In Laymon's Terms

Michael T. Huyck, Jr.

ICK LEFT A LOT of impressions on me. The man held passionately to his beliefs. You had to be careful stepping off into a debate with him, because when he had an opinion it was intelligent and informed. If you saw the way he and Ann and Kelly worked together and played together, it was obvious that he was a loving and doting family man. I could go on at length at all the different reasons to look up to Dick, but I don’t have room to do so. So I’ll stick with the Dick Laymon trait that impressed me the most: he was a firm believer in equality.

For reasons I’m not sure of, Dick had a hyper-developed sense of what is fair and what is right. This sense, paired with obvious contention building up within the Horror Writers Association’s membership hierarchy, is what drove Dick to run for, and win, the presidency of the organization. From his first day he involved members from every corner: new blood and old dogs, perennial midlisters and best sellers, actives, associates, and affiliates. We all got to play. Dick proved to me that every member was equal as a writer and a human being in his eyes. I read a sign once that said “Every person is worth exactly one point.” That’s exactly what Dick believed, and it showed.

So, on those days when the muse is on vacation and my mailbox is stuffed with rejection letters, when it’s easy to dream about deleting all my stories and envision taking up competitive ping-pong as a good use of my extra time, all I have to do is remember that Dick Laymon, a man with an arm-long bibliography, treated me as an equal. Treated me like one full point. And knowing that is enough to keep me writing forever.