Haunted Heart: The Life and Times of Stephen King
By Lisa Rogak
(310 pages, nonfiction, 2008)
Ever wanted to know the man behind the horror? How does he get his ideas? These stories may be realer than you think to the renowned author Stephen King. Yes, even The Shining.
This book goes over the makings of a world-famous author. His origin story. How he struggled to get noticed as an author, despite submitting his work to magazines even as a kid. For years the only way he could make any money from writing was to publish his short stories in Cavalier, a Playboy style magazine. If it wasn’t for the support of his wife and mother, we wouldn’t have all these amazing stories that have strangled our minds when things go bump in the night.
So how did the great Mr. King come up with these terrifying tales? Read this book to find out. You’ll never guess how Carrie came about. The book that showed the publishing companies he was a mind to be reckoned with, just like Carrie did to her high school classmates. King thought it was terrible and threw it out. Gasp. Imagine if his wife hadn’t picked it out of the trash. When Carrie brought in that long-awaited money, King thought it was a fluke and would never happen again. I guess the universe showed him. Now many stories later the tormented mind of Stephen King is laid open for the whole world to enjoy.
If you’ve ever wondered about who Stephen King is, his life, and how he comes up with this stuff, you won’t want to miss this book. The author does a good job filling in all the blanks, so you feel like you’re reading a story. One that covers everything that ever happened to King to shape him into the author we know today.
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Amy Cornwell
