Publicity tour - Stephen in Sarasota

[GillianR]

I am SO excited that Stephen will be doing an on-stage event in Sarasota while I'm over on the Gulf Coast of Florida in November. I'll be there! I'd love to stand up and say good things to show my admiration on the day but I probably won't because I'll be nervous and I won't want to sound pathetic, so I'm taking the opportunity to say it - right here and now - through the message board, in the hope that he'll tune in and pick up on the sincerity of this particular constant reader. I won't claim to be Stephen's "number one fan", not least because he has made that phrase FAR too creepy to contemplate (!), but also because it would be silly to be competitive about such a thing. All I can say is that I've been reading SK's wonderful stories, and other writing, since the late 1970s - 30 years give or take a month - and he has delighted me constantly. The Dark Tower was an incredible journey and the joy/amusement/wonder at its connection to so many of his other tales was immense. The stories are great, sometimes epic, but there is SO much more to why I devour these amazing books: they have heart, depth, intelligence, humour, humanity and great narrative power. Better still, our wordsmith is an absolute master of prose. This is literature. Prolific, yes. Commercially successful, obviously. But literature, undoubtedly. In another part of the Dark Tower, they've already recognised that, Steve! In this world, sadly your skills remain largely unrecognised by the "literati"... so far.
So, if I don't get on my feet to ask a question or pay a tribute at the Van Wezel in Sarasota, please know Stephen that I'm out there in the audience sending you my thanks for so many years of reading pleasure past and sending you my very best wishes for many, many more years to come.