I enjoyed reading When You Don’t See Me by Timothy James Beck. When I found out that four authors wrote it, I was fascinated. I wondered how they collaborated to write it because I struggle solo to write articles, short stories and a novel that may never get finished. I figured other authors like me could learn something from these writers. Also, I wanted to introduce more readers to these authors and their great works.

1) Who are the authors who publish as Timothy James Beck?

Becky: Timothy J. Lambert, Timothy Forry (aka Timmy), Jim Carter, and Becky Cochrane

2) What other collaborations do you do under other names?

Becky: I collaborate with Timothy J. Lambert under our two names and as Cochrane Lambert. Together we wrote THE DEAL and THREE FORTUNES IN ONE COOKIE, both from Alyson Books, and we've edited a collection of short stories.

Timmy: I write poetry, short stories and novels that I never finish (laugh track).

Timothy: In addition to the work I've done with Becky as Cochrane Lambert, I worked with Richard Labonte on his BEST GAY EROTICA 2007 anthology as a guest judge, selecting the stories and writing the introduction.

3) What do you write by yourself?

Becky: I write short stories, poetry, and contemporary romance. Kensington published A COVENTRY CHRISTMAS in 2006, and A COVENTRY WEDDING will come out in January 2009.

Timmy: I have a vampire novella titled "The Vampire Stone" under the pseudonym Timothy Ridge which was published by Kensington in a collection titled MIDNIGHT THIRSTS in 2004.

Timothy: My short stories have been anthologized in various collections. I was going to write a novel for Haworth Press, but they stopped publishing fiction before my manuscript was due. Luckily, I was lazy and didn't write a single word of it.

4 ) How did you come together to write the first novel?

Becky: We met online and began writing together online. When we began writing IT HAD TO BE YOU, it wasn't a novel. It was just a way to entertain each other. We wrote in tandem, passing the story from Timothy L to me to Jim to Timothy F, etc. We tried to leave each other with a dilemma or cliffhanger to work from. Eventually, we worked together in person, as well, especially in the planning stages of our novels.

Timothy: Before we met in person, we chatted online about books. We'd all read a lot of the same titles, for school or pleasure, and we had a lot of fun talking about what we liked or didn't like to read, which eventually turned the discussions into what kind of books we'd want to read. (Because I think writers often write the kind of books they want to read.) Finally, one of us said, "Hey, we should try writing a book together. Wouldn't that be fun?" Luckily, it was.