Life's but a walking shadow

Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more

Macbeth act five, scene v

 

I lost a friend this week, a good friend and no less of one despite the fact we never met face to face.  Bennet Pomerantz was a a renown reviewer, a writer, and a radio show host on Blog Talk Radio.  I found him to be pleasant, knowledgeable, intelligent, possessed of a savvy wit, and an original. There was no one else quite like Bennet.

I first knew him on this wild and wonderful place we call the internet, a place where our lives can intersect others through social networking. It was soon after my second book, Love Tattoo, the first of my Love Covenant series debuted from Evernight Publishing that we made the leap from acquaintances to friends.

For those not familiar, Love Tattoo is a paranormal romance between an Irish vampire who was once a highwayman and a young would-be singer from Texas. Will Brennan is fond of quoting Shakespeare which makes him unique among most fictional vampires.

Bennet invited me to appear on of his radio programs and I accepted – but first he called me so we could get better acquainted. That first call, we talked for hours, having discovered a like-mindedness, a penchant for old horror flicks and good literature and life.

And we became friends.

I appeared a number of times on his programs especially on Anything Goes – in which anything did. Sometimes I was a solo guest and more than once, I was one of several other writers, some of which I consider having greater fame than myself so for this gal with some Southern leanings, it was walking in tall cotton.

He always teased me about my Southern accent – which is far more obvious when talking with anyone reared in any borough of New York City or the East Coast.  And he always encouraged me in my work.

One night, on the show, Bennet dared me to write a new vampire book and promised if I did, he would write the forward to it.  I went right to work and the result was The Comanche Vampire, first published as Comanche Forever. As promised, he did write the forward to that book and it became one of his favorite stories he told about me – how quickly I took the challenge and made him hold true to his vow.

He shared my twin daughters’ birthday and when I did come eastward, he was invaluable in offering advice and insider knowledge.  On my trips flying into Washington DC, I chose Reagan as my airport of choice over Dulles or Thurgood Marshall because he advised it.  When my daughter spent her first year of college at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA, thousands of miles from home, he offered up his contact information and said she could call on Uncle Bennet anytime.

Life has a way of taking unexpected turns and mine did in 2017.  The same year I returned to the journalism game; my husband’s health shifted into a faster decline which left me widowed in January 2019. Through it all, Bennet, who had lost his wife, was always an ear to hear, a shoulder to lean on, and a friend.

During my husband’s last months, my creative writing suffered but as a new widow, I returned to it and Bennet encouraged me all the way.  When I took a voluntary separation from my newspaper job in December, he applauded it.

I last appeared on his show last August and told him about my work in progress, a novel titled Scrooge & Marlee – not Ebenezer but Theo Scrooge, a chef in the German heritage town of Hermann and Marlee, the woman he loves. Bennet was enthusiastic and encouraging – there was some talk about another possible forward and I would have welcomed it.

He died unexpectedly during a blood transfusion yesterday and the shock to me was huge, to learn than my dear friend was gone from this earthly plane.

We always ended every phone call – even the ones after a show aired – with three words – I love you.

Bennet, my friend, I did love you and will always love you with the pure love of friendship and kinship.

This is that first review, the one that led us to build a friendship:

Dear Leeann,
I do not wish to sound too familiar or pally with you. However, after reading your book Love Tattoo, which you sent me the PDF file, I was awestruck. I don't wish you to think this review is a fan letter, it isn’t..just an amazing piece of work from a man who likes steamy erotics combined with romance. You have done that and more in your book

Your Characters of Will and Cara seem so real I can almost touch them. They truly jump off the page

Did you write Cara from your own life? She seems personal the way she was crafted.

The plot seems ripped from a country singer's life. I don't know where you got your inspiration, but it strong and powerful in the right places.

The plot in a nutshell --The singer trying to get a real break in Nashville . Then she befriends a truck driver with a heart and a brain. The sparks fly from that.

Let me say this, Love Tattoo isn’t Romeo and Juliet. You aren’t the erotic Shakespeare. However you did good.

I do hope I am not gushing too much. You crafted a well done, romantic erotic novel that drew me in and won me over

I cannot wait until you use these characters again. I hope I see these characters again in print
Sincerely
Bennet Pomerantz

 

I end this eulogy with these words from Shakespeare:

Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more

Macbeth act five, scene v

Godspeed my friend. You will live in my heart as long as I live.