Very shortly after I saw Stephen King in Hartford a couple of months ago with a friend, that friend let me know that he would be making yet another local appearance. This time, it was much closer: New York City.
He asked me if I was interested.
Of course!
So, he got tickets. He told me, in passing, that every ticket-holder was to get a copy of King's new book, "Doctor Sleep".
It seemed far away, at the time that he mentioned it. Of course, the date raced forward, and of course, it was shockingly fast. Before I knew it, September was here, and I remembered that some point this month was the King and son event in the city, but later in the month. I found out when, and before I knew it, it was later September. And then, of course, the day was here. Yesterday.
By the time I left, I was running just a little bit later than expected. Not terribly late, and my plans had called for me to leave very early, because I did not want to change anything. This time, it would be done right, and my arrival would (hopefully) leave plenty of time not only to arrive there, but to do so at a casual, sane pace. I love walking, and used to go for long walks in the city almost systematically, every time I visited.
But the PATH train stopped at 33rd Street, about a block or so away from Madison Square Garden, and the event was on 59th &10th, by John Jay College. I had to take a class there some years ago, so I knew the area. As it turns out, the venue itself, the Gerald W. Lynch Theater, was evidently part of the John Jay College.
Learn something new everyday, right?
The drive was a bit faster than I wanted it to be. Now, here I should mention that the car had been giving me problems in August. The car repairs had come to over six hundred dollars, and when you add that to the costs for car rental, I had paid quite a bit of money, rather unexpectedly, and it had come at a bad time. There was a small trip that I had taken my son on late in August, and this also cost money, which meant that by the end of the month, and earlier this month, my finances were pretty much depleted. Not proud to say that, but it figured into this story, because the car showed signs of significantly rising temperatures when I was forced to take back roads in Newark, to avoid heavy traffic. Knowing what to do, having had this problem far too many times in my past (stretching back to the early nineties, when I first started driving!), I turned the heat on. It worked, and the temperature on the gauge began to go back down.
Still, the damage was done. I felt nervous and stressed. I waited at a traffic light, and ahead of me, there was a bald guy, like myself, in a convertible, and it did not take long for him to irritate me. First, he was laughing and joking to whoever it was in the passenger seat, and yes, petty or not, I was a little annoyed to see such a carefree attitude, while I was stressed and worried about my car. But then, he gave me real reason to start getting annoyed, as he began to move like he was making a turn (a K-turn, presumably). Mind you, there was no room to do this, and where we were was a one-way. He annoyed me even more when his reverse lights went on, and he neared my car. I could not see his tires, and still he was coming. I honked the horn, and he stopped, his reverse lights still on, and looking at me in his rearviewmirror.
The lights changed, and he seemed not to know what he was doing. I passed him first opportunity that presented itself (we both turned onto a four-lane road), and when I passed, he and I looked at one another. There were actually quite a few people (attractive girls, to boot) in the car. But he was no longer smiling and laughing. Nor was I. I looked back at him, and then kept going, not wanting either for the car to overheat, or either of our tempers. Mine was already getting there, rising perhaps as fast as the temperature gauge had.
Got the car to the parking lot that I prefer, because it is cheap. It would cost me $5 until the rest of the night. Of course, there would be a bit of cost to the PATH, but that was fine. The cost for the trip, all told, was under $10, and these days, merely driving into the city costs either $12 or $13, and that does not include parking, which is almost always in the $30 range. Too expensive, especially given my meager finances at the moment.
I parked and got out of the car, thankful that there were no major problems, or anything. Walked to Penn Station (yes, Newark has one, too), and got on the PATH to World Trade Center, where I would have to get out at Journal Square, to take the 33rd Street train. Got there maybe around ten to six.
The walk itself was not bad. Still don't mind decent length walks. No, what bothered me was the pace. I would now be forced to go at, because it would be at a fast clip. He had told me (incorrectly as, as it turned out) that the event would start at 6:45, which was an odd time, and made me scratch my head a bit. But, I had shrugged, and whether or not he was joking, meant to be there by that time, and no later.
Things did not quite turn out that way. Now, I was not late, but it was a bit tighter, and a lot more rushed, than expected.
As it turned out, it started well after 7:30 pm, probably even closer to quarter to eight. Of course, I did not know that, and walked rather briskly, trying not to go too fast, and trying desperately not to work myself into a heavy sweat, or anything. It was not exactly hot, but I have noticed that, on long walks, the faster I go, the more my body temperature tends to rise.
By the time I got there, there was a thin film of sweat on my forehead, and that was it. Nothing too bad, and I certainly was not drenched in sweat, stinking in sweat. And for that, I was grateful.
So, I was there. My friend was not however. I called, and he had gone to get himself dinner at a local Boston Market, and would be back in a few minutes. So, I got on the line for the event, which was getting long. His wife, who would also be joining us later, worked in the city, and took a cab in. She arrived just before we got inside.
He had told me that we would be getting books with each ticket. I had asked him if the books would be signed. He responded, with some justification, not to be greedy. Now, he himself is one of the greediest bastards that I know, but that is another story entirely.
