This sounds like fun. Let’s see if I can come up with ten
- Been bitten by a stingray (not stung, mind you, bitten)
- Pet a shark
- Saw copies of a book I wrote in an airport bookstore
- Went grocery shopping with Doug Clegg and Matt Schwartz
- Had a book translated into Russian
- Conducted a newspaper interview during an earthquake (the reporter’s end, thankfully, not mine)
- Traveled through East Germany via Checkpoint Charlie when the Berlin Wall was still standing
- Attended a National Book Award banquet
- Defended a Ph. D. thesis
- Got book cover blurbs from Peter Straub and Stephen King
“Got book cover blurbs from Peter Straub and Stephen King”
…and Jonathan Reitan. ;o)
and I am MOST jealous of #10 –you lucky, lucky bastard! Ooh, that wasn’t nice, I haven’t even been introduced to you properly and I call you names already. *blushes* You didn’t think I became “Brutal Dreamer” for being a nice woman, did you? Well, now you know differently.
Stephen King is ….oh, my…. *dreamy eyed* hey, I’m his number one fan. *evil laughs* and I’m crazier than a shithouse rat, too. yep, indeed.
I have just about every one of his books and I just got his CREEPSHOW booklet off ebay. I had to laugh at one dude on there -he’s selling a great picture of Stephen King with his dog and his feet are propped upon his desk… he looks delightful there, I admit it… and I came close to doing the “buy now” and getting the image …but smarty pants me, I saved the image to my desktop and then printed it out for myself.
Well, this guy is doing basically the same thing -you DO NOT get the original. So how does he think he will sell THOSE COPIES of that image now that he posted the image for us to make our own and save $10.00 plus an astronomical shipping charge he put on it. *dies laughing* what a goof.
P.S. Nope, I’ve not had work translated into Russian but I just now received my GERMAN edition of AMAZON (an all female author book that I was in) and I will shortly be receiving my Italian version. Can you say, EXCITED!!! *gigglescreams*
Oh, by the way, I’ve read a lot of your King updates through “Stephen King’s Group by Brian Freeman –Cemetery Dance” so even though you don’t know me -I do you, sorta. LOL
#2, #3, #5, half of #10
give us the dirt: what did Douglas Clegg and Matt Schwartz buy when you went shopping with them? Curious, brutal minds want to know! *winks*
Which half of ten? …and if you say KING I’ll… I’ll… I… no fair. *pouts* Not that Staub isn’t a great author, oh, he is!! I have many of his books and GHOST STORY is one of my all time favorite books …but, Stephen King is……………….. ahhhhhh.
No worries, it was Straub. However, way back in my Horror Show days, Dan Simmons told me that Stephen King once said to him, “I don’t know if Poppy Z. Brite is a real name or a pseudonym, but he, she, or it writes some weird shit!”
This was at a NECON, so it was stuff for breakfast, coffee, things like that. Nothing outrageous or scarey.
Maybe someday I’ll have blurbs from Dan Simmons and Poppy Z. Brite, too! I entered a short story contest for Twilight Zone magazine back when I was young and foolish. That was the year Dan Simmons won and Peter Straub was a judge. Fortunately Peter doesn’t recall my story, which was probably scrawled in crayon on mill paper.
My publisher had to stop and think about whether they would pay whatever it cost to have Peter’s blurb laid onto the back cover after the design was complete. Couldn’t convince ‘em to do the same for yours, I’m afraid.
Peter Straub is a wonderful person. That’s all. And it’s not like you didn’t already know it, too.
I know, I’m just giving you crap, Bev. hehe…but perhaps you can use it for your next King project.
“Nothing outrageous or scarey.”
That would be grocery shopping with one of the Laymon’s to which I’ve been a part of. haha
I’ve been fortunate to spend some time with him, including a wonderful half day when he was in Dallas promoting Magic Terrors. That was my first exposure to the book tour from the author’s perspective.
That’s so cool. Both: Straub blurb you -but also hearing something straight from King’s mouth to your ear (and not muddled through the media). *giggles*
I like POPPY Z’s work!! I have several of her books. She is really bizarro… but in a very good way. LOL Her LOST SOULS was superb and I really liked DRAWING BLOOD despite what most have said about it… she’s got a different flair about her prose. She is VERY different and very BLUNT! and has some strrrrange analogies in her work. LOL But she seems to be a very witty writer.
