Me & Stephen King

Or is it, 'Stephen King and I'?..hmmm..you probably want to get that right when musing about a writer. As far as fiction novels go, I have only read one author's books and Mr.King gets that honor. The very first one was The Dead Zone and it remains my all time favorite. It's brilliance was only reinforced by the movie as Christopher Walken mesmerized us as Johnny Smith. Since then (1985) I have probably only read a handful of his other work and a 'handful of books' isn't like a 'handful of change'. I can count them on one hand and twice I've read Different Seasons. That book, with four short stories, was a game-changer for me. Actually it was a game-changer for the world as two of the four became immensely popular movies, The Shawshank Redemption (Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption) and Stand By Me (The Body). Apt Pupil was also made into a movie but it didn't garner the accolades the other two did. It actually was my favorite novella of the four and I've probably read it 5 or 6 times. It is a powerful story, especially for a teenager.
    Only just recently have I picked up reading again! Yes, as my close family can attest, it's probably been decades since I've read an actual book. Two weeks ago I went back to my stalwart and read The Girl who loved Tom Gordon and Bag of Bones, finishing them in record time (for me). It's much different now however. I am focused on the stories and able to fly through them, yet the whole time something miraculous is happening, I am constantly thinking about writing now. I believe that is what is helping me get through them much quicker. It utterly amazes me what must go into writing a complete novel, or novella for that matter, and getting it to print! It is of course no coincidence that Bag of Bones is about a writer, but I am currently reading Everything's Eventual and my thinking is exactly the same. My mind is just swirling with ideas and I'm now taking to putting these on paper.
    As you can imagine, this newly found 'reading' thing, I keep ecstatically explaining to people as being so mind blowing, is garnering quite a few chuckles and rightfully so. All I know is that it's opened up my mind in a way that nothing has in quite a while. It could be my surroundings, it could be that I'm getting older, it could be that I'm drinking more water! It doesn't matter, I'm jumping all over it!.....