As one ages this becomes a depressingly more common activity. Writing up your memories of a friend and colleague who has passed away. It is my sad task to have to do it again. It took me a long time to process this one. I think the suddenness of the loss of John Jos Miller knocked me back for days.
And John’s passing sent me right back to thinking about how we lost Victor Milan just a few years ago because I first met John and Gail when Vic invited them to join our role playing group. John created and played wonderfully laconic and cynical characters, and it wasn’t long before he and Gail were hosting our games at their house. Lots and lots of games that usually went late into the night.
That gaming group, filled with writers, was our social life, and I remember driving through a snowstorm on icy roads because John had stepped up when Christmas dinner had fallen through at another friend’s. He made lasagna with Italian sausage for all of us, and it was one of the best Christmas dinners I ever ate.
Eventually this gaming group spawned Wild Cards and John was one of the founding writers in our little story sandbox. He created so many memorable characters — Yeoman, Father Squid, Carnifex, Midnight Angel, and so many more, but especially Chrysalis. She and her Crystal Palace were such an iconic part of Wild Cards, and frankly I don’t care that she’d dead in the official timeline, I’d put that character and her bar in any TV show we might get to make.
He also gave us some of the most charming changes to our alternate history. John loved baseball and forgotten more than most people know about the sport. He knew there was a rumor that Fidel Castro had had a tryout for the Washington Senators so in the Wild Cards universe Castro never becomes a revolutionary leader. He becomes a professional baseball player and later coach.
John collected first editions and loved laugh-out-loud-bad-movies. He had aquariums filled with exotic fish and took such delight in the giant snails that would laboriously climb the plants in the tank and then joyously launch themselves off the top to float to the bottom and then begin the process all over again. He and Gail loved animals and always had a house filled with cats and dogs (often named for baseball players).
John was an integral part of our Wild Cards world, and his loss will be felt deeply by all of us.
So sorry for your, and the communities, loss.
It’s like 2020 won’t stop. The pandemic grinds on. Our democracy is on the skids and Ive had way too many people die over the past two years. You guys stay safe and well, okay.
I reached out to John many years ago in admiration for how he had expanded the character of Carnifex from a mere tough guy into a person with dreams and fears that I really cared about. He helped me track down a copy of Death Draws Five back when it was next to impossible to come by.
He was kind and gracious and we communicated back and forth from time to time. When I suggested that, perhaps, I could contribute to Cheese Magnet, the blog on which he and others wrote fondly on movies, pulp magazines, and all things cheesy and good, he didn’t hesitate. He immediately had me set up and I found myself writing alongside real, published authors. I will always be grateful for that opportunity and continue writing for the mere joy of it.
I will miss John and my heart aches for all that we’re close to him.
That’s what I have always loved about writers and the writing profession. People always pay it forward. They give a hand up to new writers. God knows I had generous mentors who helped me, most notably Victor Milan and George R.R. And I’m so glad you find writing to be a joy. I’m always baffled by people who say writers hate to write, but love having written. I love to write.
Thank you for the kind words. It has been a hard few years.