Authors I Always Wanted To Read -- But Mostly Didn't

So as I wait -- ever so patiently -- for Revival to come out, I am left reading the other guys (and gals.)  Mostly theology lately.  But I realized, there is a small pile of writers I've always wanted to read, but just haven't yet.  Here's my list:

1. Robert Block
2. Leo Tolstoy.  Yes I did try War and Peace.  Too much peace, not enough war.
3. Agatha Christie.  I read Ten Little Indians, and it was pretty dreadful in my opinion.  But I should try again.
4. Zane Gray.
5. Louis L'amour.  I want to read cowboy novels, but they all feel kinda the same.
6. C.S. Lewis Space trilogy.
7.  Dean Koontz.  I keep trying, but have trouble getting into the books.  Maybe I should stop starting on book seven.
8. Alexander Dumas.  I watched the movie.  And the musical.
9. Jules Verne.  Again -- MOVIES!
10. Ken Follett.   I've read a lot of his novels; just wish I read a lot more.

Cast no stones.  Just give me your list.

Reading The Other Guys

Waiting for Revival has me reading a few other horror writers.  The journey is both fun, and frustrating.  It's frustrating because I know how King writes.  I'm used to the way he builds characters, brackets thoughts, and slowly moves a plot.  Other writers have their own style.  It's fun because the journey can feel very new.

Of course, I read "non-King" all the time.  But I don't read much horror other than Stephen King.  I typically love Follett, classics, Dickens, Poe, Grisham, Clancy and more.  But what about Little, Mccammon, Koontz, Rice and other horror writers?  Well, the truth is, I don't read them much.  I DID; before I went into "King immersion."

Anne Rice used to be a particular joy to read.  Then her books kept getting -- well, bigger and bigger.  I wondered, "Does this lady have an editor?"

So here's what I've  been reading:

1. Dean Koontz, Lost Souls.  

I got this for the car, and actually, it's hard to follow.  Not because of the story, but because the narrator is dry as a pinewood coffin.  The plot moves quickly -- like lightening.  And, I didn't realize when I bought the audio book that I was picking up mid-series.  In fact, it's book FIVE.  Imagine stepping into the Dark Tower with Wolves of the Calla.  Might leave you with some questions, right?

At first I was thinking, "Why isn't he doing more to introduce these characters?"  Well, he did; in the other four novels.  So, Koontz is about to go on pause.  But not because I'm not enjoying his writing.  In fact, one of my favorite Dean Koontz books is Midnight.  (And the one about the dog. . . but I can't remember the books name.)

2. Robert Mccammon, Swan Song.  

I've been listening to this one also while I run.  I need to run more.  The book is fantastic every time I read it.  There's a tunnel scene which I actually think is much scarier than the one in The Stand.  But the two probably should not be compared too closely.  (I know, I have a blog post that does just that.)

Mccammon has a style that is very similar to King's.  A lot of character building, scene set up and a slower plot pace than, say, Koontz.  Mccammon also does something that is reminiscent of Stephen King; he mames some key characters early on.  OH MY!  There is a scene in which a boy has to cut off a man's hand with a meat cleaver.  Let's just say, it's horror at its very best!

And he sucked in his breath and brought the cleaver down with all of his strength on Colonel Macklin’s wrist. 

Bone crunched. Macklin jerked but made no sound. Roland thought the blade had gone all the way through, but he saw with renewed shock that it had only penetrated the man’s thick wrist to the depth of an inch. 

“Finish it!” Warner shouted. 

Roland pulled the cleaver out. 

Macklin’s eyes, ringed with purple, fluttered closed and then jerked open again. “Finish it,” he whispered. 

Roland lifted his arm and struck down again. Still the wrist wouldn’t part. Roland struck down a third time, and a fourth, harder and harder. He heard the one-eyed hunchback shouting at him to hurry, but Macklin remained silent. Roland pulled the cleaver free and struck a fifth time. There was a lot of blood now, but still the tendons hung together. Roland began to grind the cleaver back and forth; Macklin’s face had turned a pasty yellow-white, his lips as gray as graveyard dirt.

. . . it goes on like  that for quite a bit.

3. Jay Anson, The Amityville Horror

I've been reading this before  bed.  Go figure.  It's a mix of scary and stupid.  The scary thing is, this stuff might have actually happened.

