John Timm received a masters degree in Spanish from Marquette University, and masters and doctorate degrees in Portuguese and Spanish respectively from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His early academic writings focused on the Spanish Generation of ‘98, in particular the works of Miguel de Unamuno, Federico García Lorca, and novelist Miguel Delibes. His study of the grotesque in Portuguese poet Cesário Verde appears in Luso-Brazilian Review, and with Javier Nuñez C., he created the first computer-generated concordance to Os Lusíadas of Luís Vaz de Camões. Semi-retired, in 2012 he turned to writing fiction. Since then he has published over thirty-five short stories and has twice reached the semi-finals in short screenplay competitions.