Stephen King and John Grisham walk into the packed Neel Performing Arts Center here in Florida and proceed to entertain the audience - including me and my husband! - with stories about reading, writing and life, all to benefit libraries and literacy.
Stephen King did the event himself last year, and apparently, when the committee wondered how in the world they'd ever top that, King replied he had a friend who might be interested in participating . . . .
We've heard King speak before and he's always so down-to-earth and entertaining, and it was fun to see that Grisham is the same way. Both men wore jeans, chatted and told stories like the old friends they are, and donated their time to the event (which raised over $200,000!)
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| Grisham (left), King (right) |
* When Grisham's first novel A Time to Kill (one of his best, in my opinion) made the New York Times bestseller list, King sent him a congratulatory note.
* Early on, they shared the same editor who bought both King's Carrie and Grisham's A Time to Kill.
* Both men are often approached by fans who praise the movies, not the books. King often responds with "I've written books, too."
* They talked about being famous authors in a society that doesn't really read, how they can pretty much move about their lives unnoticed. (I thought this was an interesting point, although I recognized King when I saw him in the store awhile back while I would've walked right by one of the Kardashians.)
* Grisham prefers print books, while King reads both paper and on screen.
* When asked if he'd ever write a horror novel, Grisham said some people think writing about lawyers is already pretty horrifying. (My husband, who is a lawyer, found this hysterical. And true.)
Oh, and at the end - cookies!
