Merry Christmas!

Here's Santa!

The Elf Is At IT Again

Elf On the Shelf Is Up To No Good

What Makes a Stephen King Story Good? Character

 “I think the best stories always end up being about the people rather than the event, 

which is to say character-driven.”
― Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

To this day I am amazed at how much I can still 'fall' into a Stephen King book. I am about halfway through Joyland and I can't believe how quickly the pages are turning.

I'm really enjoying the first person narrative of the story.

King's ability to make the main character relate to the reader on a personal level is tremendous.  It sucks me in every time.  I think that is the best aspect about King's writing; his ability to pull the reader into the story through the main character's perspective that before you realize it you're 50 pages in and caring more about what is going to happen to the this character than going to bed on a work night, or making supper for the family!

This is why I've been an avid reader of Stephen King since I was in High School so many moons ago, and why I am still a Constant Reader (and re-Reader) of his stories.   

What I Still Have To Read

I've read a lot of Stephen King books over the years, but I haven't read them all.  Here is a complete list of books I still have to read (not including Joyland, which I'm currently reading):

Novels:
Black House
Cujo
The Dead Zone
Doctor Sleep
Finders Keepers
Firestarter
Mr. Mercedes
Revival

Collections:
Bazaar of Bad Dreams
Just After Sunset

Screenplays:
Sorry Right Number

Non-Fiction:
Faithful
Guns
Mid-Life Confidential: Rock Bottom Remainders Tour America With Three Chords & An Attitude
Nightmares In The Sky

You know, there's more there than I thought there would be.  I better get reading!

7 Yrs Is Too Long

I can't believe it has been 7 years since I last posted here. That's not going to happen again.  Got busy doing other things I guess.

Been meaning to start this blog back up the last few year or so but I didn't, guess I was a bit hesitant.  The toughest part was just starting and now that that is over look for more from me in the near future!

Since this is a fresh start of sorts I decided to re-name the blog, so good-bye to The Works of Stephen King and hello Constant Reader of Stephen King!

I know I won't be posting everyday, but I'll be posting more often than before that's for sure.

I've been inspired by a few of the Stephen King Facebook Groups I've joined over the last year or two and once I get this site 'back in the high life again' (to quote Steve Winwood) I'll be sharing it with those SK Groups on FB too.

See you soon.

Look What I just Picked Up Today

It is the premier hardcover edition. I can't wait to get into this 'graphic novel'. Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't these used to be called 'comic books'?

Regardless, I'm into it.

Who Would Have Thought? Me Writing More Than Just a Blog

O.K. here is perhaps the biggest reason why I haven't been posting here on a regular basis. I'm now actually getting paid to write - not a lot mind you - and I know it isn't fiction, but it is still a start. And more importantly, I'm still practicing the art of writing.

One of the main reasons they wanted me to write for them is because they liked my written voice, and now that I'm writing for them I've been having difficulty finding it. I'm sure sure once I'm more comfortable with this whole thing, and I'm thinking less about voice and more about writing it'll come back effortlessly.

I am now two articles in and I'm already looking forward to writing my next one.

I'm Still Standing

I've been really bad at keeping up with this site as of late. Sorry.

I've got a ton of excuses though; work, family, been sick, keeping up with my NASCAR blog, starting my new 1957 Chevy Black Widow Blog, coaching, and it goes on and on.

One good thing though, I've been writing in some form or another almost every day - something Stephen himself would surely appreciate anyway (see what I'm talking about in Stephen's book 'On Writing').

I haven't even had time to finish reading 'Blaze' yet. I've got about 75 pages left, but I've been struggling to get any 'pleasure' reading done as of late too. I've done a ton of work and blog related reading, but the personal stuff has fallen by the wayside.

It happens like that sometimes.

I did manage to see 'The Mist' recently though - the first movie I've rented since Christmas - and I'll be posting my review of it, along with my thoughts on The Dark Tower Series, soon.

Take Care.

Stephen King’s thrilling novella The Gingerbread Girl is available now!

I just got this email from Stephen King's Official Web Site:

Originally published in Esquire magazine (click here to read an excerpt from the story), The Gingerbread Girl is available exclusively as an audiobook on CD and for download.

Narrated to perfection by Academy Award nominee Mare Winningham, The Gingerbread Girl follows the story of Em, who after suffering a devastating loss, starts running.

Soon Em runs from her husband and her home all the way to the airport. Looking for solace, Em’s running takes her to the Florida Gulf where she settles into the loneliest stretch of Vermillion Key. Once there Em keeps up her running until one day she makes the mistake of looking into the driveway of a man named Pickering. Pickering also enjoys the privacy of Vermillion Key, but the young women he brings there suffer the consequences.

Will Em be next? Listen to The Gingerbread Girl - available exclusively on CD and for download - and find out!

Listen to an excerpt from The Gingerbread Girl, narrated by Mare Winningham

Buy the audiobook from Simon & Schuster