Tom Ryan's Newburyport

I met Tom Ryan a decade plus ago when I started covering City Hall for the Newburyport Daily News. Tom had been known to me, of course, because he'd already been covering the city for his own publication, The Undertoad.

Most of us at the News were regular readers because, well, we did cover the city so we had to know what he was writing. But I suspect we also wanted to see if he'd taken yet another shot at us, which he often did.

At our first meeting, I recall being a bit guarded because I didn't want to say something that might be twisted into a dig on the paper. As a reporter I didn't like being on the busines end of a printing press. But I worried over nothing. Tom proved to be pleasant company, and Lord knows you need company when you're covering meeting after meeting.

As it turned out, I only covered City Hall for four or five months. I was done with covering cities and towns. I migrated into business writing which promised better pay and regular hours. As I was saying goodbye to the city I now call home, Tom did an absolutely terrible thing: He published a gracious comment about me in The Undertoad. Damn him. My former coworkers never looked at me the same.

Well, in addition to being an excellent judge of character, Tom Ryan is a gifted writer and, like it or not, he's inextricably tied to Newburyport even though he now calls the White Mountains home. But he still has an imprint in Newburyport. The `Toad was a vital and influential piece of the local government for more than a decade and did a great deal of good (and I'm sure in the eyes of many, some harm.) Either way, it's sorely missed. Blogs like this can't compare.

In a few short months, the relationship between Tom Ryan and Newburyport will grow even stronger. Tom is due to release his book, Following Atticus, in the fall. (For those unfamiliar with the tale, go here.) According to Tom Ryan, Newburyport will play a "major character" in the book, which left me wondering what Oprah and the millions of future readers of the book will think of our fair city once they're done with the book and, ultimately,seeing the movie. (I see either Mark Ruffalo or Jack Black as Tom Ryan, depending on the direction they want to go.)

Tom, because he's still a good guy and he's interested in  promoting his appearance the Newburyport Literary Festival this weekend, agreed to answer a few questions about the Newburyport, the book and the connection between the two. Watch for them in upcoming posts.

Tom (and I'm sure Atticus) will be appearing at Jabberwocky at 10 am on Saturday morning.

Oh and Tom please don't sue me for using the picture.