I'm gutted by the death of Michael A. FitzGerald. I've been blessed to meet so many wonderful people since I started writing and there are few I enjoyed or appreciated more than my fellow central New Yorker, marathoner, and author. We met around the start of our publishing careers and while I recognize that Michael is better known as a founder of Submittable, I loved his debut novel Radiant Days and hope readers will continue to find it. We talked and texted a lot the last several years after he became sick, about books of course, and his health, family, home, running, though quite a bit about the Buffalo Bills as well. I was also lucky enough to wrangle him as a guest on The Blank Slate Podcast, the small business podcast I produce and co-host for my client Human Elements. We talked about Submittable, start-up culture, his health, and the realization that stepping-back is an emotional thing. Michael was a beautiful guy, he'll be missed, and I hope you'll take a moment to listen to his episode of the show, to hear his voice, absorb some of his energy, and take a moment to celebrate a life lost too soon. Doing so will certainly change your life as he changed mine.