I can’t claim I knew Sally Fellows well. I wish I had been closer to her, that I had been able to attend a mystery convention, Mayhem in the Midlands that Sally helped organize and host. From reports, it was one of the best run and most fun of the various conferences. I met her in the late 1990s at Malice Domestic, a yearly convention held on the east coast. A history teacher, and a reader, she was well known within the community as a strong reviewer, tough, but fair. When I met her she was using a cane, she was often in pain from back problems, but this didn’t seem to lessen her zest and delight in the panels, authors, and events that comprise a crime fiction gathering. At various times she moderated panels of discussion. A no nonsense individual, you knew when you dealt with Sally, she could be acerbic, even bitting, but never mean spirited. I remember babbling incessantly at one Malice, something that got on her nerves (who could blame her) and she chastised me. For a short second, I felt as perhaps her students did when they weren’t living up to her standards. And her standards were high–for people and literature. They made you want to do better, be a better listener, reader, reviewer. She encouraged new authors, read their works, urged them on. She and Doris Ann Norris (2012 Bouchercon Fan of the Year) were given the dedication in Laura Lippman’s great novel, Every Secret Thing. (On my list of Best 100 Mysteries). Her contribution to the mystery field is vast. Besides her erudite reviews, and Mayhem in the Midlands, her encouragement to new and established authors was well appreciated. Many, many authors have been expressing sadness and shock at her passing. Far more than I realized, were touched and impacted by Sally’s gifts.
