This is a belated birthday greeting to Stephen King who has just turned 70.
Happy birthday, Mr King, and thank you for ensuring that I feel queasy at the smell of Opium by YSL. A friend lent me a copy of Cujo which she had spilt perfume on. Every night on the bus home I read the book, terrified and excited and loathing the smell. The smell was hideous but not enough to make me put the book down.
You were also responsible the first time a book made me puke. Polly’s amulet in Needful Things made me throw the book across the room, run to the bathroom and then come back to find out what happened next.
Then there’s time I spent a drunken evening discussing the entire plot of Gerald’s Game with a friend in the pub. I remember that conversation 18 years later.
Thank you for the books that have stayed with me. Your writing has allowed me to share books with my Mum. It’s a gift to be able to talk to your parents as adults with joys and passions, not just as caregivers.
Thanks for The Stand and It. I’m not sure I can thank you for Pennywise but I probably should.
Finally, thank you for ‘Salem’s Lot. I have been through a good few copies as I’ve read it every year for the last 25. Vampires, oh I love vampires, but this is not about vampires. This is about human nature, courage and faith. It always leaves me feeling hopeful.
So thank you for the thrills, the connection and the pleasure. Happy birthday, Mr King.