Hello everyone, first off I would like to thank Robert Zimmermann for the “Tweet-invite”, I am honored to be asked to post about “Authors We Love”. Hi, I am Karli Rush, a paranormal romance author. My saying as an author is that “I’m a romance kinda girl, but I have a Stephen King heart.” So want to guess as to who I love? Stephen King, to me, is one of the most fascinating authors of our time. How he got to be the success that he is today is just as interesting. I think every author out there has had that moment, you should know the one where your finger hovers over the delete button on a file containing months of work. I have been there, teetering on the brink of an unsure abyss and the thought that brings me back is one of Stephen King and his first work, “Carrie” which he dumped into the trash. His wife, Tabitha, recovered it and his success as a Novelist began, in fact that first novel went on to earn over $400,000 in sales.
He is gritty in his determination to be successful early on and use to post his rejection letters over his desk; I believe this was his way of thinking “You will not tell me that I can not do this.” Again, he gives me hope that determination to be the best I can, will pay off in the end. This philosophy comes out loud and clear in the book “The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon” Here is an excerpt from the book.
“In the world of lights and cars and paved roads she was dead. In this one– the one that existed off the path, the one where crows sometimes hung upside down from branches—she was close to it. But she kept on truckin. (That one was her fathers.) Her course sometimes wavered a bit to the west or the east, but not often and not much. Her ability to keep moving steadily in one direction was nearly as remarkable as her body’s refusal to give in completely to the infections in her chest and throat. Not as helpful, however. Her path took her slowly but steadily away from the larger concentrations of towns and villages and deeper into New Hampshire’s chimney.” ~Stephen King~
This excerpt also shows something I strive for very much in my own writing. Stephen King uses the ability to hide in plain sight meanings into a story so that, if the reader truly pays attention, the understanding of it will enrich the experience for them even more. He also will do this over several novels at a time and you must first read them all and then have the canny ability to recover such clues. My own work on the Crescent Bound series leaves clues throughout that will only be unwrapped completely when reading the final book.
How does a romance writer pull inspiration from the horror genre of Stephen King? Simple, read his work. The human experience of his characters is paramount. The connection to things we all get and remember is remarkable. He allows us to fill in the blanks with our own worn memories, bringing a nostalgic clarity to them again, like watching an old home movie you had almost forgotten about. I see no other way than to give you another piece of the pie. Here is an excerpt from “Hearts in Atlantis.”
“I could smell cigarette smoke and the pine air-freshener hanging from the rearview mirror, and by then I was moaning too, I don’t know what, The Platters were singing ‘Each day I pray for evening just to be with you’ and then it started to happen. The pump turns to ecstasy. I closed my eyes, I held her with my eyes closed and went into her that way, that way you do, shaking all over, hearing the heel of my shoe drumming against the driver’s-side door in a spastic tattoo, thinking that I could do this even if I was dying, even if I was dying, even if I was dying; thinking also that it was information. The pump turns on in ecstasy, the cards fall where they fall, the world never misses a beat, the queen hides, the queen is found, and it was all information.” ~Stephen King~
I strive to bring you into my world of life, love, romance and darkness in a way that feels real and my readers can pull from their own thoughts and memories. He again brings to me a desire to connect with my reader, to bring them into my world and play with their experiences even though, in most cases, we will never meet. I strive to make that unseen and permanent connection between us. I place the words for you and you scoop them up and consume them like mental nourishment. I hope the taste is pleasing and that you will want more.
I always wondered what it was about horror and darkness that went hand in hand and then I read him. Our fears bring an elation that most find overpowering and some find thrilling. I love that feeling of dark imagination seeping from the pages of a novel that has stolen my reality of soft bed and reading light and replaced it with the wet ground and the screaming horrors of the characters thoughts. I wander in Stephen’s world without a flashlight, only able to see an arm’s length ahead.
He tinges all of this with humor. Here is a quote from him about his style of writing.
“I recognize terror as the finest emotion and so I will try to terrorize the reader. But if I find that I cannot terrify, I will try to horrify, and if I find that I cannot horrify, I’ll go for the gross-out. I’m not proud.” ~Stephen King~
I hope that with my determination and desire to become the best writer I can be that one day others will see my quote, “I’m a romance kinda girl, but I have a Stephen King heart.” And say “How true.”
Thanks Robert and thank you Stephen.
About Author Karli Rush
Karli has always blazed her own trail, whether popular or not. Her passion outside of writing is photography and all things natural. She is an Autism advocate and enjoys hiking, bike riding and family.
Karli was born deep in Cherokee Nation Indian Territory where she grew up loving everything paranormal. As a teen, Karli was an avid reader; she sought out solitude for her passion in nearby Indian Graveyards with books such as “Pet Cemetery” or “Salem’s Lot” clutched in her hands. Although writing was something that has pulled at her most of her life, it wasn’t until a recent visit to a Shaman, who saw her spirit’s need for creativity that she truly began down the path.
Karli’s ideal world would be one of open-minded kindness from everyone.
Where to find Karli Rush online at the following:
You can find Karli’s books over on Amazon 🙂
A Life Among The Pages 
Love, Love, Love Stephen King. His book, On Writing was the most helpful writing book I’ve ever purchased. Thanks for sharing.
Awesome post, Karli!!! 😀 Stephen King is my literary Hero. 🙂
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Great Piece from A Life Among the Pages and our very own Karli Rush