For most of them I did a rough concept sketch in charcoal or acrylics. Some of them I did a little color sketch for, before beginning. Then it was off to the races.
Lilja: If you could choose another King book to illustrate, any one you want, which one would it be, and why?
Michael Whelan: Oh God, what a question. I’d have to say the short story “The Reach.” It affected me very deeply and I think it’s one of King’s best. It’d be a challenge! Hearts in Atlantis would be a front-runner as well.
Lilja: If I want to see more of your work, where would you recommend I look?
Michael Whelan: Well, my three art books are out of print, though I hear some people can find the most recent one, The Art of Michael Whelan, via eBay on occasion. There are some of the deluxe remarqued editions left via Glass Onion Graphics, our publishing and retail firm. You can get information about all that via my website, michaelwhelan.com.
I know it’s time for me to do another big book, but it’s hard to get started on any project that takes me away from just painting. But eventually we’ll get to it…probably sometime late this fall. We have to find a publisher first. When it gets done, I think it will feature mostly my gallery work for a change.
Lilja: Do you have any last words (yes, I’m aware how gruesome that sounds) for all your and King’s fans out there reading this?
Michael Whelan: Withdrawal is a bitch, but man, what a great ride we had, eh?
Lilja: Thanks again for your time. It was fun!
****
Stewart O’Nan
Posted: November 18, 2004
Stewart O’Nan and Stephen King have just finished the book Faithful, about the Boston Red Sox, and O’Nan was gracious enough to give me the chance to ask some questions. Besides Faithful, Stewart has written The Night Country, Wish You Were Here, Snow Angels, Speed Queen and many more. His official site can be found at http://www.stewart-onan.com.
Lilja: Hi Stewart. Thanks for agreeing to do this interview. How is Faithful going? I’m guessing that you had a lot of work to do recently since it’ll be out in about a week, right? Was it your or the publisher’s choice to put it out so soon after the Red Sox won the World Series?
Stewart O’Nan: Faithful is done, or at least it’s at the printer. We had expected all along to have the book in stores by early December, no matter how the team did. The fact that they played all the way till October 27th made us work a little harder, but it was definitely worth it. And the publishers, realizing they now had an even more special book, decided to move the publication date up to November 22nd. But Steve and I both work quickly and cleanly, and they counted on that.
Lilja: How happy were you and Stephen when they won? It’s almost too good to be true that they won the same year you decide to write a book about them, right?
Stewart O’Nan: It’s still a bit of a dreamy feeling. Remember, the Red Sox hadn’t won the World Series for eighty-six years. Whole generations of Sox fans never got to see them win it all. Steve thought he’d never see it in his lifetime. So now, when I’m just sitting somewhere doing something, I’ll remember: “Oh yeah, the Red Sox won the World Series,” and I can’t help but smile.
Lilja: How did you and Stephen decide to write the book?
Stewart O’Nan: Steve and I have been going to games together for years. We e-mail and talk about the team all the time, and last year in August when the team got hot, Steve decided we should keep a log of our reactions to their games. This spring, when the season was about to start, my agent asked if I wanted to write a book about the Red Sox (every year he asks me this, but this year I’d just finished a novel and finally had the time). I said I’d write it only if Steve could be my co-author. Steve was busy, but said he’d try to contribute as much as he could. And once the season got going, his natural love for the game kicked in and he couldn’t stay away.
Lilja: How was the book written? Was it hard to write with someone else compared to writing alone?
Stewart O’Nan: The book is in a double-diary format. For each game or Sox-related issue that we found interesting, we’d write separate entries. There are also e-mail exchanges on hot topics. Essentially, the book is a season-long conversation between two supremely interested fans.
Working with another writer, in this case, was easy, since as fans we basically agree about what’s important. In drafting pieces about players or the games, there was some overlap, but in those cases I’d just edit out any redundancies.
Lilja: Is this your first collaboration?
Stewart O’Nan: No, I once wrote a screenplay about the life of Clara Schumann with novelist A. Manette Ansay. That was much more difficult, as we didn’t quite agree on the role of Brahms or her many children in her life.