I’m just now getting in to reading some Anne Rice works -she’s good, but she ain’t no POPPY. Sorry, Anne fans, she is good -but so far, I’m not smacking my lap in laughter and saying “Oh MY gawwwwwwd what was she thinking…” as I do with Poppy’s. haha She’s whacked. *giggles*
A guy that posts in our live journals says he has an on going battle with Poppy Z? *shrugs* I think it is a “bragging rite” kind of deal or something. I have no clue. But I’ve read it several places and when I had an IM he wrote me there and told me about it.
I did ask her why she was going to quit writing horror, on one of her “horror” forums and she replied to the message(s) a few times. I can’t remember the forum now -it has been quite some time ago. She *seems* very accessible to her fans.
And what about the revamping of STEPHEN KING’S website. WOWZA now that is an AWESOME website, no? HOLY SCHMOLY. Love it!
Such is the life of the writer…being known by people who you don’t know!
I haven’t received the Russian copy of my book yet. I hope to see the Dutch version in a couple of months and the Italian version before the end of the year. Of course, I won’t be able to read a word of any of them, but they should look cool on the shelf anyway.
Nothing outrageous or scarey? Party Poopers! *evil laughs*
And while I pine away here in the sticks of the Ozarks and slurp my grape tootsie pops, by golly, life really does exist out there! You are SO lucky! I need to get out more. LOL
You should try Poppy’s more recent work. The next book is the third in a series about two guys in the restaurant industry in New Orleans. They start out as dishwashers and odd-jobbers and work their way into owning a restaurant. Liquor tells of their struggles getting a restaurant going where everything on the menu has alcohol in it. The Value of X tells of their earlier life and the next book, due out soon, is called Liquor. Ricky and the G-man are great characters, and there is a lot of humour in these books.
They did sing show tunes in the produce aisle, though…
I will do so, indeed. THANKS! I bet I will LOVE it. I’ll let you know!
So far, I’ve not disliked any of her work.
Can you imagine an audio of that going on EBAY? Hey, it could happen: after all there’s been cheezy Virgin Mary and Brittany Spears (already been chewed ABC) bubble gum on Ebay. It sold for 14 grand if I remember right? Geeeez
Why not an audio of showtunes in the produce aisle by Clegg and Matt. Yep, I’d bid on it. LOL But once it gets up too high, sorry boys, even I have my limits!
# Been bitten by a stingray (not stung, mind you, bitten)
curious: did you see the TEETH bite you or the after affect of the teeth marks?
I’m HORRIFIED of what’s in the deep, murky waters. Nope, you find me there!
*giggling* visualizing CHATTERY TEETH by King…… damn, now that made your scarey story FUNNY! That was an eerie story but seeing those teeth, as only King can describe them ….*bellyroars*
Isn’t it neat? LOL No one knows Brutal Dreamer, YET. haha And those that do, have fun far away! Just joking.
Who’s the Dutch and Italian publisher?
I’ll receive my Italian edition sometime today (I HOPE) if not, it should be this week. I expected it BEFORE the german edition.
well, generally, I have tons of questions and very few answers… but here’s my question:
When was the moment that you realized you were a Stephen King fan? And how did you get where you are now as a fan of his?
I was in high school. I came from a *very* religious family and “horror” was NOT allowed anywhere near the home. I happened on a book in the library (while skipping out of physics class) called: CARRIE. I got engrossed in this book and I ended up missing the rest of my classes that day because I was snuggled in a corner of the library HIDING while reading CARRIE. At the end of the day, I wasn’t finshed with the book -so I checked it out and hid it under my bed until everyone went to bed and then I finished it that night. I was in love with KING’s work at that time. So, at that moment, I began searching for “Stephen King” titles and I was surprised to see he had a lot of books out there to pick from.
I got caught for skipping classes that day -and received detention. Oh, don’t cry for me…. ahem. It was at that time I got to indulge my fantasies of reading more KING work. hahaha I was in so much trouble for getting detention but it was worth it! I tried to get it more often so I would be able to read his work without getting caught. I would have been in much more trouble reading his work than skipping class, go figure. *snickers*
Been a fan ever since. Raised my kids to be -but only my daughter took hold of his work and likes him pretty good. Not like her mother -but her favorite book is: THE EYES OF THE DRAGON.
The Road to the Dark Tower will be published by Sperling & Kupfer in Italy, Luitingh Sijthoff in The Netherlands and AST in Russia.
Stingrays have cartilidginous plates rather than teeth. These plates jam together to grind up their food. Unfortunately, their eyes are on one side of their bodies and their mouths on the other, so they rely on a sense of smell to guide them those last several inches. My arm apparently smelled like food at that point, because we’d been feeding them.
It’s something akin to jamming your finger in a car door. I have a scar on my lower arm that looks like a pair of lips. Stingray hickeys, they’re called. That was the day I discovered you could swear through a SCUBA regulator.
