Robert McCammon: In The Shadow of Stephen King.

goathunter · **Posted:** Sun Apr 20, 2008 8:37 pm

I should probably not get involved with this thread, but I will with a couple of points I'd like to add.

Regarding blurbs, it's the publisher who wants the blurbs from other genre writers. The author may, too, but it's the publisher seeking them out....

As for the topic at hand, I think you had to be around in the late '80s and '90s to really see what had happened. McCammon was not just compared to King. Like anyone else would be, he was flattered in the beginning when he was compared with King. But over time, the King fans (including many of the "critics" reviewing for various horror genre publications) started denigrating McCammon's work, claiming it was ripped off from King novels or King ideas, even when they were nothing remotely like anything King had done. The more McCammon's novels sold, the more backlash he received from die-hard King fans (and again, you really had to be around in that timeframe to really see die-hard King fans, IMO). McCammon received a lot of hate mail from King fans. It got old for him.

I think the best thing I can do it point you to a few McCammon interviews in which he discusses this very thing and why it was a problem for him.

In these and others, he also talks about how much he hated being labeled as anything, be it horror writer or any other label. But publishers love to label, because that's the only way they know how to sell things.

McCammon knows he was lucky to have his non-horror novels published. But it reached a point where he no longer wanted to play the game---he got tired of fighting with the publishers---so he just quit for a while.

As for what King thinks about all this, I don't know. But I do know that King once listed McCammon's as one of his ten favorite horror short stories (in J.N. Williamson's How to Write Tales of Horror, Fantasy & Science Fiction), and his blurb for Speaks the Nightbird began with, "Given Rick McCammon's ten-year silence, I was curious about NIGHTBIRD...eager for a new dose of one of America's truly fine story-tellers..."

I don't know if I've contributed anything useful to the discussion or not, but there it is.

Hunter (who runs )

ttzuma · **Joined:** Wed Feb 14, 2007 10:15 pm **Posts:** 13517

Thank you Hunter. Great reply.

But...as far as blurbs go, I have heard it from authors who said they have stacks of books sitting unread in piles from other authors, as well as publishers, looking for a kind word. And I believe it is routine for some authors to ask or offer other authors for blurbs. And while it is debateable if these blurbs help sales, it does invite comparsions to the author giving the blurb to the author of the book.

Once again great post and thanks for the info.

Tt

Laurel in Ely · **Posted:** Sun Apr 20, 2008 9:15 pm

This topic got me to thinking. Does a blurb influence your purchase?

My answer would be no.

ttzuma · **Joined:** Wed Feb 14, 2007 10:15 pm **Posts:** 13517

I never look for an author's blurb, only mag's or review blurbs. If King's name is on it, I am suspect to its quality right away.

Tt

horrordude · **Posted:** Sun Apr 20, 2008 11:11 pm

Craig Cook · **Joined:** Fri Mar 14, 2008 4:25 pm **Posts:** 5637

DGM · **Posted:** Mon Apr 21, 2008 12:11 am

goathunter · **Posted:** Mon Apr 21, 2008 8:27 am

ttzuma · **Joined:** Wed Feb 14, 2007 10:15 pm **Posts:** 13517

johng · **Posted:** Mon Apr 21, 2008 10:34 am

It was a Stephen King blurb that turned me on to The Unborn by David Shobin, a book that had a baby stroller with a glow coming from inside. And how many covers from the 80's fit that description?

If it wasn't for the the blurb from Stephen King, I would have dismissed Michael Marshall Smith's The Straw Men as just another thriller, but on the strength of King's praise I bought it and discovered one of my favorite novels and became a MMS fan.

The blurbs from Ketchum, Campbell, and Winter turned me onto The Keeper by Sarah Langan.

The blurbs from Leisure authors for Leisure books don't usually do anything for me.

One of my two favorite authors, Gene Wolfe, so rarely puts his name to anything that when he does I take notice.

goathunter · **Posted:** Mon Apr 21, 2008 10:45 am

HugeHorrorFan · **Posted:** Mon Apr 21, 2008 11:01 am

goathunter · **Posted:** Mon Apr 21, 2008 11:10 am

HugeHorrorFan · **Posted:** Mon Apr 21, 2008 11:33 am

horrordude · **Posted:** Mon Apr 21, 2008 5:58 pm

horrordude · **Posted:** Mon Apr 21, 2008 10:51 pm

goathunter · **Posted:** Tue Apr 22, 2008 5:00 am

Robert McCammon: In The Shadow of Stephen King.

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