MIKE KO – Rest In Peace
Regular posts will resume when I return from vacation, but I have some heartbreaking news that needs to be posted on its own, rather than lost amidst a flurry of updates.
Long-time fan and beloved F.U.K.U. member Mike Kozlowski (known to most of us as Mike Ko) passed away this month after a battle with cancer. I always enjoyed interacting with Mike online, as I know many of you did. I’m grateful that I got to hang out with him in person, as well. Whenever I did a signing in New Jersey, I could usually count on Mike showing up to get books signed — often with his fiancee, Dawn, occasionally by himself, and once with his son. He was enthusiastic, kind, witty, thoughtful, and talking to him was always the best part of those appearances.
The last two times Mike and I spoke (at the Asbury Park Zombie Walk and Horrorfind), we talked about my idea for a vampire novel — With Teeth (which will be written later this year). When other long-time fans Dan “UK” Thomas and Bruce “Boo” Smith passed away, I dedicated Castaways to them. I’ll be dedicating With Teeth to Mike. I think he’d have dug that.
Mike’s impact and influence on the writers he supported and the fan community he was a part of can best be summed up in his own words: “What the fuck – I just go from one day to the next trying to help others in need.”
Rest in peace, Mike. We will miss you…
Mike and Dawn photo-bomb us on the red carpet at The Ties That Bind premiere (this pic hangs in my office and makes me laugh every time I see it)
Mike Lombardo, Dawn, and Mike (at The Ties That Bind premiere)
Dawn, Director Jeff Heimbuch, and Mike (at The Ties That Bind premiere)
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Mike, Dawn, and Matt Blazi (at The Ties That Bind premiere)