Lilja: On the first two covers for the book it said “Stewart O’Nan with Stephen King” and not “Stewart O’Nan and Stephen King.” Now, on the final cover, it only lists both your names. Can you explain why? Did you write the majority of the book?
Stewart O’Nan: I’m not quite sure why they have our names that way, other than that’s what the publisher wanted for stocking purposes (that is, how it’s listed in bookstores’ computers). I’m not sure what the word- or page-count is, but I can safely say I wrote a majority of the text.
Lilja: I remember that you wrote a book you wanted to call Dear Stephen King (later renamed Speed Queen) some years ago. I then heard (don’t know if it’s true) that Stephen wouldn’t let you use his name in the title. Is that correct, and if so, did he give you a reason? And now you’re writing a book with Stephen King. Are there any hard feelings about the Dear Stephen King title?
Stewart O’Nan: Yes, the whole Speed Queen flap was over using Steve’s name, and now that I’ve spent time with him, I see why. Everyone wants a piece of him. So no, there are no hard feelings. He’s a prince of a guy, very giving.
Lilja: Why did you use Stephen’s name when you wrote Speed Queen and not just some fictional name? Were/are you a fan of his books?
Stewart O’Nan: I used the name because it made sense to me that, to my character, Stephen King would be the only person who would understand her. He’s a confessor-judge figure for her, and for all of America. He understands our deepest hopes and fears (or so she hopes!). And yes, I’m a huge fan of his work, always have been. Without his work—and Ray Bradbury’s—I would have never become the reader and writer (the person) I am.
Lilja: I heard some time ago that Christina Ricci was going to star in and direct a movie version of Speed Queen. What happened to that project?
Stewart O’Nan: Christina Ricci was supposed to direct and star in the movie version of Speed Queen, but could never make time in her schedule to make that happen. As it turned out, she ended up playing a similar role in Monster, so I sometimes wonder if she was just blocking our project to make sure it didn’t get in the way of that one. Speed Queen apparently will get done, as the option was just exercised.
Lilja: Do you think there is any chance Stephen will play himself in the movie if it’s ever done?
Stewart O’Nan: The screenplays that I’ve seen don’t even deal with that aspect of the book. I think the flap over the title scared the producers.
Lilja: You have written quite a few books yourself, such as The Good Wife: A Novel coming in April 2005. What kind of books would you say you write? Horror? Drama? Fiction? All of the above? And which one would you recommend to someone who hasn’t read any of your books before?
Stewart O’Nan: Speed Queen’s a wild satire of American appetites, and a great departure from my usual stuff. I tend to write two kinds of novels—pastorals and gothics—and sometimes combine the two, as in A Prayer for the Dying or The Night Country. Even my first novel, Snow Angels, has that mix of stillness and foreboding in it. In my best work I’m trying not just for surface effects, but something more real and heartfelt. Those are my favorite kinds of books and movies, so it makes sense. For someone who’s never read my work, I’d recommend Snow Angels first.
Stewart O’Nan: Last words for your readers: Support your local public library!
****
Glenn Chadbourne
Posted: January 29, 2006
Glenn Chadbourne is the illustrator of the upcoming Stephen King book The Secretary of Dreams, as well as The Illustrated Stephen King Trivia book and Bev Vincent’s The Road to the Dark Tower.
Lilja: Hi Glenn, and thanks for doing this interview. Can you tell me a little about yourself? Who are you and what have you done?
Glenn Chadbourne: Who am I? Hmmmmm—that’s quite a question. I suppose I could be best described, at least as far as this interview goes, as an artist specializing in the horror/suspense/dark fantasy genre. I’ve been drawing/painting genre stuff for as long as I can remember; from childhood actually, but over the past eight years or so my art has been picked up fairly steadily by professional markets. Now I make a living at it, which is way cool for me. My first major debut was the artwork I created for Rick Hautala’s Bedbugs, published by Cemetery Dance, and since then I’ve illustrated works by pretty much every author working in the spooky book business today.
