A Different Farewell


This is one of my favorite pictures I ever took of Timmy (TJB author Timothy Forry), made at Vincent’s one year when he and JM were here from NYC for a visit. We were a big and lively group: Tom, me, Timmy, JM, James, KK, and Lisa. At the moment I took the photo, Timmy was looking at James as he told a story. (James is a mesmerizing storyteller.)

Timmy’s first foray into my heart was because of writing. The day we met in the chat room where all the TJB writers converged and became friends, I was struck by his profile, which had so many similarities to my new friend Tim’s. I told him to send me a photo sometime. Later that day, I received a poem he’d written, with a little “Will this do until I can get a picture?” note.

It was a deceptively simple poem, profoundly moving, beautifully written… I knew immediately that Timmy was a “real” poet, a master of using language sparsely for maximum impact…without falling into being overly emotional or sentimental.

When the four TJB writers began working together, Timmy’s unique descriptiveness was always an asset. We four had taken a Fleetwood Mac vow: We will never break the chain, and although we went through many changes, not all of them happy ones, during the writing of our first four books, we stayed true to that vow.

When we got together last January and discussed the challenges of writing SOMEONE LIKE YOU and what each of us anticipated in the future, the old feelings were all still there: love, support, friendship, respect, admiration. But Timmy felt that he needed to focus on other areas of his life and profession for a while, so he opted out of working on the fifth novel with us.

It’s not an end of anything that really matters. We are still four in spirit and friendship, and in the future, Timmy may write with us again. We respect his decision and know he’s doing what’s best for him and for Timothy James Beck.

Timmy, I love you; you are one of the great gifts of my life. Whatever the future holds, you will always be part of something rare and wonderful. We move on, but we never move away, not in any of the ways that matter. I know I speak for all three of your writing partners when I say that the chain is still unbroken.

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