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Downtown crowd hails King
PORTSMOUTH — After penning more than 50 novels and story collections, Stephen King has cultivated some intense fans.
How intense? Ask Sean Goddard and Christina Graham, a cheerful couple from Ottawa, Canada, who drove 7½ hours to meet the iconic author, who came to Portsmouth on Thursday night for a book-signing with fans. Goddard said he owns about 50 first editions of King's books and that the author sparked his interest in reading when he was 11 years old.
"It's a dream come true for me," Goddard said.
He wasn't alone. King signed copies of his new collection of stories, "Full Dark, No Stars," for a few hundred fans who waited in line at RiverRun Bookstore to meet one of America's most successful horror and suspense authors. The Maine native and mastermind behind such novels such as "Carrie" and "Misery" signed the books and chatted briefly with many fans.
Allen Norby of Rochester, N.Y., who was visiting his daughter, a Seacoast resident, said it was the first book-signing he's attended. But his "The Dark Tower" T-shirt identified him as a longtime fan. Sisters Amanda Levesque of Exeter and Lindsey Levesque of Bedford, lifelong fans as well, said their father grew up reading King and passed on his interest to them.
Access to King was tightly controlled, with employees at the front door and down a side alley directing those who bought a copy of the book and signed up in advance into the store. It made for an efficient, quick-moving line, and store owner Tom Holbrook said staff members checked the names of attendees against their list. That left plenty of gawkers by the storefront window who were attracted by the lines before spotting King.
"That's Stephen King, right there," one man marveled to a group of bystanders. "That's him."
Many fans, including Debra Woodard and Terry Dostie of North Hampton, who spoke with King, said they discussed the author's beloved Boston Red Sox, with King joking to a New York Yankees fan that his favorite team would sign iconic Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter.
At one point, King stood to make a big announcement to the crowd.
"If you guys don't know, we signed (Red Sox catcher Jason) Varitek today," he said.
Jody Hetherington, an employee at the bookstore, said King's support for independent bookstores like RiverRun is hugely helpful.
"It's fabulous. We're very excited, and we really appreciate his support," Hetherington said.
>>> Source
How intense? Ask Sean Goddard and Christina Graham, a cheerful couple from Ottawa, Canada, who drove 7½ hours to meet the iconic author, who came to Portsmouth on Thursday night for a book-signing with fans. Goddard said he owns about 50 first editions of King's books and that the author sparked his interest in reading when he was 11 years old.
"It's a dream come true for me," Goddard said.
He wasn't alone. King signed copies of his new collection of stories, "Full Dark, No Stars," for a few hundred fans who waited in line at RiverRun Bookstore to meet one of America's most successful horror and suspense authors. The Maine native and mastermind behind such novels such as "Carrie" and "Misery" signed the books and chatted briefly with many fans.
Allen Norby of Rochester, N.Y., who was visiting his daughter, a Seacoast resident, said it was the first book-signing he's attended. But his "The Dark Tower" T-shirt identified him as a longtime fan. Sisters Amanda Levesque of Exeter and Lindsey Levesque of Bedford, lifelong fans as well, said their father grew up reading King and passed on his interest to them.
Access to King was tightly controlled, with employees at the front door and down a side alley directing those who bought a copy of the book and signed up in advance into the store. It made for an efficient, quick-moving line, and store owner Tom Holbrook said staff members checked the names of attendees against their list. That left plenty of gawkers by the storefront window who were attracted by the lines before spotting King.
"That's Stephen King, right there," one man marveled to a group of bystanders. "That's him."
Many fans, including Debra Woodard and Terry Dostie of North Hampton, who spoke with King, said they discussed the author's beloved Boston Red Sox, with King joking to a New York Yankees fan that his favorite team would sign iconic Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter.
At one point, King stood to make a big announcement to the crowd.
"If you guys don't know, we signed (Red Sox catcher Jason) Varitek today," he said.
Jody Hetherington, an employee at the bookstore, said King's support for independent bookstores like RiverRun is hugely helpful.
"It's fabulous. We're very excited, and we really appreciate his support," Hetherington said.
>>> Source