Early on in his career, Neil sent a story to one of the titans of sci-fi, Ray Bradbury. To Neil’s astonishment, Bradbury wrote back to the effect: “Congratulations, you’re a writer! And a good one at that. You have the talent and the skill, so keep at it.” Neil showed me the personal letter from Bradbury. We were both in our early twenties. Such an endorsement seemed beyond belief. I said, “He’s right. But you already knew that.” Neil smiled, “Yes, I did. But it’s nice to see it in writing.”