by George Beahm
In my latest book, Sturge: A Memoir, my late friend Sturgis Haskins, the subject of the work, wrote about this encounter with Stephen King:
After my expensive spree at Staples, in Bangor, I wandered into Borders bookstore. This might have been my first visit in a year and things were considerably re-arranged. I could not find the gay book section (if, indeed, there is one now). For an interim I sat at coffee musing at the assortment of very odd people—rather reminded me of a day care center for eccentrics.… Stephen King wandered in. I recognized him at once. Someone near me said, “There is Stephen King.” He disappeared for an interim, returning into view at the coffee counter. Here he ordered a bag of sweets. As the two leather chairs adjacent to me were unoccupied, I imagined him soon seated next to me. An engaged conversation would surely follow. A long friendship would be certain. But, alas, sweets in hand, he left. Rather pale-faced for someone who winters in Florida.
Back in 2003, Steve agreed to have me interview him for my old TV series A Good Read. The program wasn’t aired, though, until 2004, when it was used as a fund-raiser for the Maine Public Broadcasting Network. It was a hot August day and the TV lights in his office were hot, too, but we talked for over an hour. We talked about writing, of course, and especially about his wonderful On Writing book, which I’ve used with my students. We talked about Maine, music, and many of his books. He mentioned starting work with John Mellencamp on this musical, Ghost Brothers of Darkland County, which now in 2014 is touring the country. At the opening of the program, I talked about Steve’s brilliance, intensity, and his down-to-earth Maineness. I got him to read his first published poem “The Dark Man,” from Moth, a special University of Maine literary magazine edited by George MacLeod, who was a college roommate of King’s. In my closing remarks, I said:
One of the reasons Stephen King’s writings will last is because he understands small towns. He grew up poor in Maine and he has a good sense of community that is innate. Many big city critics don’t seem to understand, or fully appreciate, this and how the fragile balance in a small town can be easily upset by any intrusion from away. King, a gifted writer with a good heart, does understand deeply and it’s this sense of community that runs throughout his work.
I still agree with that statement.
One final note: In the recent science fiction film Interstellar, in which humanity is doomed on earth, the camera sweeps through a library of books, and there, prominently displayed, is a copy of The Stand, Stephen King’s apocalyptic novel.
PART EIGHT
STEPHEN KING IN CYBERSPACE
124
TOP WEB SITES FOR KING FANS
King talking at a fundraiser in Bangor to support the Bangor Public Library.
StephenKing.com should be your first stop on the Web. King has constructed a detailed Web site that serves his Constant Readers well. The site is especially useful for students writing papers because of the resources it hosts.
Under the “Miscellaneous” tab, there are links to affiliated sites, for the Haven Foundation, the Barking Foundation, the Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation, Joe Hill, Owen King, the Rock Bottom Remainders, WZON and WKIT radio stations, and Café Press (where you can get authorized nonbook product printed on demand).
King fans, though, are principally interested in buying books, and, as does King, I recommend the online bookstore Betts Books (bettsbooks.com).
There are also several small presses who have issued “gift” editions and limited editions of his books, which are listed on King’s site; the key ones are Subterranean Press (subterraneanpress.com), Donald M. Grant, Publisher (grantbooks.com), and Cemetery Dance (cemeterydance.com). I would also add Centipede Press (centipedepress.com) and PS Publishing (pspublishing.co.uk).
King also lists several artists, including Bernie Wrightson (berniewrightson.com), Michael Whelan (michaelwhelan.com), Mark Geyer (markedwardgeyer.com), and Mike Perkins (mikeperkinsart.com). I’d also add Glenn Chadbourne (glennchadbourne.com) and Drew Struzan (drewstruzan.com) to the list.
If you have any interest in fantasy art and wish to contact artists directly by e-mail, the best way to do so is to consult the most current edition of the fantasy / horror / SF art anthology, Spectrum, from Flesk Publications (fleskpublications.com). It’s published annually in November, and its showcased artists have provided their e-mail addresses in the back of the book.
