is IT in California?

Rebecca Jacobson at pbs.org/newshour has posted an article titled, "Police arrest one of 20 clowns terrorizing county in California."  Jaconson's first lines include references to Stephen King.  

If the movies “It” and “Killer Clowns from Outer Space” gave you the heebie-jeebies, there’s another reason to be scared of clowns: An outbreak of clowns in the San Joaquin Valley are terrifying residents.

Great.  Evil killer Clown in California.   Jacobson reports on the arrest of what amounts to pranksters terorizing neighborhood children.

The recent creepy clown trend started on social media on October 1. Photos of an eerie clown posed carrying balloons in poorly lit streets of Wasco, California appeared online. The “Wasco clown” photos were taken by a husband and wife team and posted to an Instagram account as part of a year-long art project.

And now, Jacobson says, there are "armed-clown copycats."  This reminds me of something King's fiction often makes clear -- often the real monster is the people.  

Bad Little Kid

BAD LITTLE KID (in french : "SALE GOSSE")

From stephenking.com: Stephen's visit in Germany and France last November was not only for his fans a very special event, but also for him. To thank all his German and French fans for their warm welcome he came up with a great idea: He wrote a story, "Bad Little Kid", which will be available in e-book format from 14th of March just in German (Böser kleiner Junge) and French (Sale Gosse).

Lilja's Library gives this summery of Bad Little Kid: George Hallas is in prison. In one week, he is to be executed. He has remained silent for a long time, but now he opens up to his public defender, Leonard Bradley. He tells him how his dreadful deed came to pass. For Bradley, the confession will eventuelly have spooky consequences.

Club Stephen King offered this, "A diabolical kid who cause the inevitable death of your relatives, a bad little kid who has led George Hallas, accountant, in the death row. And that may, one day, cross your path."

Good Reads Nominates Doctor Sleep As One The Best Books Of 2013

www.goodreads.com has nominated Doctor Sleep as one of the best books of 2013.  Other nominations include Joe Hill's NOS4A2 and Dean Koontz's Deeply Odd.  I've not read the Odd novels, but they seem to be getting a lot of attention.

Club Stephen King wrote to let me know that JOYLAND & AMERICAN VAMPIRE are also nominated for the goodreads choice  awards, in other categories.

It's a great time to be a constant reader!

CARRIE Comic-Con Poster

Vintage Books & Anchor Books posted this picture of Carrie, saying: "Check out the huge poster Comic-Con International for the new Carrie movie based on the book Carrie by Stephen King."

I agree with Scarlet Mephistopheles who noted, "gotta love the first aid and stretcher beneath."

CLUB STEPHEN KING: Richard Bachman Check

I enjoyed this article from my friends at club Stephen King about Richard Bachman.  The website is in French, but both google  and Bing will translate it just fine.  So here's something cool  I didn't know:

In 1994, nine years after his death, when his widow was preparing to move, she discovered a box of manuscript in the basement.It contained a number of novels and short stories, more or less finalized. The most complete was a novel called regulators . Claudia took the manuscript to the former editor Richard Bachman , Charles Verrill, who found that the book was a continuation of his previous books. After a few minor changes and with the permission of the widow Bachman (now Claudia Eschelman) Regulators was published in September 1996, and in October of the same year, the novel skin and bones became a Paramount film Pictures. [At the same time that the output Regulators , Stephen King published Desolation novel protanogistes comprising the same, but a different story. Similarly, the book covers are set side by side full artwork.] 

A limited edition of Regulators was published by Dutton and each copy has a check signed by Bachman before his death.

Check out  the entire website, it's a lot of fun.  club-stephenking

Club Stephen King Turns Twenty

CONGRATULATIONS TO CLUB STEPHEN KING!

Club Stephen King is about to cross its 29 year mark!  Club Stephen King was started in France in October, 1992 (the year I graduated High School).  To celebrate, Club Stephen King is organizing a "GIANT" contest.  Doubt the word giant?  They told me there are more than 90 gifts.

Beginning of the contest : september 21st, 2012 (for Stephen King's birthday, that will
turn 65 this year)
URL : http://clubstephenking.com

Note : Although the CLUB STEPHEN KING is a french website, there are MANY international
gifts, NOT ONLY gifts in french.

Club Stephen King :
Webite : http://club-stephenking.fr/Facebook (french fans) : http://www.facebook.com/ClubStephenKing.FranceTwitter (international followers): http://twitter.com/ClubStephenKingPinterest (board presenting the gifts) :
http://pinterest.com/clubstephenking/contest-21st-of-september-2012/

THREE Reviews Of 11.22.63

Reviews of 11.22.63 continue to be very positive, from both fans and professionals.  To tell you the truth, I enjoy the fan reviews most.  I have not yet spotted a negative review of thsi novel.  Of course, I haven't been looking very hard! 

Here are three reviews worth noting:

1. The Globe Mail's Robert Wiersema calls the novel "whopping" and "stunning."  This review gives away a lot of information.  Wiersema writes, "Rather, this is an intensely character-based novel, full of small moments and details, surrounding larger philosophical questions."  He promises the book will "thrill" long time fans. 
Wierseman makes these interesting connections between 11.22.63 and King's larger body of work:

"George's (George is Jake) first stop in the past is Derry, Maine, in the fall of 1958, after the summer of murders documented in It (the scene where George meets Richie Tozier and Beverly Marsh made the hair on my arms stand up) or that the novel as a whole is invertedly reminiscent of The Dead Zone, in which John Smith spent a novel building up to assassinating a presidential candidate. It’s also the little things, echoes of King’s books threading unobtrusively through the heaves and struggles of the past. For example, George is haunted by a car, a red-and-white Plymouth Fury, the same colour and model as Christine."

2. King joked on TODAY that he should buy Janet Maslin a Porsche for this review of his novel!  She notes that "he constructs an alternate reality in which the Kennedy presidency is not interrupted. It is not what his readers are liable to expect."  And she concludes with this energetic endorsement:

"The pages of “11/22/63” fly by, filled with immediacy, pathos and suspense. It takes great brazenness to go anywhere near this subject matter. But it takes great skill to make this story even remotely credible. Mr. King makes it all look easy, which is surely his book’s fanciest trick."

3.  Jérémy Guérineau at Club Stephen King has a nice review of 11.22.63 as well.  I enjoyed this review quite a lot, actually.  Guérineau  calls it one of King's most ambitious novels.  He also points out that

King "has performed a tremendous feat in portraying the America of the late 50s-early 60s, in rendering local accents (Maine and Texas)... and the lyrical and highly musical atmosphere of the time (the swinging 50s)."

Club Stephen King Contest !

http://quotes.club-stephenking.fr/contest

Club Stephen King has topped 10,000 followers on twitter!  Join the updates and you'll also be able to get in on their current contest. 

Here's the links -- have fun!

• Stephen King contest
• Follow @ClubStephenKing on twitter… SIMPLY enter your details in the form
• Here are the Terms and conditions of the contest
• Extra chances to win by sharing the contest on twitter :Win a copy of the upcomming #StephenKing’s book: 11/22/63 and copies of the flipback Misery http://bit.ly/r2aYFo #StephenKingContest