Lilja's Library (38 page)

Marsha DeFilippo:
When I get tips from fans, I do my best to follow up, and if it involves a copyright issue, I turn it over to either the appropriate publisher or Stephen’s attorneys to follow up.  

Lilja:
How do you handle email and letters from fans? Do you read them and then forward them to Stephen if you think it’s something he needs to see? And if not, do you answer everything?  

Marsha DeFilippo:
I don’t do much of the physical mail anymore, as the message board and the other duties I perform for Steve keep me too busy. There are two others in the office who read/answer the physical mail. If it’s a question they can’t answer or a particularly nice letter, they do try to make sure he sees it.  

Lilja:
What are questions you get asked the most now that
The Dark Tower
has been completed? Here is your chance to get some of them down on paper (so to speak) and maybe stop one or two letters from coming in…  

Marsha DeFilippo:
We have people wanting to know where they can submit their version of the writing exercise given in
On Writing
,
even though we do have this covered in the FAQ that we are no longer accepting submissions. Fans still want to know when
The Plant
will be finished. Again, this is answered in the FAQ. Actually, most of the questions that are asked regularly are answered there.  

Lilja:
Here are the top five most common questions I get sent to me. Maybe you can address them all and get that out of the way? 

1. How can I get this or that signed by Stephen?  

Marsha DeFilippo:
This is answered in the FAQ on Steve’s site, but his current policy is that he only signs books at book signings.  

2. Will Stephen finish
The Plant
?  

Marsha DeFilippo:
Steve answers this in the FAQ on his site.  

3. How can I contact Stephen and/or his office?  

Marsha DeFilippo:
Steve stopped personally responding to fan mail many years ago because it came down to a choice between answering fan mail or writing books. His publishers will forward fan mail, which is sent to their offices.  

4. What is Stephen working on at the moment/what will his next book be called?  

Marsha DeFilippo:
Under the Dome
is taking up most of his time right now.  

5. And a surviving
The Dark Tower
question. Will it ever be filmed?  

Marsha DeFilippo:
There is some confusion among fans about that. Steve has given J.J. Abrams (
LOST
) the option to come up with a proposal to film
The Dark Tower
. If that proposal is acceptable, then it will move on to the next stage of producing an adaptation.  

Lilja:
As you probably know better than anyone, we Stephen King fans are always hungry for news about Stephen’s work. Can you give us some insight as to what we can expect to see in the future?  

Marsha DeFilippo:
We have listed projects in the Future Works section of the site, which includes the short story collection coming out in November, and Steve is working on
Under the Dome
,
which will be comparable to
IT
and
The Stand
in length. No publication date has been set for that yet as it’s too early in the first draft stage. Once finished with that, Steve plans to return to his musical project with John Mellencamp. It had been scheduled to open in Atlanta, GA in April of 2009, but has been put off so that Steve could work on
Under the Dome
. There are several other projects, but I’m not at liberty to say more about them yet.  

Lilja:
OK, thanks for taking the time to speak to me. I really appreciated it and I know my readers will as well. Thanks! 

**** 

Glenn Chadbourne 

Written for the book  

Lilja:
You have created the mascot for Lilja’s Library—Marv, The Library Policeman. How did that happen?  

Glenn Chadbourne:
The fine folks at Lilja’s Library had seen some of my SK-related artwork and asked if I’d like to brew up something for the host character on Lilja’s site. I was delighted to draw something, and thus Marv was born.  

Lilja:
Was he hard to do?  

Glenn Chadbourne:
No, he was a blast! I just brought up images in my head of the Library Policeman and went to work. Then Marv just poured out on the page.  

Lilja:
Was the version we see now the first one you did or did you do several that got rejected?  

Glenn Chadbourne:
Yes, like I said, Marv just dripped out on the page first try, and everyone involved thought he fit the host role very well.  

Lilja:
Are you happy with how he looks on the website?  

Glenn Chadbourne:
Very happy. He looks over things quite well, I think.  

Lilja:
Now you have done eight (including the cover) more drawings of Marv for this book. How did that happen?  

Glenn Chadbourne:
Again, Lilja asked for some Marv-related artwork; Marv hosting different chapters of the book and so on, and so I just laid him out performing host duties, introducing different sections and goings-on in the book. I think people will enjoy these drawings. Marv’s a great tour guide.  

Lilja:
Did you have any guidelines when you did the drawings for the book?  

Glenn Chadbourne:
I was told what the different sections of the book would relate to, so I directed Marv in action drawings relating to each different section. For instance, there’s a section devoted to SK films, so Marv is backdropped with cameras and movie props.  

Lilja:
Do you have a favorite drawing you have done of Marv?  

Glenn Chadbourne:
I guess my favorite would be Marv sitting at his desk with creatures oozing out of his computer, though they were all a blast to draw.  

Lilja:
Would you say that Marv is a typical Glenn Chadbourne creation, and if so, why?  

Glenn Chadbourne:
I think so, yeah. But he’s also unique—I think he has his own special character, just brought about with my usual love of creepy detail.  

Lilja:
Do you think we’ll see more of Marv in the future?  

