Article: How Stephen King was outed as Richard Bachman.
As many of you know, for several years Stephen King used the pen name "Richard Bachman." The novels penned under this name included Rage (famous for depicting a school shooting and being pulled from circulation), The Long Walk, The Running Man and Thinner.
In his introduction to The Bachman Books, King stated that he wrote under the pseudonym to figure out if his success was due to his name or his talent. He specifically "loaded the dice" against Bachman by doing almost no marketing for the books. According to King, Bachman was outed too early for him to figure out an answer to the "talent vs luck" question.
Here's Richard Bachman's author photo (who in actuality was King's literary agent, Kirby McCauley):
This article, published a couple days ago, gives a wonderful account of the outing of Bachman:
www.mentalfloss.com/article/502166/how-stephen-king-was-outed-richard-bachman
I absolutely love some of his books and short stories. I think some of his books do sell just on his name alone, but when you're as prolific as he is, that's to be expected. Besides, he has written so many great stories he deserves to make all of the sales he does. IT, The Stand, Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption, Misery, and The Body..... come on! That's some amazing stuff. What are your favorites?
Stephen Kings favorites? That's such a tough one! I'd say The Dark Tower series is at the top. It's just incredible on many levels, including scale and intertextuality. Other than that, IT and The Stand are pretty damn good. And no list would be complete without mentioning The Shining!
Yes, can't believe I left that one out. The Dark Tower was good. It's been years since I've read it. Are you excited for the movie? I cannot wait for IT, just hoping they don't ruin it and piss me off. I'm already annoyed that there isn't a black character like there was in the original.
I'm not quite sure about the Dark Tower film. It's a "sequel" of sorts to the books and I really hope Hollywood doesn't fuck it up. IT looks really good though!
Yes the trailer for IT has me hopeful and excited. IT was the longest book I ever conquered as a teen, and it scared the shit out of me. The mini series came out just after I read it I believe.