Stephen King - the Master of Horror

There are many great authors who have written many wonderful books. But the greatest storyteller of all time from the horror genre is and always will be Stephen King, in my eyes. I have been reading his books since I was a kid when my brother got me hooked on this master of horror. My brother was a huge fan of Stephen King's and read just about every book he could before he died at the age of 22.

Stephen King was born in 1947 in Portland, Maine. He spent most of his life in Maine but has also lived in Indiana and Connecticut. He graduated from Lisbon Falls high school in Durham Maine in 1966. Starting in his sophomore year in college he wrote for the school newspaper called "The Maine Campus." He was also involved in school politics and was a member of the student senate. He graduated from the University of Maine at Orono in 1970 with a BA in English and was qualified to teach on the high school level. Immediately after graduation he went through the draft board examination and was found with high blood pressure, limited vision, flat feet and punctured eardrums.

Stephen King married Tabitha Spruce in January of 1971. Because of Mr. King not being able to find a teaching position right away they lived on his earnings as a laborer in an industrial laundry and Tabitha's savings and student loan. He also made money here and there by selling his short stories to a men's magazine. Throughout the years he started making professional sales from his short stories and even though he was finally teaching high school, he eventually was able to make enough on his short stories to be able to commit to writing full time.

He has written many books over the years and a lot of his books have even been made into movies. I am a firm believer that the book is always better than the movie. There is a long list of books that he has written but I will only name a few that I have read. Some of the great books I have read by Stephen King are Pet Cemetery, Carrie, Apt Pupil, Autopsy Room Four, Bag of Bones, Christine, Children of the Corn, Cujo, The Dark Tower 1, 2 and 3, Different Seasons, The Dead Zone, Delores Claiborne, Dreamcatcher, Everything's Eventual, The Fifth Quarter, Firestarter, Four Past Midnight, From a Buick 8, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon and the list of his novels and short stories that I have read can go on and on and I'm sure no one wants to read a list of books I have read. There are so many I haven't even read yet and I can't wait to get my hands on them. I have written a few short stories myself and believe I have an imagination like his. Stephen King has always been my favorite and he is my idol.

The Dark Tower Comic's first issue of the series was released on February 7th, 2007. The last issue of the six series issue will be released in July 2007 and the hardcover collection will be available in October 2007. The Movie "The Mist" will be released in November of 2007 and has already been filming in Louisiana.

Since Stephen and Tabitha King's 3 children are all grown up with children of their own now, Stephen and Tabitha now spend their winters in Florida and the remainder of the year at their Bangor and Center Lovell Homes in Maine. They provide scholarships for local high school students and contribute to many other local and national charities. Stephen King is the 2003 recipient of The National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters.