

An obituary can be found here all with details about his service.

Comments can be left at his Facebook page here.

Howard, you will be greatly missed.

3 comments:

Laurie Powers said...

It truly is a terrible loss. We are all reeling today. I know you worked with him much more than I ever did, Steve, so it must be doubly hard for you.

Howard will be missed for a long, long time.

Matthew P. Mayo said...

I can only second your thoughts, Laurie. So sad.

But the good news is that he was such a source of encouragement for so many folks that his influence is still very much with us.

Steve Ritchie said...

I'm so very sorry to hear this. Howard was such a nice guy. Even though I was a new author, we communicated via e-mails after my "The Black Mountain Dutchman" became a Black Horse Western. Unlike some writers I've come across, Howard OFFERED his advice and encouragement. My heart is truly heavy.