132- STEPHEN KING....................

He's sold over 350 million copies of his scary, sometimes horror books, and his personal story only is enough to fill volumes! His father deserted the family when Stephen was just two. His mother, the family, perservered tough financial stress. When his mother became a caterer at a local Maine residential facility for the mentally challenged, in Durham, Maine, Stephen was around the residents.
As a child, he witnessed a friend being struck by a train. When the young boy finally came home that evening, he could not speak and was in shock, and said that he had no memory of the tragedy.
He graduated with an English degree from the University of Maine, got his certificate to teach high school but could not find a position. For a time, he wrote short stories and eventualy got a postion at a private academy to teach. On Mother's Day, 1973, King got notifcation that his first novel, Carrie, was sold, with a $2,500 advance. The publishing house later took 50% of sales as its share. In 1975 Salem's Lot was published. He accepted a position in creative writing, then, at his alma mater, The Unversity of Maine, but his drinking and all types of 'drugs' become worse. When his family and friends confront him one day, strewing loads of 'stuff' out in front of him, King finally realizes he had a serious problem---his family and friends cared deply about him.
Stephen sought help and, with time, WON his personal battle!
But, the story is not over...in the summer of 1999, while walking on the shoulder of a country road, a driver is 'distracted' and hits Stephen, severly injuring the prolific author! Later, it is proven by friends that King WAS walking facing traffic about 4:30p. He strongly wants to use a sledgehammer and destroy the van that hit him after his lawyer and friends bought it to keep it away from the freaking eBay. They, lawyer and friends, however, had the van crushed!
I personally admire his wife, Tabitha, also a grad of the U. of Maine, for redesigning his studio, while Stephen was recovering...for he had no desire to write again. And for her standing by her man!
Their home is in Bangor, Maine, with the home and front gate, uh....you'll have to google and see!
He and his wife very quietly have helped with lots of 'local' projects, especially his alma mater. They have one daughter and two sons

Some of his MANY writings:

-Dreancatcher -The Green Mile -The Dead Zone -Cujo -Christine
-Carrie -Salem's Lot -Pet Sematary -Misery -The Shining -It
-The Talisman -The Tommyknockers -Dolores Claiborne

(You can see that many were later movies - my faves are Dolores Claiborne and The Green Mile)....have any fave King books and movies?
Whether you like his style and subjects in his writing, you'll have admit that he has influenced!