My Influences: Stephen King

I've decided I'm gonna do a series of blogs on the writers, artists, and directors that have most influenced my work. Today I start with Stephen King. Although critics have never been a fan of King, from the moment I picked up "The Stand" I was pretty much hooked on King's work. Brilliantly described visuals, nuanced and believable characters, fast paced action, and natural dialouge are all parts of King's approach, and all things I've tried to learn from. What follows are the books that have most affected me as an artist, and all come highly recommended.

It- Well, duh. Crazy monster clown anyone? Besides the obvious, what really drew me to "It" was how the story starts out as a simple monster story but eventually expands into this wild, cosmic adventure. Transforming the mundane into the cosmic is a theme I'm continually trying to evolve in my own work.

Insomnia- This one is another one of those "starts very small and then gets freakin' huge" stories that I really enjoy. There's a monster in this one that has influenced the design of several of my characters as well.

Needful Things- I loved this story about a small town that rips itself to shreds thanks to the manipulations of an evil man/sorceror. I haven't written enough about small towns, which is kind of a shame.

Nightmares and Dreamscapes- My favorite King short story collection, period. Lots of great stuff, stories about raining carnivorous frogs, an H.P. Lovecraft homage, a story about a Rock and Roll Town from Hell, and ect. I've probably borrowed lots of little things from this one.

The Stand- First King book I read. Probably has a general influence on my approach to writing and dialouge throughout my work.

The Gunslinger Series- I hope to tell a big, fat, cosmic/fantasy/sci-fi/horror series one day. That would be fun.

On Turning 30

As I stand on the edge of 29 and look into the abyss that is 30, some thoughts occur to me. So, here's a list of things that won't change about me when I enter full blown adult-hood:

1) I'm not changing my wardrobe. I like the way I dress, and I don't see any need to give it up in order to become more hip or, conversely, to look more my own age. Bah.

2) I'm not becoming cleaner. I'm a messy guy at heart, and becoming a little older isn't gonna change that.

3) I'm not gonna get desperate and hit the bar scene trying to pick up a mate. I hate bars.

4) In fact, I'm really not changing anything about me at all. So, there you go. 30 can go screw itself.