Glenn Chadbourne:
I hope so. Marv rocks!
 

Part 4—Reviews: Books
 

Section 1—The Ones by King  

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
 

Posted: June 30, 2000  

Finally, it was time for King’s second nonfiction book,
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
, to be published. To be really honest I was a bit nervous and skeptical about it. Why? Well, to be honest, I didn’t like the first one,
Danse Macabre
, all that much.  

When it comes to King’s writing, I prefer the fiction over the nonfiction, as I think many of his fans do, although not all. Of course, I do read the nonfiction stuff as well, but not with the same eagerness as I do with his fiction.
Danse Macabre
dealt rather much with what King liked to read and watch, stuff I haven’t read or seen myself, which makes the book less interesting to me. Actually
Danse Macabre
is the only book by King I had a hard time getting through. [I guess this is why I was worried at first that
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
was going to be another nonfiction book.] 

Then, at the end of last year, when you could download an excerpt from
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
, I instantly calmed down. What I read could best be described as a biography, and what a biography!  

What do I now think about
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
after reading it? Well, it’s a great book…most of the time. The first part, where King tells us about his childhood, is wonderful! He tells us about the babysitter from hell, Eula—Beulah. He tells us about how his brother, Dave, released
Dave’s Rag
. He tells us about how he meets Tabitha. He tells us about his mother’s death. He also, in a very open way, tells us about his drinking and drug problems.  

What we get here is an extremely open and honest overview of King’s life. It really feels like King is telling us all there is to tell. King also tells us that he now has been clean for about twelve years, and I’m extremely happy for him!  

After the strong opening the book turns weak though. We now get an English grammar lecture about verbs and adjectives from King. Even though I probably need it, I think it gets tiresome to read. I’m not a writer myself (and probably never will be), so this doesn’t appeal to me much, and I just felt that this part of the book was hard to get through. While I was reading this section, I felt I wanted to know more about King’s childhood, instead; I wanted more of the stuff from the first part. 

After the grammar section comes more writing tips. This part is more interesting though. Here King tells us about how he wrote specific books, and this is very interesting to know. Among the things he talks about is how
Misery
was written. This part is a real joy to read. I love getting background on King’s work. Unfortunately, this part of the book is a bit heavy, as was the grammar section. When King talks about writing in general, it gets a bit uninteresting to me, probably because I’m not a writer myself. It becomes a bit like reading an instruction book about a thing you don’t have!  

When you get through this part of the book (which isn’t all that bad, but a bit too long for me), you do get rewarded. There came a chapter in which King tells about his accident last year. For the first time you get all of the information you read in the papers confirmed or denied. King tells us how he, after the accident, came to and saw Bryan Smith sitting on a rock, looking at him as if he were looking at a TV show. King also tells us how he thought he would die in the helicopter when he couldn’t breathe because of the punctured lung. Similar to the book’s first part, I feel that King is very open and honest when he tells us about the accident. It feels like he tells it exactly the way it was, and you really feel for him!  

Lilja’s final words about
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft  

If you’re a big King fan this book is a must read! (Even if you’re not a writer yourself…)  

If you’re a sporadic King reader who only likes King’s fiction, then this might not be the book for you. You don’t have anything else to read? Well, then, give it a try, you can always give it up if you don’t like it, right? You might actually end up enjoying his non-fiction work. However, if you only like books like
IT
and
The Stand
, then you might want to try something else…but you’d be missing out! 

**** 

Dreamcatcher
 

Posted: January 23, 2001  

We’re in Derry. It’s 1978. Something big is happening…four young boys are doing a brave thing—perhaps even a great thing… 

In
Dreamcatcher
, King tells the story about Beav, Pete, Henry and Jonesy, four boys living in Derry. One day in 1978, they save Duddits (who is retarded) from being harassed by some bullies. This is a brave thing considering the bullies are both bigger and stronger than they are; a great thing considering that it will affect the future of mankind… 

After saving Duddits, the four friends spend a lot of time with him, something both they and he enjoy. It turns out, though, that spending time with Duddits changes the four of them. It gives them a special gift; it gives them the gift of telepathy. 

When the boys get older, the four of them leave Derry. Duddits is left behind. They spread like the wind and don’t have as much to do with each other like they did when they where children. They do, however, get together every November in the woods of Maine to hunt. They have a place called the Hole in the Wall where they stay for a week and talk, play cards and occasionally shoot deer. 

Dreamcatcher
has a strong connection to
IT
, not just because it partly takes place in Derry: The Losers Club and its members are actually mentioned in the book.
Dreamcatcher
is also connected to
IT
by the way the story is told. King mixes past and present (as he does in
IT)
, telling us what the four of them were like as kids in 1978 and how they are now as adults.
Dreamcatcher
is greatly told by King. I like its style a lot. 