Lilja: You have done some illustrations for Stephen King. Do you know him personally?
Glenn Chadbourne: I don’t know him personally, but I’ve done quite a bit of stuff for various SK-related projects and he’s been very kind to me. I know—and very much like—his personal assistant, Marsha, and she passes on little tidbits of how he’s liked certain things I’ve done. Very much dream-come-true stuff.
Lilja: The latest King project is Secretary of Dreams. How did you get involved in that?
Glenn Chadbourne: A few years ago, Rich Chizmar at Cemetery Dance and I were just sort of casually talking about how cool it would be to do a graphic adaptation of King stories. Nothing quite like this had ever been done before. There was, of course, Creepshow, and Bernie Wrightson had done some wonderful artwork for that along with other King books, but there had never really been an old-style graphic novel with Steve’s every written word included in all the stories. At the time this was simply an off-the-wall fun kind of conversation, but from time-to-time over a course of months we came back to the topic, and one fine day both Rich and I decided to actually query SK about the possibility of putting together a collection. We decided the best way to approach this was to write Stephen and ask what he thought about the idea. I really never expected in my wildest dreams that he’d go for it, but a couple weeks later I got a phone call from Rich telling me to pop the champagne. Stephen wanted to do it.
Lilja: How did you work on it, taking the stories from the written story to your illustrated version?
Glenn Chadbourne: That was the most fun and most challenging part of the whole project. I first reread all the stories. I’d read them all before over the years and loved each tale, but I wanted to refresh myself with them. Then I thought about the different characters, how I visualized them, etc., and went from there. I began laying things out, and as I drew I began to notice all the different people in the stories taking shape. Once I developed the characters my toughest job was keeping the continuity of each flowing throughout the given stories. It was a challenge, but I think I pulled it off.
Lilja: How long did it take you to illustrate Secretary of Dreams?
Glenn Chadbourne: It took me on the whole around two years to draw the first six stories, and I’m about halfway through the second batch as we speak.
Lilja: Did King give you free hands, or had he setup a lot of ground rules for the book? Or any rules at all, for that matter?
Glenn Chadbourne: He just listed the stories he’d like to have included. He was super that way. I had a total free hand in creating the art part of things.
Lilja: You have also done the mascot for WKIT, King’s radio station. Tell me about Doug Graves? What’s his story?
Glenn Chadbourne: Good story. I sing in a wacky rock and roll band called Nick Noxious and the Necrophiliacs up here in Maine for chuckles, and I had done all the artwork on a CD we put out. I gave a copy of the CD to Marsha at SK’s office and one day the station manager—a guy named Bobby Russell—from WKIT happened to see the CD on Marsha’s desk. He asked who’d done the artwork on the cover and Marsha introduced us. Bobby wanted to do a Stephen King style logo for the station…something that said Stephen King, as opposed to just the station call letters, so we put our heads together and I did a few designs. The end result was Doug E Graves. “Dougie” is by far one of my favorite characters ever to drip from my head. He’s a very cool cat.
Lilja: You have also done a mascot for Lilja’s Library (the readers will get to know him once the site’s new design’s up, so this will be a teaser for them). Any comments on that creation?
Glenn Chadbourne: I did indeed whip up a little mascot for Lilja. We knocked noggins on what might befit the site, and as it deals with all things King, why not have a little Library Policeman hosting things.
Lilja: What’s next for you? I understand you have part two of Secretary of Dreams coming. Can you tell me more about that one? Maybe what stories it’ll contain?
Glenn Chadbourne: I can’t tell you about the stories, they’re a surprise, but I’m sure fans of Steve’s short stories will be extremely pleased with each. All these stories are true gems of his career.
Lilja: How would you feel if you where asked to do, say, eight illustrations to the next King book? More like The Dark Tower book instead of Secretary of Dreams? Interested?
Glenn Chadbourne: I’d be delighted. This Secretary project has really been beyond belief for me, and as I’ve said and will say again, repeatedly, it is truly dream-come-true stuff for me. Any opportunity to illustrate any of Stephen’s work is truly an honor.
