Transcriber's Note:
This etext was produced from the 1962 book publication of the story.
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the copyright on
this publication was renewed.
Minor spelling and typographical errors have been corrected without
note.
* * * * *
"Mark Phillips" is, or are, two writers: Randall Garrett and Laurence
M. Janifer. Their joint pen-name, derived from their middle names
(Philip and Mark), was coined soon after their original meeting, at a
science-fiction convention. Both men were drunk at the time, which
explains a good deal, and only one has ever sobered up. A matter for
constant contention between the collaborators is which one.
They have been collaborating for some time now, and have devised an
interesting method of work: Mr. Garrett handles the verbs, the
adverbs and the interjections, Mr. Janifer the nouns, pronouns, and
adjectives. Conjunctions are a matter of joint decision, and in the
case of a tie, the entire game is replayed at Fenway Park, Boston,
early in the following year.
BRAIN TWISTER was fifteen years in the making, of which time three
days were spent in the actual writing. When the book was finished,
both authors relaxed in the mutual pleasure of nervous breakdowns,
from which it is not certain that either has ever recovered.
Mr. Garrett is a large, roundish fellow with a beard. He wears
flowered vests and always carries a small talisman which no one has
ever seen. Mr. Janifer is a somewhat shorter and thinner type, with a
shorter and thinner beard. His vests are in solid colors, he wears
horn-rimmed glasses because he has always done so, and he is never
found without a souvenir subway token from the City of New York.
The personal lives of the authors differ widely. Mr. Garrett's
hobbies, for instance, include such sports as close-order drill and
river pollution. Mr. Janifer, a less active type, prefers sedentary
games such as humming or blinking.
Mr. Garrett is engaged to an exotically beautiful creature, and the
two plan to be married as soon as they run out of excuses. Mr.
Janifer, on the other hand, is fascinated by women, and hopes some day
to meet one.
Brain Twister