The stupid part is the way the story is told.  It feels like children telling a ghost story.  "And then, there was black stuff that came out of our faucet.  And then she started levitating off the bed.  And then the window shut on the girls hand.  And then there were flies all over the window and a voice said to get out.  And then there was a marching band that George heard in the living room, but when he chekced there was no marching band.  And then there were spooky eyes peeking in on us but when we ran outside there were only pigs tracks in the snow."

Anyway, there were some real murders that happened in the house.  My interest was rekindled after seeing a documentary on Netflix titled, "My Amityville Horror."

The only reason Amityville is in any way scary is you think, "This might have happened.  Who  knows!  Demons are real.  And there were real murders that happened in that house!"  Not to mention, the place  just looks haunted.  Who wants a house that looks like it's looking at you?

4. William Malmborg, Text Message.

I've enjoyed this book quite a bit so far; though it reads very much like Richard Laymon.  The books moves very fast.  I would say it's a page turner, but I'm reading it on my phone (seems fitting for a book called Text Message.)

. . . so tell me what non-King horror books you've been reading.

Screamplays Arrives

My copy of Screamplays came on Friday.  What a great day!  And what a nice looking book.

Screamplays is huge (why I had Miriam hold it, just for  perspective.)  The cover and interior art are also nicely done. The book itself is first drafts of various screen plays by famous authors.

Table of Contents:"Introduction" by Dean Koontz
"General" by Stephen King
"The Legend of Hell House" by Richard Matheson
"Moonlighting" by Harlan Ellison
"Killing Bernstein" by Harlan Ellison
"Dead in the West" by Joe R. Lansdale
"Track Down" by Ed Gorman
"The Hunted" by Richard Laymon

The driving force behind Screamplays is Cemetery Dance's editor, Richard Chizmar.  By the way, just look at that lineup of writers.  I'm excited anytime Matheson, Laymon and King are all in the same book!

The plays themselves are well done.  I hesitated to read them because I was afraid it was going to be like trying to read Shakespeare in High School.  Who wants to read a play?  Just dialogue, right?  Well, these gifted writers get a lot done with dialogue!  And no, it's not like trying to read the Bard.

The book has been out for a while, but this over sized special edition is new to the scene.  I think I bought the book before the kid holding it in the picture was born.  I'm not kidding.  After buying it, I checked the mail every day.  Finally called CD, and was told that the book had been a "pre-order." Then years went by.   Years!  I actually thought they'd forgotten about it.  Then one day, notice came to my email that they were sending me the book.

By far, my favorite part of the book is Dean Koontz's introduction.  It is hilarious! Koontz discusses the absolute joy of writing a first draft of a screen play.  He explains that unlike a novel, a screen play is easy to play with, to add new plot lines and to keep things moving.  He is definitely a fan -- of the FIRST draft.  But then the work gets sent off to Hollywood producers, directors and the pain begins.  Koontz describes an incident with a confused, muttering director that he ultimately refused to work with.  It's great stuff!

Not Stephen King!

Ever notice the number of authors who get compared  to Stephen King?  Or how often we hear, "He/She's the next Stephen King."  Of course, no one writes like Stephen King.  Each writer has their own approach and style.

It is true that people  who enjoy reading Stephen King generally enjoy some of the same other  authors as well.

Here are 6 authors I think in some way fall in the Stephen King box.  Each is wonderful in their own right and has their own unique way of telling a story.

1. Dean Koontz  (My favorite novel: Watchers)
2. Robert McCammon (Swan Song)
3. Brian Keene (The Conqueror Worms)
4. John Saul (I have not read John Saul)
5. Anne Rice (I never finished a Rice novel -- that was written under her name)
6. Richard Laymon (Resurrection Dreams)

Who else gets  lumped in the "like Stephen King" category?

INTERVIEW: Shawn S. Lealos

Shawn Lealos is a journalist and film critic, as well as the director of the dollar baby, “I know what you need.”  He will also be writing a book about Dollar Babies as well as a novel– he’s very energetic!

Shawn’s website notes:

Shawn S. Lealos has been a professional writer for over 15 years, with articles published in national magazines, newspapers and websites. He has published movie criticism and news, sports articles and entertainment based content for websites as Yahoo! Movies, Yahoo! Sports, OMG.COM, Examiner.com, 411mania.com, Chud.com and The Huffington Post. He has also sold articles to magazines such as Inside Sports, Vox Magazine, Loud Magazine and The Red Zone.

Shawn has also written a handful of short stories and screenplays and has written, produced and directed six short films, including the Stephen King dollar baby, “I Know What You Need.” He is currently writing a book based on the Stephen King dollar babies, telling the stories of filmmakers from all over the world who used this program to get their foot in the door and further their careers.