Lilja: If you could pick one King book to illustrate, which would it be, and why?
Glenn Chadbourne: Tough question because there are so many great stories, but I guess if it came down to it I’d like to take a crack at ’Salem’s Lot, for a couple reasons. First, because I love the atmosphere of the book as well as all the characters. Second, it would be great fun because you have to realize, I actually live near the fictional goings-on of that book. There are several “real” towns surrounding the place and it would be fun to include actual settings that border the “Lot.” I think SK might get a hoot out of that.
Lilja: OK, thanks for your time; it was a pleasure talking to you!
Glenn Chadbourne: A real pleasure on this end as well. Thank you.
****
Robin Furth
Posted: February 28, 2006
Lilja: Thanks for doing this interview. Can you please start by telling me a bit about yourself? You are a fairly anonymous person in the King community, even though you have done a lot.
Robin Furth: Thanks for the invitation to chat. So, where should I begin? (These kinds of questions are always the hardest.) I suppose a fundamental aspect of my personality is my love of books. I’m a fairly obsessive reader and writer. My favorite areas are poetry and supernatural fiction. My poetry has been published in magazines and journals in the U.S. and the U.K., but my fiction has yet to venture into the world. (I think it’s a bit shy. I have a hard time coaxing it out of my folders and into an envelope.)
When I was a child, my grandparents gave me lots of books. I loved C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia, a series that has recently gotten a lot of press because of the film adaptations done by Disney. My personal favorite was The Magician’s Nephew, which—of all the books—explored travel between worlds most fully. Three other books that had a profound effect on me were Ursula LeGuin’s The Wizard of Earthsea, a 1904 edition of Russian Wonder Tales and The Complete Tales of Hans Christian Andersen. As you might have guessed given my approach to The Dark Tower books, I am also a great fan of myths and legends. When I was an undergraduate at the University of Pennsylvania, I almost became a folklore major. Since it was a real toss-up between
literature and folklore, and since my parents feared that folklore would be an even less practical major than lit, I stuck to English. In retrospect, I’m glad. As a folklorist you’re supposed to approach your subject with a scientific detachment. I don’t think I’ve ever been good at such detachment, and wonder if it is even possible. (We humans are, I believe, profoundly subjective creatures.)
For me, and I’m sure it also holds true for many of the people reading this interview, books are literally doorways into other worlds. When I was a child I’d find that while I was reading fantasy I’d always have one foot in that land and one in this, the “real” world. Sometimes it got a little confusing because the “fantasy” world felt more real than this one. Ironically, what was probably a liability during my childhood became an asset as an adult. I don’t think I could have written the Concordances without actually living in Mid-World for much of the time I was writing. I occasionally joke about being haunted by Roland, but it’s a joke based on truth. All my life I’ve been haunted by characters, both my own and other people’s.
As for the biographical details of my life, I grew up in Upper Darby, a town near Philadelphia, although I spent the majority of my summers on the Maine coast, at my grandparents’ house. Though I spent most of my childhood in the States, I also lived for two years in Scotland—one year in Glasgow and one in a little village outside of Aberdeen. My love of the past, of the dream life and of different cultures was probably also affected by the fact that my paternal grandparents were from Eastern Europe and were old when I was born. During the First World War my grandfather served in the Austro-Hungarian army, and my grandmother trained as a doctor when few girls had any secondary education at all.
When I graduated from college, I won a scholarship to study English literature at the University of York in England. I studied English and American fiction written between the end of the Victorian period and the beginning of the First World War. Many of the great horror tales of our time were spun during this period—Dracula, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Turn of the Screw, The Yellow Wallpaper, and The Picture of Dorian Gray, to name just a few. Just as important to me as the books I read was the medieval city of York. Perched as it is on its Roman foundations, it is arguably one of the most haunted cities in the British Isles, if not in all of Europe. While in York I saw my first ghost. (For those of you who are interested, it was an old tramp. He haunted a pub where I worked.) While doing my M.A. at York I also had the good fortune to meet my husband Mark, who was studying Romantic poetry.
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