Mr. Vincent, in both of your books you focus on the work of Stephen King.  When did you first find yourself drawn to his work?  What draws you in?

I bought a copy of Salem's Lot in a used bookstore in 1979 and was captivated by the plight and the characters of this small New England town. I sought out his other books and discovered that I liked them all as well. I've been keeping up with his work ever since. I am drawn primarily to his characters. I've often said that if King started to write romance novels, I'd probably still read him, because he would still be writing these terrific characters. Sure, his plots are great, too, memorable, imaginative, perceptive, but if you don't care about the people then they're just stories.

In The Stephen King Illustrated Companion you take a critical look at Stephen King's most iconic works. In it you "uncover the personal influences in King's life and the demons reflected in the monsters, epidemics and characters that populate his novels." How did you come up with the idea?  And to follow that up, how did you come up with your approach to the subject? 

I gained something of a reputation as a know-it-all in the early days of Internet newsgroups, because I have a good memory and if I don't know the answer to something I am compelled to look it up. That led to me writing the Stephen King news column for Cemetery Dance magazine, which I have been doing since 2001. My track record there made it easier for me to find a publisher for The Road to the Dark Tower when I came up with the idea for that book.

Barnes & Noble has done two previous reader's companions, one on Jane Austen and one on Poe, which won an Edgar last year. When they decided to do a King companion, they approached me because they wanted an expert to write the text and were familiar with my Dark Tower book. Though I'd never considered writing a biographical book about King, once I saw the quality of their volumes I knew this was something I would be proud to be associated with.

I had a very limited amount of text to play with, so I had to pick and choose which books to cover. I wanted to span his career and, since this is a reader's companion, I also wanted to focus on the best-known books. I settled on a dozen works that have significant biographical aspects, and then researched everything I could dig up about what was going on in his life at the time he was writing to see what bubbled through.

How did you come up with the memorabilia?  Do you know Mr. King?

The companion was produced by a book packager in Seattle called becker&mayer! They do design-heavy books with profuse illustrations, photographs, and almost always include removable media. After I finished the detailed outline, their photo and documents researcher visited an avid King collector who allowed access to some amazing material (the telegram from Doubleday announcing the sale of Carrie, for example) and then was given access to King's personal photo album and archives at the University of Maine. King had the final say on what could be used in the book, but he was very generous, and the documents researcher picked material that complemented the text.

I've met King on a number of occasions, and he's familiar with my work. He gave a wonderful cover blurb for my Dark Tower companion and facilitated that book by providing the first draft manuscripts of the final three books two years before they were published, which I considered a wonderful gesture of faith in my discretion, since I knew how the series turned out long before anyone else, but had to keep that secret.

Give us an idea of the insights you have to Mr. King's work.  (Maybe you can choose one book - Carrie, Christine, The Dark Tower, The Shining--and give us an insight into what compelled King to write the story.)

One of the interesting insights that turns up when you look at The Shining is how autobiographical it is, and yet King only realized it in retrospect. When he wrote it, he was a young father who had anger management and alcohol abuse issues, just like Jack Torrance, and the possibility of being a writer whose career would never amount to anything was still very fresh in his mind. It wasn't until well over a decade later, when he was forced to confront his addiction problems that he realized how much of himself had gone into that character.

Lisey's Story came about after King returned home from an extended stay in the hospital to discover that his wife had packed up his office while renovating it, almost as if he had died. It made him think about what it would be like to be the widow of a famous author, especially one who had zealous fans who might demand access to his unpublished material.

If you were banished to a desert island and could take only one book with you, which book would it be?

The biggest blank book I could find (assuming I could also have a supply of pens). I think I'd rather write on my desert island than read the same novel over and over again.

Do you write your short fiction in the tradition of Stephen King, or do you break new ground, striking a completely different note?

I have written some short stories that would be considered horror, but I have a hard time taking the supernatural seriously, so most of my work tends to be psychological horror when I dabble in that genre. More and more I am gravitating toward crime fiction, and I was immensely thrilled when my caper "Wake Me Up For Meals" was published in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine this year, and when the MWA picked "Rule Number One" for their anthology The Blue Religion, edited by Michael Connelly.

What are you working on now?

I am currently working on a novel. I completed the first draft last year and am now tackling it anew after some very fruitful discussions with my literary agent. It's a crime novel with a bounty hunter/private detective as the protagonist. He also has other interesting sideline jobs.

Any thing you want to add? 

I have an essay in the upcoming ITW publication 100 Must Reads, where I make the case for Thomas Harris's novel Red Dragon.

Please visit Bev Vincent's website for more information: http://www.bevvincent.com. 

One thing is clear; The Stephen King Illustrated Companion is a must-have addition to any true fan's library. Whether you are a fan of King's, a fan of horror or simply a fan of masterful writing, pick up your copy now!

Christine Goff is the award-winning author of the bestselling "Birdwatcher's Mystery" series.  She began her career writing non-fiction for local, regional and national publication.  Chosen Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers' 2002 Writer of the Year, two of her novels were named finalists for the prestigious Willa Literary Award for Best Original Paperback Fiction; and her latest novel, DEATH SHOOTS A BIRDIE, was a named finalist for the Colorado Authors League 2008 Best Genre Fiction Award. Her novels focus on environmental concerns through bird-related issues. Currently, she is working on a new book; a thriller set in Israel.