Internet Friends ARE Real…

It’s been a rough week. Carrie was even sweet enough to post on my Facebook page and ask that you give me encouraging words…and I thank you for that.

It was a rough week because, well…sometimes it just is. Sometimes it’s because you’re just off your game and sometimes it’s because you received discouraging news…like a friend passing away suddenly.

My bad week started off like any other. I was pretty much off my game. A little discouraged that I hadn’t gotten much writing done over the holidays, a little discouraged because of a lot of little things added up and then really discouraged because of the new’s I’d received, my writing friend of three years, Lindsey J. Parson’s suddenly passed away on January 5th.

Lindsey was one of my internet friends. We’d never met in person, never spoke face-to-face over Skype, but for year’s we’d chat away as a group in a forum I’d been invited to. In 2010 I joined Authonomy, an online community for writers. It was created by Harper Collins as a way to help new authors become published. A place where you can meet other like minded individuals, share your work, critique and help support one another.

This is where I met Lindsey, Sam and a number of other authors and fabulous people. This is where I was invited to a forum, The Alliance or WorldBuilders (AWB). A community so close and concerned about the wellbeing and success of others–a rarity in our social media arena where it’s everybody out for themselves–that it’s like going to your favorite hangout and catching up with friends. It is in AWB that I made friends that will last a lifetime.

Lindsey was one of them. Her official biography reads:

My head has always been crammed full of horses, dragons, magic, adventures, sword fights, castles and impossible quests. Stores materialized when I least expected them to and take over my mind, desperate to get out. Finally a few years ago I decided to immortalize them in ink and so I write fantasy, because for me, fantasy is the ultimate escape.


Born in Stratford upon Avon, UK, Lindsey J Parson’s grew up in nearby Solihull. She now lives in a crumbly old farm house in a small village in Warwickshire with her three children and an assortment of animal friends. She enjoys reading, writing, horseback riding, archery and looking after the numerous animals that live with her.


Lindsey started her writing career in 2009, and published her first book ‘Vortex’ three years later.

Her biography doesn’t speak enough of her, of the lives she touched and the worlds she created. But it does clearly bring forth one thing…her words will forever be immortalized in ink. I had the privilege of reading her work in the early stages, of enjoying each and every word written, of diving into her fantasy world. And have the privilege of telling you it would be worth your time too.

I’ve thought long and hard about this blog posting, on what to say or better yet on how to say what my heart feels. The sadness and sorrow I have for those that are left behind. There are not enough words to express the heaviness of heart that I have, or enough tears to shed to feel as though I’ve cried enough for a dear friend. But the best, most heartfelt way I have of expressing myself is to rewrite her biography as I saw Lindsey…

Lindsey J Parsons, writer, published author…Mother of three. Beautiful person, friend, supporter, talented writer, lover of fantasy, dragon obsessed. Passionate for horses, animal enthusiast, skilled archer, insomniac, publisher…and a living breathing part of our AWB group. 

You don’t have to meet another individual in person to have them touch your life. I’m here today to tell you that Internet friends can be and are real. They know you better sometimes than you know yourself. They’re the first ones to post that funny pic on your page to brighten your day or say an encouraging word when needed…just like you.

If you’re reading this post it’s because you’re my friend. You care about me and want to encourage me as I do you. You’re real, just like Lindsey.

I want to encourage you to support Lindsey, support her family, to keep her words living and breathing…immortalized. You won’t regret making the small purchase.