Now, here's the thing about signed books at Stephen King events: they tend to be really hard to come by. We had gone to a King event in 2006, in October, on the day that Duma Key came out. We had been told to arrive early, because the first 100 people would get signed books. We both planned on arriving early, and as it turns out, I got there first. Got on line, where I was, maybe, in the higher eighties or lower nineties. Felt good about the chances. But minutes before they allowed people in, it seemed like there was a whole bunch of people who came out of the wood works, and there were well over a hundred people in front of me before long. It was annoying, and I thought, poor execution and discipline by those in charge.
In Hartford a few months ago, they were offering signed copies of Joyland, but you did not have to get there especially early. You were supposed to make arrangements well in advance, and pay a fairly steep price for it. As it turned out, there were plenty of those books available on that day. But again, they were fairly pricey, and I did not get any, other than the one I had placed on reserve.
The way that they did it yesterday impressed me much more, though. As it turns out, some of the books that would be given away would be signed. Gabrielle Bamberger of The Center for Fiction (based in New York), who had introduced Stephen and Owen King before they came out, had said there would be a "fifty-fifty chance" of a signed book, which I took to mean that half the books would be signed, and half would not. Makes sense, right?
They gave everyone with tickets a one-page pamphlet. That was what you had to give them back at the end of the event later in the evening, in order to get a copy of the book. Some would be signed, some would not. Pure and simple, right?
Interesting.
And, of course, I hoped that the book that I got, or picked, would be among the signed ones. But I tried to push it out of my mind, not wanting to be greedy. Plus, there was an event to watch.
He had told me that the seats would not be that great. But when we were permitted in, I was surprised by how small the theater was. This was, I think, the smallest venue that I had ever seen Stephen King at. And as we kept walking closer and closer to the stage, it turns out these were the closest tickets that we had gotten for him, to boot. Second row, to the extreme side.
Awesome!
One thing that I thought a bit strange, was that not only was this a small venue, but it was not even sold out! I mean, the price for a ticket was hardly prohibitive (tickets ranged in price from $37.50 for rear seats, to $40 for premium seats). Yet, there were quite a few empty seats, to my surprise. Given that this was Stephen King and his son, Owen King, and that we were in New York City, and this was a relatively intimate venue, it was a surprise!
When they finally came out, there would be an interesting formula. Owen King would go up to the podium and give a reading from his father's newly released work first. Then, Stephen King would give a reading from his son's book, Double Feature. After that, they would talk between themselves, asking one another questions. Following that, they would both give readings from their own books, and then there would be a question and answer session.
Here is where I have to admit one thing: my attention span when being read to is extremely limited. maybe I'm old-fashioned, but I prefer to have printed words in front of me, whether in a conventional book, or on the Kindle. When I hear someone reading, too often, my mind tends to wander. With a book, it is easy enough to go back to that point when the words were still registering, and to reread those parts where my eyes were seeing the words, but my mind was not. But with hearing a reading, if there is any lapse (and there usually is, at least in my case), there is simply nothing to be done about it.
What I do remember is that Owen King read a passage from his father's latest novel, where Danny Torrence was treating a dying man at a hospital. In introducing the reading, he credited himself for having written Doctor Sleep. His father casually gave him the finger, and the audience laughed. Stephen King then read a section from his son's novel, Double Feature, where two people were on their way to see Orson Welles's nose. Stephen King pointed out that there seemed to be some similarities between Orson Welles, and one of the main characters of Double Feature, Booth.
The second readings, where they each read from their own books, were very different. Owen King got more of a response, because his story was more immediately funny. It was from the same book, and it involved his male character getting off (literally) with blue soap detergent while engaging in phone sex with his sort of girlfriend.
What Stephen King chose to read from his latest work was, predictably, quite a bit darker. It was from Chapter 3 (that much I do remember), and it was about Danny Torrence hitting rock bottom.
Owen King had suggested that it would be interesting for Danny, like his father Jack, to reach that point where he hit rock bottom. All I can say is that it was graphic and quite gross, which Stephen King even acknowledged.
During the session when they questioned one another, Owen King (I keep typing Owen Meany, for whatever the reason, and so if you see this name typed somewhere hear, please know that I don't mean any disrespect, and just did not quite catch it) had found a Stephen King quiz book just a few days earlier, and tested his father's memory about his own books, musing that this might determine whether or not his father's mental faculties were still there or, as he put it, whether it was time to put him in the home (meaning, the retirement, or perhaps assisted living, "home"). The first question was where he was born, which his father answered correctly very quickly. The audience applauded, and Stephen pointed out that they were clapping simply because he was able to remember his own birthplace (Portland, Maine). Then, he was asked specifically about certain characters in past books, such as the name of the original caretaker in The Shining, as well as one from Firestarter. Stephen King did not do too badly, although there were a couple of embarrassing misses, much to the amusement of the crowd.
