News: Farewell, Madeline L'Engle

(Madeline was a bright and creative literary star. She was controversial to some who could only see one side of an issue while she saw and spoke of all its facets. I have always loved her as a person, as a writer, and as a Christian. She was wonderful to listen to and will always be inspiring to read.)

A tribute to Madeline L'Engle - Houston Chronicle: "'Did you ever realize that if you spell live backwards you come up with the word evil?' she once asked her tiny class with a devilish grin. 'To live, you know, you have to be just a teeny bit evil and wicked.'

Take a chance, she advised, have adventures and never stop living. And maybe somewhere in there your characters will find you and you will have the courage to write.

Even when she was frail, elderly and in a wheelchair, somewhere in her soul, she never stopped living and she always had courage.

The author of more than 60 books, L'Engle died on Thursday at the age of 88, and on Saturday a half-page obit ran in the New York Times. Madeleine would have been thrilled: New York loved her."