Recently I was invited to take part in SF Signal’s popular and ongoing “Mind Meld” series. The subject this time was our thoughts on the sad recent passing of both Leonard Nimoy and Terry Pratchett, and what they meant to us as fans.
You can read my contribution, alongside that of Aliette De Bodard, Francis Knight, Sherwood Smith and (in Part One) Gareth L Powell, Scott Lynch and Adrian Tchaikovsky, among others, on the SF Signal Blog.
Hope you enjoy it. Happy memories 🙂
Joanne Hall 
What a lovely lot of tributes. I really enjoyed your contribution, Joanne. How lovely that you and your Mum can share this fandom! I’m fortunate in having a husband that has the same tastes and I love my mother dearly – but she is frankly flummoxed at my ‘peculiar’ tastes in fiction and wouldn’t be caught dead or alive reading anything fantastical or futuristic.
What struck me forcibly was the range and impact both Leonard Nimoy and Terry Pratchett have had on so many people at different times in their lives. And invariably a force for the good… While it is tragic what happened to him, what a wonderful testament to a man’s life – most politicians would give their right arm to have the sort of influence on people around the planet that Terry Pratchett wielded.
Great list of books, great tribute!