The Force Awakens and a Chapter Closes

As a science fiction fan one on this author's major influences was the Star Wars universe. One could only watch those old VHS tapes so many times and to the delight of fans everywhere the novelizations came soon and fast. While big names like Timothy Zahn did much shaping for this extended universe there were other authors who inspired as well. 
"The Truce at Bakura " was a particularly delightful bit of storytelling. Perhaps it wasn't as "epic" as some of the story arcs but Kathy Tyers managed to deepen and flesh out the characters in an engaging way. It was the kind of book that was hard to put down. 
Being able to write that engagingly was a personal goal for this author. Now it transpires that all of that wonderful storytelling is no longer cannon. The new story is exciting though and the wonderful thing about novels, especially hardcopy ones, is that they are still on your shelf after even the hardest of retconning.