Stephen King graces Englert stage Monday night
By: Gracey Murphy
IOWA CITY, IA — Hundreds of horror fans clap uproariously as Stephen King strides onto the illuminated stage of the Englert.
King, author of dozens of bestsellers and crossover successes such as The Green Mile, Misery, The Shining, and many others, visited Iowa City last night to promote his new book End of Watch.
End of Watch is the third and final book in the Bill Hodges series that also includes *Mr. Mercedes and Finders Keepers. In this novel, Hodges fights to pursue justice for a murder-suicide event that correlates with the Mercedes Massacre. With his former enemy, Brady Hartsfield (aka “Mr. Mercedes”) back on the loose, Hodges and his sidekick Holly must find a way to save the city.
Much like many of his other stories, this book has various levels of danger and mystery. However, by no stretch of the imagination is it a horror story. In fact, King disavowed his intention of ever being a horror writer.
“I never set out to be a horror writer or horror maister,” King said.
Upon arrival, King immediately spoke of his excitement to be attending 12 cities in 12 days on this tour. He mentioned that his editor was surprised that he didn’t solely want to visit cities like New York and Chicago, but wanted to include smaller places, like Iowa City.
King grew up in a small town of about 600 with only one tar road, he said, so he enjoys smaller places. He also discussed growing up with his mother and her contribution to his strange way of thinking.
“Some kids got Eloise and Dr. Seuss; my mother read us Jekyll and Hyde,” King said, “The mystery of creation–and this is as much of an analytical thing I can say cause it scares me to kill the goose that lays the egg–but I will say for a lot of people something comes built in. It comes built in the brain and sits there as a package waiting to be unwrapped.”
Though this event was technically planned to promote End of Watch, King mostly spoke of the highlights of his long career, and of the creative inner workings of his own brain-package.
He told the audience of his beginning, with the well-known book and two-time movie Carrie. King originally threw this piece out, but revisited it after encouragement from his wife.
“It was about girls in the locker room and menstruation, and I realized that was something I knew nothing about,” King said.
After selling it to a publisher, with an agreed 50% share of profits, he expected to get about $30,000 after the share was split. Instead, the book sold for $400,00, leaving King awe-struck and pleased he could finally pay his electricity bill.
When his next book, Salem’s Lot, came out, the critical media officially bestowed the title of “horror author” on King.
“So I became known as America’s bogeyman,” King said, “People would say to me ‘You’re becoming the pumpkin of horror whether you like it or not.’”
After many interesting stories, King held a Q&A for the audience. One woman approached the mic and eagerly spoke of her daughter in the hospital, currently undergoing labor. She said her daughter insisted she ask King to coffee, and said she would never speak to her mother again if she didn’t.
The crowd, all connected through their love of the author, burst into applause for this women, King smilingly slyly on stage.
After the event, everyone who attended got a free copy of End of Watch some lucky observers also received signed copies to finish a great night with “The Pumpkin of Horror.”