INTERVIEW

Talk Stephen King: Hi Shawn! Thank you so much for taking the time to do this. Tell me a little about yourself. 

Shawn Lealos: I am a graduate of the University of Oklahoma where I received by Bachelor’s degree in Journalism with an emphasis on professional writing. I studied mostly novel writing but also got my feet wet with journalism, mostly sports stuff. In my last year before graduating, I read a book about movies called “Adventures in the Screen Trade” by William Goldman and decided I wanted to try to write a screenplay. I liked it and stayed in school for two more years, taking film history classes.
Since then, I have worked as a journalist and film critic while also making short films.

I have written and directed eight short films so far but have neglected by original career plans to be a novel writer. I am changing that now with my non-fiction book about the Stephen King dollar babies as well as a fiction horror novel based on one of my short screenplays.

I am also working on getting my personal website going strong at shawnlealos.net and will keep it updated as I work on the dollar baby book and other future projects.

TSK: As a writer and movie maker, what are some non-King influences on your life? 

Shawn Lealos: As a screenwriter, I am really influenced by William Goldman, who wrote the book that made me start studying film. He also wrote the script for Stephen King’s “Misery.” I am also influenced by PT Anderson, the filmmaker who made “There Will be Blood” and “Magnolia.” I read the script for “Magnolia” at least once a year because I feel it is the perfect screenplay.
For novels, I was always a big fan of Dean Koontz but have not read anything by him in years. I also love the work of fantasy author Neil Gaiman, mystery writer John Sandford and I will read just about any comic book there is.

TSK: You worked for several years as a sports reporter for University of Oklahoma – is it safe to assume you have a deep love for sports? (Any favorite teams? , or are sports reporters supposed to be neutral on such things?) 

Shawn Lealos: Next to movies, football is my biggest passion. I love the Dallas Cowboys and have since the ‘70s when Roger Staubach and Tony Dorsett played for them. One of my high school graduation gifts was getting to go to the Cowboys’ practice facility to meet quarterback Danny White in 1988. I am also a huge fan of the Oklahoma Sooners and loved them since I was a kid. Going to OU was a dream come true and a lot of it comes from my love for their athletic program. One of my best memories ever was standing on the sidelines, as a reporter, when OU beat Florida State for the National Championship in 2000. In baseball, I am a Texas Rangers fan and in basketball I have become an Oklahoma City Thunder fan since they moved to the state.

TSK: It looks like you also had a big part in the short film, "Les chansons." Was it difficult to act in a movie you’d written? It seems like it would be frustrating to see things not translating to film the way you imagined them! 

Shawn Lealos: It was actually a pretty small role and I hated my performance in it. I really don’t like anything I have done on film and my only memorable performance was in “Happy Holidays,” which I also wrote and directed (YouTube). That was for my film capstone class at OU. For “Les Chansons,” there was an actress named Anne Haider, who worked with us on an unfinished short film we were shooting. We thought it would be nice to produce some films by some of our cast and crew and she was the first, and only one, that we did. She wrote the script and directed it. I edited it, created the visual effects and commissioned two musicians to create the soundtrack. I am happy with the final result of the movie, especially the music (YouTube).

TSK: You’re obviously very familiar with Stephen King and his work. What has King written that’s most inspired you? 

Shawn Lealos: The book that made me a lifelong fan was the unabridged version of “The Stand.” That remains my favorite book of all time, by any author. It just blew my mind and I would recommend anyone who has not read it to do so. I also love his short story, “The Last Rung on the Ladder.” I considered directing that as my Dollar Baby but felt I could not do it justice. Other than that, other favorites include “It” and “Pet Sematary.”

TSK: You directed the 2005 Dollar Baby, "I Know What You Need." What was that like? 

Shawn Lealos: That was definitely a good experience. I asked for the rights in 1999, way before the dollar babies really broke out. At that time, there were probably under 20 dollar babies. I learned about it from the introduction to Frank Darabont’s “Shawshank Redemption” screenplay, since his dollar baby, “The Woman in the Room,” was the first ever made. Well, I got the contracts in the mail in 2000 and at that time there was no time frame on them (I heard there is a two-year limit now). Well, we tried to shoot it in 2001 and failed miserably. We worked on two more short films and then decided to try it again in 2005. We brought back the same actor we used as Edward and re-cast all the other roles. I also added a character that was not actually in the story to show things happening that were only mentioned in the short story. We hired an experienced director of photography and then I hit up about a half dozen local bands to let us use their music for free. It was definitely a learning experience.

