Rick Hautala

Last week, horror writer Rick Hautala died.  The note below is excerpted from a message Rick's friend and sometime collaborator, Christopher Golden, circulated in the writing community. 

If you'd like to help Holly, here's the key information: You can PayPal directly to Holly at holly_newstein@hotmail.com

SATURDAY, MARCH 23, 2013

If You Want to Help Holly Newstein Hautala

Dear friends, I don’t have the words to put Rick Hautala’s death in any form of context. His wife, Holly, told me this morning that it’s blown a crater in her life, and that’s as good an image as any I could imagine.
...
The life of a freelance writer is often one lived on the fringes of financial ruin, and Rick struggled mightily to stay afloat in recent years. Just within the last couple of months, that struggle became difficult enough that he could not afford to continue paying his life insurance bill, and allowed it to lapse. Though he could never have foreseen it, the timing, of course, could not have been worse. Then, just this morning, Holly discovered that the social security benefits she might hope to receive as Rick’s widow are not available to her until she turns sixty, three years from now. Efforts are under way on projects that we hope will earn some money for Rick’s estate, but meanwhile there are costs involved with his death to consider, and then, for Holly, the struggle will continue. If you’d like to help, any donation would be appreciated. You can PayPal directly to Holly at holly_newstein@hotmail.com. Thank you so much for your time.

Christopher Golden
POSTED BY CHRISTOPHER GOLDEN AT 9:28 AM

Another thing I suggest: Go to Amazon -- or wherever you buy your books -- and buy Rick's books. He was prolific. Thirty novels, a hundred or so stories. And, if you like horror, they are truly worth it. He was a great writer.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=rick+hautala