I used this episode in my story Diver Down, which you can read via my web page. (www.bevvincent.com).
The title of my story doesn’t look familiar in German. *dies laughing* I can’t read a word of it… But, you’re right, it looks pretty nice on the shelf.
Such is the life of the writer…being known by people who you don’t know!
But that’s a very good thing! Unless you meet up with an evil nurse named ANNIE. *evil laughs*
I picked up a used paperback of ‘Salem’s Lot in 1979, liked it very much and went in search of his other books, which at that time weren’t so numerous. Exhausted his complete works and started waiting for new ones. Got impatient waiting for the paperback and bought my first hardcovers. Have kept up with his output ever since.
those kinky stingrays. OUCHIES!
thanks for URL… I’ll go there, thanks!
Wow! SALEMS’S LOT was a different style altogether. The book was GREAT and I felt the orignal movie was superb but I wasn’t sure what to think of the remake of Salem’s Lot. I’m so partial to the original…. I get everything that’s his and that is the only movie that I haven’t invested in. I just was disappointed in it.
While I am the only one in the family that liked KINGDOM HOSPITAL (in my family) I did purchase that series. I’ll eventually get the remake of Salem’s Lot -but right now I’m stewing about it. *giggles*
http://www.livejournal.com/users/brutal_dreamer/
here ya go… I wrote up my “10″ things. They can’t compare to yours -but what the hell. LOL
Um, why are you talking about me in the third person?
I think your “guy” must be the infamous Nicky P, who conjured up an imaginary feud with me in an attempt to promote himself (I’ve never met or spoken to him), but has since moved on to arguing with people who actually respond to his foolishness.
Do hope you’ll check out the new work — no, it’s not horror, but writing it has given me an enormous amount of pleasure.
*hugs* OH, MY!!!! … you’re POPPY!!! *laughs* Now I’m a happy girl. Hey, I love the NET… living here in the country I’d never got to tell one of my all-time favorite authors what I thought of their work. You, yes, you Poppy, are one of my faves!! I have your books sitting on my shelf and I enjoy them! THANKS for being YOU. LOL I was just now (in between break time, reading some reviews on your LIQUOR). Looks like a lot of reviewers think I do -you’re intoxicating. *evil laughs*
I’m glad you’ve found writing to be a great pleasure (rather it be horror or not!) You’ve got talent, there’s no doubt about it and you’re different. You’re totally unhindered and go at it with gusto. It shows you enjoy what you do.
Oh, and yes, Nicky P, is him. I didn’t know if the fued was real or not -but it was the first thing he told me about himself when he contacted me a while back. I tend to let what people say roll off me and I just move on -I don’t encourage it I just kind of smile and say “oh, I see…uh-huh, cool.” I’m such a diplomatic person. *smirks* I’d make a great politician, perhaps? *laughs*
Recently, there was another blow up on a journal with Nicky P. and I stayed completely out of that one! It got pretty heated over there. I decided it was time for me to focus on my own writing and let them duke it out. *heebies*
I put you in my “friend” list on my journal -hope that was okay. Gotta keep up with you somehow.
Well, damn, now that I see you’ve done this list, I must do it as well.
I should also switch to LiveJournal, but I’m mentally incapable of going through the rigmarole at this moment. Too traumatizing, I think.
And dear lord, BITTEN by a stingray? What’d you do to provoke the poor thing, Bev?
–Ms. Lori
We were SCUBA diving in the Caymen Islands. The dive crew gave us little dishes of food. What you do is hold the stuff in your hand out away from your body. The stingray sails in, swoops down and suctions the food from your palm. However, they are guided primarily by smell in the last foot or two. I must have touched the food to my forearm at some point, so the stingray suctioned the skin from my arm into its mouth and chomped.
When we repeated the dive a day or two later, we let the others feed the ‘rays and just sat back to watch. They are very graceful creatures, and mostly tame in that area since people have been feeding them for decades.
Absolutely — thanks!
Edit Your Custom Dictionary
When you do a spell check in any Microsoft Office application, a misspelled word presents a dialog box with options including Change, Ignore, and Add. If you add the word to your custom dictionary, the same custom dictionary is used in all Office applications. Did you know that you can view and edit the words in your custom dictionary? Instructions below tell how to edit the file from Word or Outlook but in either case you’re working with the same file.
In Word: Tools | Options | Spelling and Grammar tab
Click Dictionaries | then click Edit for the already selected CUSTOM.DIC file
In Outlook: Tools | Options | Spelling tab | Click Edit