TSK: Were you pleased with the finished results of "I Know What You Need"?
Shawn Lealos: The movie, when finished, was 40 minutes long. I have seen more dollar babies that is about that length (or longer!) but that is way too long. Film festivals book blocks of short films and long films are rejected a lot, no matter how good they are, because they don’t fit into the blocks. We shortened it to 30 minutes and I left it at that. I still think it is too long. I also feel the acting is subpar, to put it nicely. Lilja’s Library reviewed it and said as much. Since we have no time limit to making this film, we have considered remaking it a third time, keeping it around 15 minutes, and hitting the festival circuit again.

TSK: Where can we see the film?


Shawn Lealos: The problem with dollar babies and fans is that we aren’t allowed to show it to anyone outside of festivals. However, there is a film festival coming up on Memorial Day in 2013 at Comicpalooza in Houston, Texas, and Stephen King dollar baby filmmakers are invited to enter their films in that festival. There is expected to be over 25,000 people in attendance at Comicpalooza because a lot of the Battlestar Galactica cast members will be there as well. “I Know What You Need” will screen at Comicpalooza in 2013, whether it is the old version or a remade one, along with hopefully a total of four hours of other Stephen King dollar babies.

TSK: I see you plan to write a book about Stephen King dollar babies. Tell me more about this! Obviously you have some firsthand experiences with this kind of work, what kind of a book do you envision? 

Shawn Lealos: I studied novel writing extensively in college but have not put that knowledge to use since I graduated because I have been so busy writing quick journalism for money. However, I decided it was time to get off my butt and write something. The book will be formatted to allow each chapter to focus on a specific filmmaker. While I cannot see their movies (unless I already saw them at a film festival), I am interviewing each filmmaker about making their movies and will tell their stories, including what the dollar baby led to in their careers.

I’ll also be talking to Bernd Lautenslager, who runs stephenkingshortmovies.com and maybe one or two other people outside of the regular filmmakers. This is not a book so much about the movies as it is about the fans who made them. I hope to give regular fans who never got a chance to see a dollar baby a chance to see inside the making of them. While I cannot ask to see the movies, Mr. King’s attorneys have let me know they don’t mind the book written in this format.

TSK: The dollar babies are certainly some of the lesser known trails of the Stephen King universe. Do you have a favorite? (Other than I Know What You Need – of course!) 

Shawn Lealos: My favorite that I have seen is “Umney’s Last Case” by Rodney Altman. Here is how good it is. There was a TV show called “Nightmares and Dreamscapes” which was a series that featured Stephen King short stories turned into films. These were not dollar babies but were big budget TV episodes. “Umney’s Last Case” was one of the episodes and it starred the wonderful William Macey. I saw that and Altman’s dollar baby and the dollar baby is the better version of the story out of the two. That movie will also screen at Comicpalooza and I am working on getting Altman to attend and join me for a question and answer panel for the fans.

A couple of other great dollar babies include “Paranoid” by Jay Holben (2000) and “The Last Rung on the Ladder” by James Cole and Dan Thron (1987). I am hoping both of those screen at Comicpalooza as well.

TSK: I really enjoyed your posts about the importance of a well developed villain to the overall strength of a novel. Of course, Stephen King is well known for creating all out scary villains. Who are some of your favorite Stephen King bad guys? 

Shawn Lealos: I’d say my favorite is Randall Flagg from “The Stand.” That character has been in so many different King stories under different names as well. He was in “Eyes of the Dragon” and was The Man in Black in “The Dark Tower” series. He was also Leland Gaunt in “Needful Things.” The guy is just the ultimate evil. Of course, there is also Pennywise, one of the scariest clowns in history.

For minor characters, I loved Trashcan Man in “The Stand.”

TSK: So, tell me – what’s next?  What projects do you have coming up?  

Shawn Lealos: There is the Dollar Baby book as well as my first horror novel, “The Devil’s Playground.” I am self publishing both books because I just don’t want to deal with publishing houses and agents. However, I guarantee they will be the best they can be and I won’t spare expenses when it comes to copyeditors and designers.

After that, we are looking at remaking “I Know What You Need.” My next book after the Dollar Baby book is about the history of comic book movies and then I will be at Comicpalooza in 2013 in Houston, Texas, if anyone wants to come out, see my movie, check out my books and talk to me about Stephen King, comics or anything else really.

TSK: Thank you so much for taking time to do this!  I really look forward your novel
Shawn Lealos: Thanks for the interview, David.