FAN WEB SITES
The longest-running fan Web site (since 1996) is published by Swedish superfan Hans-Åke Lilja. It called Lilja’s Library (liljas-library.com) and subtitled “The World of Stephen King.” I go there almost every day, and you will, too, if you have more than a casual interest in King. (He’s also on Facebook under the name Lilja’s Library.)
For collectors, TheDarkTower.org is the place to go. As its title suggests, its principal interest is the Dark Tower series.
Also, on Facebook you will find the group Fans of Stephen King, which is run by one of his publishers, Doubleday/Anchor Books.
Glass Onion Graphics: Michael Whelan’s Dark Tower Prints
Named after the Beatles’ song “Glass Onion,” penned by McCartney-Lennon, Glass Onion Graphics is your one-stop shop for high-quality, full-color reproductions, and occasionally original works of art, drawn from Michael Whelan’s Dark Tower artwork for King’s various publishers.
The mail order company is the brainchild of Michael’s wife, Audrey Price, who taught herself everything she needed to know to print, publish, and sell his work to a growing body of fans who appreciate imaginative fantasy illustration.
Though Donald M. Grant, Publisher, Inc., took special pains to insure Whelan’s artwork was reproduced with fidelity, as can plainly be seen in The Little Sisters of Eluria and The Dark Tower: The Dark Tower VII, the fact remains that to truly appreciate the artwork, one must see it on display the way the artist intended: in its original state as original art. But because most of the Dark Tower art is now in private collections worldwide, that’s not an option. (On occasion, detailed “rough” compositions from Dark Tower paintings are occasionally sold, as was the case at the World Fantasy Convention in 2014, when Whelan had an exhibit of original art.)
For those who cannot afford original oil paintings or comps but want the image itself in as pristine a form as possible, the solution is to buy a museum-quality print manufactured under the watchful eyes of Michael and Audrey.
The Dark Tower lithographs and giclees are available at reasonable prices, and available unframed or framed.
My favorite reproduction currently on their Web site is “Legends: The Gunslinger” ($195 unframed, $495 framed; image size, 30 x 20 inches; framed size, 38.5 x 28 inches), which originally appeared as the frontispiece for an anthology of original prequels, Legends, edited by Robert Silverberg. Depicting the Gunslinger who stands with one foot in our world, and having stepped through a wooden door frame suspended in the air, one foot in another world, the painting resonates with symbolism, both as a metaphor on the art of storytelling and a metaphor of Roland’s transformative journey.
Note: This painting is reproduced as the last page of the color insert found elsewhere in this book.
The web address for the Dark Tower artwork is:
http://www.michaelwhelan.com/shop/reproductions/dark-tower/
125
LILJA’S LIBRARY:
AN INTERVIEW WITH HANS-ÅKE LILJA
BY GEORGE BEAHM
Published online in 1996, Lilja’s Library was a modest effort, but over time it grew to become the premiere Web site for Stephen King fans. (Lilja’s also on Facebook and Twitter.)
Over the years, Lilja’s made numerous, important connections to people in the King community, including King himself (whom he’s met and interviewed twice), King’s publishers, and professionals who have worked with King in various capacities. The contacts have given his Web site depth.
In 2011, Cemetery Dance published Lilja’s Library: The World of Stephen King, which I recommend if you want to rea
d a selection from Lilja’s Web site in print.
In the meantime, get acquainted with Lilja’s wonderful Web site.
GB: King is very clearly an American writer, with his stories set in the United States, steeped in American pop culture. In other words, he’s very American-centric. That said, why does he appeal to a Swedish reader? Does his “American-ness” present any reading problems for you? Can you explain why he’s so popular in Europe?
Lilja: Well, King’s stories are definitely based on the American pop culture, but at the same time I don’t think the stories are dependent on readers knowing all about American pop culture. In Europe that isn’t a big problem, though, since much of American pop culture finds its way here as well and we can relate to it. I imagine that it would be a bigger challenge for readers in a country that isn’t as influenced by the United States as we are in Europe, but even so I think they would be able to follow the story anyway. Faithful is an exception, though, since it deals with baseball, and that isn’t something we play here in Sweden, so that book is a challenge. But other than that there isn’t a huge problem for me.
I think King is popular in Europe for the same reason he is popular in the United States or anywhere else on earth: He tells good stories. I really think it’s as simple as that if you boil it down, but then there is fandom. A lot of people would read anything King writes without hesitation (me included), and many fans probably started reading King because he is such a big name with all the movies and so on, but I don’t think they would have stuck around if they didn’t like what he wrote.
GB: You’ve met King. What were your impressions of him?
Lilja: I met him once in London and once in Hamburg, and what struck me the most both times is how relaxed he is with people. No matter if he’s onstage, signing books, or walking around in a crowded room, he always feels very relaxed and natural. He gives everyone a piece of his time and jokes and talks and poses for photos with those who want that.
GB: What would you consider his best book, and why would you consider it so? Do you have a favorite King work (novel, short story, novella)?
Lilja: I often get this question: Which is his best book? I have never read King, which book should I read? And it’s also one of the hardest questions to answer. Let me explain why: King has written many good books. Some are very good right after you have read them, but then if you reread them later they might not be as good as the first time; others might be even better. Some are good horror books and others are good nonhorror books, so there are a lot of books that are good in their own way. It’s a little like comparing apples and oranges. But if someone put a gun to my head and said “pick one or I’ll pull the trigger,” I would say The Long Walk. The reason for this is that it’s a very simple story. It’s “just” about a group of boys out walking. But then King gets his hands dirty and tells us a story about great characters that you care a lot about. He tells a cruel story that you believe in, and this simple story about a group of boys out walking turns into something else, something brilliant.
GB: You’ve interviewed King twice, by phone. It’s been a few years, though, since the interviews. Are there any questions you’d want to ask him today, if you had the opportunity?
Lilja: Definitely. I interviewed him in 2007 and 2008, and I would have loved to turn that into a yearly tradition. If I got the chance to talk to him today, I would love to follow up on some of the questions I asked him [then]. What are his thoughts on fan sites and the Internet today? What does he think about limited editions of his books today? What about the retirement he talked about back then—is that still something he considers? How would he like to be remembered? How does he think he will be remembered? And so on. I would also like to ask him about all that has happened since the last interviews, all the books and stories he has written, the books and stories he hasn’t written yet, and so on. I have no doubt that I could spend at least one hour on the phone with him.
What I wouldn’t ask is all those standard questions we get each time something new is released, because most of that stuff those of us who follow the news online already know about.
GB: What was your first exposure to King? That is, what was your first King book? And what were your impressions of it?
Lilja: When I was little, the Christmas tradition at our home was that I got to open one gift in the morning of the twenty-fourth. In Sweden we open our gifts on the eve of the twenty-fourth, and as I have grown older, I have understood that the one gift in the morning was my parents’ way of giving them a break from all my nagging about when we could open the rest of the gifts. When I was thirteen, back in 1983, I got Carrie for the morning gift, even though I wasn’t a really big reader then. I mostly read comics, but I started this book by this author I didn’t know all that much about … then, and I was hooked. Carrie is a great book, and I have reread it many times after that.
GB: Have you read any of the books by King’s sons?
Lilja: I have. I have read all of Joe Hill’s books, and I really love them. He is very similar to his father but still has his own style. I will definitely continue reading his books as he releases them. I also read Owen’s book Double Feature, and, even though it was well written, it’s not really my type of book, so I’m not so sure I’ll pick up his next one. I might, but I don’t feel as eager as I would for a new Joe Hill book.
