Well-known, celebrated author, Eric Jerome Dickey, who's known for penning such bestsellers such as “Sister, Sister,” “Friends and Lovers” and “Between Lovers,” died this week at 59.
“It is with great sadness that we confirm that beloved New York Times best-selling author Eric Jerome Dickey passed away on Sunday, January 3, in Los Angeles "after battling a long illness,” a rep for Dutton, an imprint of Penguin Random House, told The Post, adding that Dickey leaves behind four daughters.
The New York Times best-selling novelist earned a degree in engineering from the University of Memphis, landing a job in the aerospace industry as a software developer in Los Angeles. He soon discovered his passion for writing by way of comedy. After writing several scripts for a comedy act, he began penning poetry and short stories.
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Born and raised in South Memphis, Dickey was a product of Riverview Elementary School, Riverview Junior High, Carver High, and Memphis State University, where he studied computer engineering.
Dickey moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career as a software developer, but soon found himself attracted to the city's signature industry: entertainment.
He began working in standup comedy and doing some acting and even dancing while also writing skits, screenplays, and stories.
He published his first short story in 1994, and two years later found success with his first novel, "Sister, Sister," which remains in print in paperback, Kindle, and Audiobook editions.
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"A door opened," Dickey once wrote of his entrance into the publishing world. "And I put my foot in before they could close it."
After publishing his first short story in 1994, he went on to release the beloved “Sister, Sister” in 1996 about three women looking for love in LA. Other books, including novels “Chasing Destiny,” “Liar’s Game” and “Pleasure,” were on the New York Times’ best-seller list.
Described by Publishers Weekly as
"a high-spirited celebration of black sisterhood," "Sister, Sister" last year was named one of the "50 Most Impactful Black Books of the Last 50 Years" by Essence magazine.
His books were those that "revealed our loves, our tears, our triumphs, and our resilience," according to the magazine.
Overall, Dickey published 29 novels, including such New York Times best-sellers as "Milk in My Coffee" (1998), "Cheaters" (1999), "Black Silk" (2002), and "Sleeping with Strangers" and "Waking with Enemies" (both 2007).
At least five of his books centered on a master hitman named Gideon, who inhabits what Dutton publicists describe as "a world of money, violence, women, and love on the run."
According to Dutton, more than 7 million copies of Dickey's books have been published worldwide. Last year, USA Today included Dickey on its list of "100 Black Novelists and Fiction Writers You Should Read." He was nominated several times for an NAACP Image Award in the category of Outstanding Literary Work, winning in 2015 for the novel "A Wanted Woman."
Dickey also dabbled in the cinematic universe after finding fame, by writing "Storm." It is a celebrated graphic novel released in 2006 that imagines the first meeting of "Marvel's two pre-eminent Black superheroes," Storm, the African member of the X-Men, and the Black Panther.
A member of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, Dickey leaves behind four daughters. He also leaves a final novel, "The Son of Mr. Suleman," set to be published April 20.
One of Dickey's cousins chimed in on his famous cousin's passing with a message we can all relate to:
“I am heartbroken. My cousin, Eric Jerome Dickey passed away yesterday,” La Verne Madison Fuller wrote on Facebook Monday. “Guys, when God tells you to do something, just do it. Just a few weeks ago, God woke me up to text him and say that I loved him. He let me know that he loved us too.”
