In Laymon's Terms

Richard Chizmar

HE MOST IMPORTANT things are usually the hardest to say...which explains why I have sat down three or four times now to write this short introduction to In Laymon’s Terms.

I miss Dick Laymon. I think that’s maybe the most important single thing I have to say here. I miss talking to him on the phone. I miss his letters (yes, he wrote great letters, and I still have a file stuffed with them). I miss listening to him laugh and talk books and movies and people.

After he passed away, I ran a special tribute section in honor of Dick in Cemetery Dance magazine. A lot of great friends wrote lengthy essays to honor him. Mine was only a handful of short paragraphs, but I meant every word.

Here is what I wrote:

We never met but spent many hours on the telephone. Talking. Laughing. Brain-storming. Dreaming. So many stories. So many plans. So many words between us.

And now I’m left in silence.

God, I miss those phone calls.

I miss his wisdom, his kindness, his easy sense of humor. I miss his childlike wonder, his laughter, his wonderful celebration of family.

Dick Laymon was a treasure. As a writer...and a man.

I was honored to call him my friend.

Dick Laymon was, indeed, a treasure. And his work still is. We’re lucky to have it. As all of the authors in this book will tell you and as they demonstrate so well with their own Laymon-inspired contributions.

It’s my hope that all of us in the scary story genre continue to learn from Dick. Not only as creators, but as fathers, husbands, and friends. Dick set a helluva example to follow.

In the meantime, enjoy the stories that follow. Cringe, cover your eyes, and giggle out loud. Dick would want that.