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I first corresponded with Jenna Felice during the Fall of 1999 when I was
applying for an internship at Tor Books. In January 2000 she e-mailed that I
that I could intern with Tor the coming summer, and we set about making the
arrangements. Over the next four months we continued to correspond via
e-mail. Jenna was always very concerned-she wanted to make sure I found a
good place to stay the month I would be in New York, and offered to help make
the arrangements. Her e-mails were always full of great advice (local
restaurants to remember, locations of nearby ATMs, things I should bring with
me, and much more).
I finally met Jenna on June 5, 2000 and liked her immediately. She was funny, enthusiastic, friendly and helpful. She was also very understanding and accommodating. Even though she had originally planned to move me from department to department to work on a little of everything, she saw how much I enjoyed working in the publicity department. After getting Jennifer's approval, Jenna allowed me to spend the rest of my internship in publicity. On my last day at Tor, Jenna and John Klima took me out for lunch. After lunch John went to a bookstore, and Jenna and I walked back to Tor, talking nonstop the entire way. Our lunch and the conversations we had are some of my favorite memories of June 2000.
I was shocked and saddened to hear about Jenna's death. I did not know her
long at all, and did not know about the struggles in her personal life until
I began reading accounts written by her friends and colleagues. She was
truly a remarkable person, and she accomplished many things in her 25 years.
I admired her the first time I met her, and admire her even more now.
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