Stephen asked his son if he had watched all of the B-movies that were featured in his book and, if so, what was wrong with him. Most of the movies in the book, however, were apparently made up, according to Owen.
At some point, Stephen King reflected on The Shining and the recent follow-up, Doctor Sleep. He said that The Shining was mostly about the undead, while Doctor Sleep is more about those who were dying.
Stephen King was asked by Owen if he had felt a lot of pressure in writing a sequel to what was a very seminal book, The Shining. In his answer, King mentioned that people are not as easily scared as they used to be, and that most of the people who read The Shining had been much younger and, as he put it, reading the book with flashlights under the covers. He said that, during book signings, he would be asked how Danny Torrence was doing, and he found that he was more interested as well in following up on Danny than he was most of his other characters (he used Paul Sheldon from Misery as the example of one of his characters that he did not care to follow up on).
He also mentioned that he benefited strongly from experience. He reflected on how he had written The Shining when he was 28, he said, and he was completely taken by it, enjoyed living in that world, and approached it with a lot of energy. By contrast, he felt more comfortable with utilizing the tools of the trade of writing, of which he has gathered quite a few over the years and decades, in order to bring more depth to this book, Doctor Sleep.
There were two questions that were chosen for the Q&A session, and they were answered rather hastily, if I do say so. Stephen King mused that one question would be "where do you get your ideas?", which caused the audience to chuckle. He has spoken about that particular question in the past, saying that it is rather an inside joke among writers, who are asked that quite frequently.
The first question was to Stephen King, and asked if he would do anything different if, before he was first published, he somehow knew that he would be Stephen King, the writer, rather than merely Stephen King ("the serial killer", Owen joked). King looked at his life, and said that he had already at that point married Tabatha, and would go on to have three kids. So, he would do nothing differently.
They left the stage, leaving everyone to get on line for the tables, where they were giving out the books. I tried to keep the thought that I never have good luck with these kinds of things out of my head, and tried to stay positive. It had been a fun evening, and I was very glad to have seen both authors, and to immerse myself in their worlds a little bit. Still, it would not be truthful to suggest that I was not wishing for a signed book.
I gave him one of the pamphlets, and he took it. There was a book on the corner of the table, beside a large pile of books more towards the middle. I picked it up. Hesitated. Then opened it up.
It was signed.
That completed the magical feel of the night!
I started read the book on the train back home, but very carefully, hoping not to add any wear to the new book.
Did I check the book again this morning, just to make sure it was still signed? Yes, I did.
Just a side note, but I thought it interesting that this date, September 24th, seems particularly prominent in the career of Stephen King. It was on this date that he published two books simultaneously in 1996 - "Desperation", and "The Regulators", which he published under his pen name, Richard Bachmann. Then, of course, Doctor Sleep came out yesterday as well.
Below are some links that, as a fan of Stephen King, I found informative and intriguing, and hope you will, too. Some are articles, while others provide short video clips (such as his appearance yesterday on Good Morning America).
Some links about last night's event, specifically:
Stephen King with Owen King Tuesday September 24, 2013 07:30 pm from The Center for Fiction.
http://centerforfiction.org/calendar/stephen-king-with-owen-king
http://www.stephenking.com/news_archive/article404.html
September 24, 2013, ABC News Videos "Danny Torrance Returns in Stephen King's 'Doctor Sleep'": The master of horror brings back the famed "Shining" character in his new book.
http://gma.yahoo.com/video/danny-torrance-returns-stephen-kings-135523702.html
Also, this book review. which was actually mentioned by Owen King at some point last night, from ABC, Review: Stephen King Shines on in 'Doctor Sleep' September 24, 2013 (AP) By ROB MERRILL Associated Press:
http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/review-stephen-king-shines-doctor-sleep-20356763
There is always some good stuff to be found on Youtube, right? So, here are some keywords to links that I found particularly useful and/or enjoyable:
Stephen King Discusses Dr. Sleep
Stephen King returns to The Shining with Doctor Sleep
Here's Wikepedia's page about Stephen King's most recent work:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Sleep_(novel)
Here's Wikepedia's page about Owen King:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owen_King
Here are some reviews on Owen King's novel, Double Feature:
"Life Stages ‘Double Feature,’ by Owen King" by David Thomson Published: April 5, 2013. This review starts off with a backhanded compliment about the title, as well as the cover, although he does say it in a way that reinforces how generally and genuinely good he felt the novel was. It is actually a rave review:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/07/books/review/double-feature-by-owen-king.html?_r=0
"Owen King's debut novel is not about his famous dad" by Bob Minzesheimer, USA TODAY 1:55 p.m. EDT March 18, 2013:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/books/2013/03/17/owen-king-son-of-stephen-on-his-debut-novel/1987855/
DOUBLE FEATURE BY OWEN KING REVIEWED BY BRIAN GRESKO July 2nd, 2013:
http://therumpus.net/2013/07/double-feature-by-owen-king/
"Double Feature Owen King" by Kevin McFarland of A.V. Club, March 25, 2013:
http://www.avclub.com/articles/owen-king-double-feature,94191/
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