Bev Vincent
04-09-2014, 03:38 AM
Scary books: those tantalizing tales that keep you up way past midnight with the bedroom lights ablaze. Some of us are addicts. This month Goodreads brings two novelists—one the clear kingpin of horror (pardon the pun)—together to talk shop. The maverick Stephen King needs no introduction: The author of 50-plus books has made everything from getting your period to sweet old ladies absolutely petrifying. Author Karen Russell is newer on the scare scene, but her latest novella, Sleep Donation, is getting serious chill-factor marks. An insomnia epidemic sweeps the population, and people are literally dying of sleeplessness, a chronic condition that can only occasionally be cured by a donation of pure sleep from a healthy sleeper. King and Russell discuss their writing, their sources of inspiration...and how they often lie about their sources of inspiration.
Russell kicks off their conversation with a question about Doctor Sleep, King's recent sequel to The Shining, which brings back Danny Torrance, who as a child (spoiler!) memorably survived his father's violent breakdown at the snowed-in Overlook Hotel, despite his terror upon discovering he has "the shining," telepathic abilities that include mind reading and precognition. Now an adult in Doctor Sleep, Danny is a recovering alcoholic who begins to mentor a similarly gifted young girl, Abra Stone, who is the target of a murderous group, True Knot, which tortures children to feed off the "steam" of their psychic powers.
Read more here: Stephen King talks shop with Karen Russell about their latest books, Doctor Sleep and Sleep Donation (https://www.goodreads.com/story/show/363167-stephen-king-talks-with-karen-russell?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=2014-04&utm_content=kingrussell)
Russell kicks off their conversation with a question about Doctor Sleep, King's recent sequel to The Shining, which brings back Danny Torrance, who as a child (spoiler!) memorably survived his father's violent breakdown at the snowed-in Overlook Hotel, despite his terror upon discovering he has "the shining," telepathic abilities that include mind reading and precognition. Now an adult in Doctor Sleep, Danny is a recovering alcoholic who begins to mentor a similarly gifted young girl, Abra Stone, who is the target of a murderous group, True Knot, which tortures children to feed off the "steam" of their psychic powers.
Read more here: Stephen King talks shop with Karen Russell about their latest books, Doctor Sleep and Sleep Donation (https://www.goodreads.com/story/show/363167-stephen-king-talks-with-karen-russell?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=2014-04&utm_content=kingrussell)