It's an unlikely friendship between the King of Horror Stephen King and the King of Inspirational Fiction Jerry B. Jenkins, best known for the Left Behind Series. But it was a mutual friend in need that brought these two powerhouses of fiction together more than five years ago. Writer's Digest profiles Jenkins and King and their camaraderie in a cover story for the May/June 2009 issue - hitting newsstands on April 14.
"Several years ago my assistant buzzed me and said, 'Stephen King on the line for you.'" writes Jenkins in his blog (
http://jerryjenkins.blogspot.com/). "I have any number of friends who would pull such a prank, but I fought the urge to say, 'John Grisham here.'"
It turns out the call really was from King, who like Jenkins, was trying to help their mutual friend and audio reader Frank Muller following a devastating motorcycle accident. The two came together to raise funds for Muller's care and visited the award-winning audio reader in rehab in 2004.
During the initial phone conversation, Jenkins told King that he would probably be surprised to discover that Jenkins was one of his readers -- mostly his short stories and The Green Mile. King reciprocated that he was a reader of Jenkins' Left Behind Series. This unique pair has kept the friendship alive via e-mail. Writer's Digest's conversation with the two yields parallels and polarity -- and candid insights as well as mutual respect. King and Jenkins address the hard work of writing believable fiction, the fascination with good vs. evil, and how their writing has evolved.
The discussion hits on the inclusion of spiritual themes in their fiction. Jenkins, an evangelical Christian and owner of the Christian Writers Guild, is forthright with his beliefs in his writing but works to not let the message overwhelm the story. King, himself, believes there is more to this world.
"To me, every ant, cloud and star seems to proclaim that there is more to existence than we know... I suppose this sounds like naturism or pantheism, and to some degree it is, but I also believe in a power greater than myself," he tells Writer's Digest.
The Writer's Digest article "Stephen King & Jerry B. Jenkins: An Epic Conversation on Writing" is in the May/June issue, available on newsstands beginning April 14, 2009.
Writer's Digest (May/June 2009) Profiles King and Jerry P. Jenkins