126
AN INTERVIEW WITH DAVID A. WILLIAMSON OF BETTS BOOKS
BY GEORGE BEAHM
David A. Williamson as Fr. Callahan, by Michael Whelan
If there’s one good reason to buy your King collectibles from Betts Books (www.bettsbooks.com) instead of from an online auction site that shares a similar name to a character in King’s novel Christine named LeBay, it’s this: Signed memorabilia offered online is suspect because it is difficult to evaluate any screening process that might be in place and to assess the qualifications of alleged experts who claim to validate authenticity. The Web site simply cannot provide guarantees or even a reasonable assurance that what is said through them is authentic.
Case in point: In December 2014, I saw a copy of a trade edition of book 7 of the Dark Tower novels selling online for $325. The problem, though, is that both Stephen King’s and Michael Whelan’s signatures are forged. (I confirmed that Michael’s signature was fake, through his wife, Audrey. King’s signature was blatantly fake, and embarrassingly so.) Unfortunately, it was sold to a King fan who’s going to be very upset when he tries to resell it and discovers he was robbed—a real horror story.
Stuart Tinker, who owned and operated Betts Books before David A. Williamson bought it, told me that on a popular online auction site, he routinely saw numerous forged King signatures for sale. It happens all the time, and for that reason I never buy signed memorabilia online, unless I am confident I’m dealing with authentic items.
So your best bet, always, is to buy from a reputable dealer, like David at Betts Bookstore.
There’s also the matter of packing and shipping: If you order from online sites the sellers are usually nonspecialists who can’t properly identify books and can’t pack them properly, either. I’ve gotten book club editions that the sellers thought were first editions; I’ve gotten books mailed in plastic bags that arrived so damaged that you’d swear the post office has custom-made machinery designed to fold, spindle, and mutilate packages.
I’d run a photo of David with this interview, but Michael Whelan beat me to it, with a great portrait of him as Father Callahan (see the color insert titled “The Dark Tower: Callahan”).
David, who purchased Betts Books on December 1, 2009, runs it as a part-time venture, so if you e-mail him and don’t hear back immediately, he’ll get back to you as soon as he can.
GB: Why did you buy Betts Bookstore?
David: I purchased Betts Books for a couple of reasons. First, Stuart Tinker (former owner) announced that he was selling the business, and if a buyer could not be found he would close the store. I had, at that time, been a pret
ty serious King collector for nearly fifteen years and knew personally many of the largest collectors, so I thought I’d be a “natural” as a new owner. Second, financially, I was in a position to step up and purchase Betts; and finally, as a collector myself, I totally “get” the joy/rush/pleasure of filling a hole in my own King collection, and I wanted to be able to help others experience that same feeling. I just knew I would be good at this task.
GB: What are the books that your customers most often ask for, and want?
David: There clearly are fan favorites in the Stephen King collectibles world. The Stand signed/numbered edition, lovingly known as the “Coffin” or “Bible” limited, definitely ranks in the top-five demanded books. Those sell out as quickly as I can find copies. Similarly, [editions of] It, both the signed original Viking 1986 hardcover and the twenty-fifth-anniversary editions (gift, numbered, lettered) published a couple years ago by Cemetery Dance, are highly sought after collectibles. I do a very brisk business in the Dark Tower series, both signed and numbered editions as well as the first edition trade hardcovers from Donald Grant.… Among collectors, early King titles such as ’Salem’s Lot, The Shining, The Stand, and Night Shift all are hard to keep in stock.
GB: What’s the most expensive King collectible you’ve sold?
David: The single most expensive item, and perhaps the “coolest” King collectible I’ve ever sold, was a set of three issues of Comics Review in which King wrote the story “I Was a Teenage Grave Robber.” It was the first appearance of the story and, if I am not mistaken, the first publication of any King story except for the self-published stuff he did with his brother. According to the publisher, this was the only surviving complete copy of the full story in those three issues. Let’s just say that the three issues sold for north of $10,000.1
