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Best-Selling Author Eric Jerome Dickey Dies Of Cancer At 59

Best-Selling Author Eric Jerome Dickey Dies Of Cancer At 59

Best-Selling Author Eric Jerome Dickey Dies Of Cancer At 59. In this photo, Dickey, left, autographs a book for a fan at the St. Louis County Library in 2010. Photo: St. Louis County Library/Flickr

The literary world lost a giant when beloved, best-selling author Eric Jerome Dickey died Sunday, Jan. 3 after a years-long battle with cancer. He was 59.

An outpouring of love and condolences followed the shocking news of his death. Family, friends and fans alike expressed their grief at losing Dickey.

“I am heart broken. My cousin, Eric Jerome Dickey passed away on yesterday,” La Verne Madison Fuller wrote on Facebook. “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. This is the second time within twelve months, that this has happened. This is real.”

“What?! Eric Jerome Dickey died,” Breion Moses yelled as the news of Dickey’s death popped up on her phone. She recalled becoming an avid fan after encountering Dickey’s work at a public library.

“I used to sneak and read all his books when I was in high school because my parents wouldn’t allow me to read erotic novels. Every time he detailed his scenes of passion, baby, I could vividly imagine what was happening. He was very detailed,” Moses told Moguldom in an exclusive interview.  

Dubbed a “chronicler of Black life” and “genre-shifting writer,” Dickey’s body of work included 29 novels that ran the gamut from romance and suspense to erotica, crime, etc. Titles like “Friends & Lovers, “Sister, Sister,” “Milk In My Coffee,” “Cheaters,” “Liar’s Game” and more were wildly popular among his fans.

His books topped bestseller lists frequently including those from the New York Times and USA Today; and he’s had over 7 million copies of his books published worldwide.

Those who knew Dickey personally said his heart was even bigger than his talent, noting he was committed to helping other Black authors succeed.

“We lost a literary giant and a great man. Eric Jerome Dickey was one of the kindest and funniest brother literary rock stars that I knew. His smile arrived well before he walked into any room,” Linda Duggins, senior publicity director at Grand Central publishing, told NBC News.

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Authors Kimberla Lawson Roby and Travis Hunter both recalled how Dickey impacted their careers. Both described Dickey as their “brother.”

“When I started as a self-published author, I didn’t know anyone in the literary world. But I met Eric at a literary event. He came up to me, introduced himself and congratulated me. Since then he’s became one of my biggest supporters,” Roby told NBC News. “He would offer advice; I didn’t have to ask. He was so generous and full of life. I loved the way he embraced other authors. He really was my brother in this industry.”

“But he was not just my literary brother, we formed a genuine friendship,” Hunter said. “He didn’t have a superficial bone in his body. I stayed at his house when I was in L.A., even when he wasn’t there. When I was negotiating a book deal, he didn’t want me to take a bad deal because I needed money. So he paid my bills for a few months. When I got the deal and sent him a $6,000 check, he sent it back. He said, ‘All good, bruh.’ That’s who he was.”

Dickey also got immense joy from meeting and interacting with fans, When he couldn’t make it to the National Book Club Conference in Atlanta in 2019 (where he lived for a long time before moving back to Los Angeles), he expressed his disappointment at missing it.

“I wish I could travel and be there with the crew,” Dickey said. “Those are my beautiful, fun-loving, book-reading, melanin-blessed peeps and the ATL is my second home. This time next year I hope to be much better, laughing and beyond this little pothole that’s trying to slow me down.”

After having a bone marrow transplant in 2019, Dickey lost 44 pounds. However, he was a very private person and only a few close to him knew he was ill.

Dickey’s aunt Carolyn Jerry told NBC News he’d been having a good recovery, but when he didn’t send for a plate at Christmas, she knew something was wrong.

“I told my husband, Darryl, ‘Something’s not right.’ Eric always would take a plate and freeze it if he had to,” Jerry said. “He had been doing so well, really well. But it was then I got concerned. He said: ‘Auntie, I don’t feel like anything. I’m just going to have soup.’ That wasn’t like Eric.”

A native of Memphis, Tennessee, Dickey graduated from the University of Memphis with a degree in computer system technology. He was a proud member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity and worked as a software developer in Los Angeles before becoming an actor and comedian.

He eventually began writing poems and short stories, which then turned into full novels. He described his writing process to NPR in 2007.

“I’m always trying to write a good story,” Dickey said. “When I’m writing I’m always trying to write these twists and turns that, as you’re reading the book, you get to — it’s called these oh-no-he-didn’t or no-she-didn’t or no-that-didn’t-happen moment where, you know, you want to call your friend and say, are you on page 40? Get to page 40.”

He reiterated that sentiment in 2019 to BookPage.

“I don’t intentionally write a book with an idea of ‘the moral to this story is,’ because I’m more focused on letting the people in the book live. I just try to do my best,” Dickey said. “I never know if I’ve hit the nail on the head, if it’s really worked, until I put it out there for people to read. But this is one of those books where I’d like people to walk away thinking, ‘I know these people. These are my friends.'”

According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Dickey’s final novel, “The Son of Mr. Suleman” is due out April 20.

He is survived by four daughters and there will no services due to coronavirus restrictions at this time, according to his publisher Penguin Random House.

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