It was not supposed to go this way. This announcement was meant to be a cause for celebration. Last Friday’s attacks in Paris changed all that.
A few months ago, I was contacted by the French publisher Éditions Gründ about translating my Minecraft book series Battle of the Blocks into French. That was a big announcement I had been sitting on until everything was finalized. Now, it does not seem so important.
When I was contacted by Éditions Gründ, I was thrilled with the idea but, being a cautious writer, I was also wary about it all. Over the next few weeks, my concerns were eased and excitement for the project grew as I worked out the details through a flurry of emails and phone conversations with one of the editors at Éditions Gründ.
Lola Salines 1986-2015
That editor was Lola Salines.
Lola was at the Bataclan concert on Friday night. She did not survive the attack.
The fact that my books will be appearing in French in 2016 is in very large part due to Lola.
While I did not know her well, in our weeks of emails and phone calls, she eased my concerns and answered my seemingly endless questions with patience, professionalism and above all a friendliness and enthusiasm that told me my stories were in very good hands.
I found out about Lola’s passing on Monday and have spent the week in and out of a fog of sadness at such a wasted life. I cannot imagine what it has been like for her family, close friends and co-workers. My thoughts have been and continue to be with them as they cope to make sense of the senseless.
Today, the Éditions Gründ site has a black border in memory of Lola and illustrator Sophie Rohrbach honoured her memory with the beautiful illustration below.
Merci beaucoup à Sophie Rohrbach pour son dessin pour Lola.
I wanted to add my own voice to her memory through this post.
Lola, it is because of your kindness, patience and excitement that my stories will be read by children in France and beyond. I am honoured more than you can know. Your enthusiasm will live on. Every young person who reads my silly Minecraft adventures in French will do so because of you. For that, and much more, I thank you Lola.
Liam