The present time in the novel is November 2001; yes, King is telling this story as if it is already November 2001. This time, when the four of them are at the Hole in the Wall, things go horribly wrong. One day a man named McCarthy stumbles into their lives, telling them he has been lost in the woods for some time. When they get him into the house he starts farting—farts that smell like nothing the others have ever smelled before. At first they blame it on what he must have eaten from the woods while lost. It turns out, though, that he is, in a way, pregnant… 

Inside of him, a shit-weasel is growing and all hell breaks loose. It turns out that a spaceship carrying aliens and something called Byrus has crashed in the woods. The Byrus (or Ripleys, as the military calls it) appears extremely contagious and spreads quickly. The military soon seizes control over the area. The man in charge, Kurtz, leads an attack against the aliens, blowing up their ship, killing them all and eliminating the danger. Or so he thinks… 

Henry, who escapes from the woods, is caught by the military and put in a barn with about two to three hundred other civilians (mostly hunters) who will soon be executed. Kurtz doesn’t want to leave any witnesses behind. 

When King describes the military, its camp and the virus situation, I get the feeling I’m reading
The Stand
all over again. Not because any of the characters, places or events from
The Stand
are mentioned, but because of the spreading Byrus.  

After a while, people are starting to notice that the aliens brought more than the Byrus and the Byrum. They also brought telepathy. People are starting to be able to read each other’s minds. Henry feels that Jonesy, who has been abducted by Mr. Gray (the only surviving alien), is about to do something horrible. Henry knows he has to stop him. With the help of telepathy he convinces Owen, who is Kurtz’s right-hand man, to help him. Owen helps Henry break out of the camp, setting the other prisoners free, and by doing so creates a bloodbath.  

Soon they are on Mr. Gray’s/Jonesy’s trail. He is heading for Quabbin Reservoir—Shaft 12, to be exact. Mr. Gray plans to dump the body of a dog in the shaft. The dog, which has a Byrum growing inside, will be dumped in the water and serve as the Byrum’s home until it’s adapted to the climate.  

Henry and Owen have to stop Mr. Gray, but to do it, they need Duddits. As they pass Derry to pick him up, they find out he is dying of leukemia. No one had even known he was sick. Here, King really plays on the reader’s emotions and is successful in doing so— some parts of the story are really sad.  

As if having to catch Mr. Gray isn’t enough for Henry, Owen and Duddits, there is more. Kurtz is on their heels. He feels Owen has stepped over the line and is going to make him pay for it…  

Lilja’s final words about
Dreamcatcher
 

I liked this book a lot and I think most King fans will as well. King tells a really good story in a great way, with many jumps between past and present, dreams and reality. I was also surprised by how the story developed for the four main characters. I won’t say what happens, but to me it was a bit of a surprise.  

The climax of the book is also very exciting. I was practically on nails for the last one hundred pages or so and had a really hard time putting the book down. Besides being both exciting and sad,
Dreamcatcher
is also one of the bloodiest and goriest books King has written. One particular scene in a bathroom is truly gruesome…I also predict that the book’s ending will be widely debated.  

As most of you know, this book has already been destined to be a movie. I think that will be a hard task to fulfill—much of what happened can only be imagined in the reader’s mind. I know the technique in Hollywood is great, but this is one story they won’t be able to tell in a satisfying way. 

So, my advice is: go out and get
Dreamcatcher
now!
Dreamcatcher
is King at his best! 

**** 

Secret Window, Secret Garden (audio) 

Posted: February 14, 2001  

First, let me tell you that I’m no big listener of audiobooks. I usually just read the book instead of listening to them from the stereo or my walkman. Now and then there are some audiobooks that are worth listening to though.
Secret Window, Secret Garden
is one of them. 

What makes this one so unique, you might ask. Well, for one thing, it’s not just someone reading the book (not that that’s necessarily a bad thing)—it’s a dramatization of the book. This has been done before, I know.
The Mist
is one example, and the newly released version of
Pet Sematary
is another. This current release, from British BBC radio, might very well be the best one yet. 

It’s terrifically performed and the actors, Henry Goodman (as Mort Rainey) and William Roberts (John Shooter), do a superb job. There are other actors and actresses as well, but these two are the ones who have the two big parts of the story.  

I have always been a bit skeptical about dramatizations, as they are so easy to screw up.
The Mist
is one dramatization that I’m not that fond of. The story is good, but there is too much noise in the background, making it a bit hard to follow the story. Thankfully, this is not the case with
Secret Window, Secret Garden
—there is just the right mix of actors, background noises and sound effects.  

I guess most of you know what the story itself is about by now, but for those of you who don’t, I’ll tell you.
Secret Window, Secret Garden
tells the story of author Mort Rainey, who one day gets a visit from a man named Shooter claiming that Mort plagiarized one of Shooter’s stories. Mort does everything he can to prove that this is wrong, without success. The more he tries, the more violent Shooter gets. [SPOILER ALERT! Skip to next paragraph if you don’t want to know!] After committing a murder (which he can pin Mort to), Shooter demands that Mort write another story, using Shooter’s name as the author, which would make them even. 

Secret Window, Secret Garden
is one of my personal favorites among King’s shorter works. It’s a well-told story and its surprisingly twisted ending is just wonderful. The beauty of this dramatization is that they have succeeded in preserving King’s voice in the story. It’s still the same wonderful story that King tells in
Four Past Midnight
. Great work!