The WoMen's Literary Cafe is very thankful for all the support from readers, bloggers and reviewers during their recent 'Come Back To Me' Book Launch and #99centBookEvent. As a thank you, they organized this Gratitude Blog Hop.
I'm thrilled to be participating and welcome author, Carrie Green. She's written a wonderful post about her draw to the horror genre. We hope you enjoy it. Thanks, Carrie, for stopping by.
Thank
You, Stephen King!
As a
writer, there are many people that I'd like to thank—readers, of course, are first
and foremost. Thank you for buying my
books and for taking the time to post reviews.
Next, like any good acceptance speech, I'd acknowledge family, friends, teachers,
and lastly, a shout out to the super supportive community of authors &
bloggers that I have discovered online.
My deepest debt of gratitude, however, actually goes to the horror maestro,
Stephen King.
King was the author, beyond all others, who showcased the versatility of the
horror genre to me, which forever shaped my path as a writer. At an early stage in every writer's career,
it becomes necessary to select a genre.
This is the decision which will define you, as an author, and your
books, as a product, from that point forward, as you strive to build an
audience.
Throughout my childhood, starting around third grade, I was a voracious reader
and I devoured my books, en masse by genre.
I went through periods where I read every book that I could find in a
specific genre and nothing else, until I grew bored with repetitive themes,
characters and plots. I would then
switch to a new genre.
In this fashion, I went from reading westerns to spy adventures, mysteries,
celebrity bios, science fiction, detective, romance and horror novels. I'd bravely walk past the main librarian's desk,
so that I could enter the Adult section (there was one dour old librarian who'd bark
that I should stay in the children's area, if she saw me), passionate on my
crusade to explore all the different genres.
There were certainly some great books that I encountered—the hard-boiled detective
novels of the 1940's were one particular stand-out, but when I finally embraced
the Stephen King collection, it was like a shining beacon went on. I had avoided King, due to reading Carrie at the tender age of eight (since
it kept coming up during recess). That
novel was the bane of my adolescence.
Whenever a prom or school dance was scheduled, some smart mouth would ask if I
was intending to run for prom queen and wouldn't it be funny to toss pig's
blood at me. Ha. Ha. I recall while reading that book my dismay at
finding out that Carrie was such a total social outcast. She had no redeeming traits—no charm, no good
looks, no intellect and she hurt the very people who tried to help her.
I couldn't appreciate, at the time, the tragedy and horror that was being
depicted in this tale of bullies, victims, and the not-so-innocent bystanders
who allowed this cycle of abuse to continue.
My main take-away was that it would be fool-hardy for me to ever run for
prom queen. I knew that it would be too
tempting for my peers. After reading Carrie, I hated Stephen King.
Only when I was in college, during a writing workshop where other people kept
comparing my writing to King's, did I become curious enough to try his books,
again. It was a revelation. Once I was no longer reading about characters
named Carrie, I found him vastly entertaining!
King showcased for me the endless possibilities, flexibility, and originality
of the horror genre. A villain can be a
serial killer (Firestarter), a loving
father and husband (The Shining and Pet Sematary), a classic car (Christine) or a clown (It).
Heroes can be just as unexpected—children, an average joe, or even a
prisoner on death row as in The Green
Mile series.
One of my favorites from his more recent works has to be the untrustworthy
narrator of Blaze, a petty criminal
who kidnaps a baby, who is both the hero and the villain in the novel. It's an elegant exercise on the duality of
human nature. I also adore Misery.
It is both a great horror novel and a wonderful stand-alone romance (in
the chapters that resurrect the character of Misery). I could not imagine a more unlikely genre
coupling, but King appeared to pull it off with ease.
I must sincerely thank King for teaching me, through his published works, that
the horror genre, above all others, can be any genre. It offers the greatest flexibility, since
horror can be found in any situation and seen through the eyes of any
character. It offers infinite
freedom. I am only limited by my own imagination!
Today, Wednesday, November 16th only, leave a comment below and receive a FREE copy of Carrie's collection of horror short stories, 'Roses are Red.' Please provide your email address in order to be sent a PDF link as well as a Smashwords code to download your FREE book. Thanks!
Please visit these other stops on the Gratitude Blog Hop so that you can win additional FREE books:
