NEWS 2000
Thursday, October 26, 2000About 140 attend Stephen King book signing in downtown Bangor By Dale McGarrigle, Of the NEWS Staff
BANGOR — A small, ever-changing group milled for two hours Wednesday on the corner of
Harlow and Central streets.
Now, clusters of people, while not the norm, are not unheard of in downtown Bangor,
especially at lunchtime. But all of these people were holding books, and many grasped
cameras as well.
Those pressing their faces to the Harlow Street window of BookMarc’s bookstore soon
figured out what was happening.
One of Maine’s favorite sons, best-selling author Stephen King, was holding a rare
book signing, this time for his new nonfiction book, “On Writing,” and his fans
flocked from around the Northeast and beyond for the event.
The signing marks the fourth time in its 10-year history that BookMarc’s has hosted King.
The signing is thought to be the first one that the recuperating author has done since
being struck by a van June 19, 1999, a fact that BookMarc’s owner Marc Berlin recognized.
“We made a special effort not to push the envelope,” Berlin explained. “We know what
he can do [in terms of books signed], so we went on the conservative side.”
King commented obliquely on his brush with death. One woman said, “It’s wonderful to
have you here,” to which he replied, “It’s wonderful to be anywhere in the world.”
Almost all the fans had previously bought “On Writing” at BookMarc’s, at which time
they were given a number as a reservation for the signing.
Berlin estimated that more than 90 percent of those getting books signed came from
Maine. The rest, he said, likely came after news of the signing hit the Internet a
couple of weeks ago.
King’s latest book is both a primer on writing and a miniature autobiography, with a
postscript on the accident that left him severely injured.
King sat, a pillow underneath him, behind a card table near the store’s Harlow Street
door.
The orderly line stretched across to the Central Street door. Berlin served as
gatekeeper, letting in about 20 people at a time. Each person could get two books
signed. Off to the side, soaking in the atmosphere, was a trio of Skemers. These
Skemers weren’t plotting anything; instead they are members of a Stephen King
e-mail group.
Skemer Dani Davis of Orono collects only hardcover, trade first editions of King’s
work. She’s missing only “Cycle of the Werewolf,” “Carrie” and “Hearts in Atlantis.”
Davis was attending her first King signing.
“What I like most about his work is that it’s so easy to identify with the characters,”
she said. “It’s so easy to get caught up in the book.”
Fellow Skemer Cheryl, a.k.a. C.J., who didn’t give a last name, drove 4½ hours from her
New Hampshire home for her first signing. She runs the 90-member “King’s Home Away From
Home” club on Yahoo.
“You’re right in the story, and feel like you’re part of it,” she said. “I love the New
England aspect of it, since I’m from New England myself.”
Michael Altemeier, 14, skipped school and flew in from Dallas for the event, landing in
Bangor at 8 a.m. Wednesday. Altemeier, who owns about half of King’s books, is a budding
writer himself.
“I think I am the biggest King fan,” he said. “I’d never seen him live, so this is a
once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
Holly Newstein drove 11 hours from her home in Reading, Pa., to be at the event.
“I’m a big fan of Stephen’s,” she said. “I was up here two years ago for the ‘Bag of
Bones’ signing. This is one of his first since the accident, and I’m just delighted
he’s still here.”
Chris Mullen drove four hours from Manchester, N.H., to get a signed book for a big
King fan, his brother Jeff, whose birthday is today.
Is Mullen himself a fan?
“I watch his movies. He has a great talent,” Mullen said.
At the other end of the line, King signed books, posed for pictures and talked with his
fans. About one-third of the people at the signing had some connection to the author,
however tangential.
The son of a doctor who treated King’s family told the author his father’s name, and
King said, “He ought to read the book. He might have prescribed some of the stuff I
wrote about.”
Another hot topic was baseball. Several wanted King to buy his beloved Boston Red Sox,
which he refuses to consider.
Who’s his pick in the World Series? “The best thing about the World Series is that one
team from New York is going to lose.”
More than a few fans came bearing tribute. Teen-ager Cody Mitchell of the Boston area
presented King with a modified action figure, meant to represent Roland, the gunslinger
from the “Dark Tower” series. King first placed it in his pocket, then stood it in an
empty Styrofoam cup.
He seemed genuinely touched when a young girl named Lexie presented him with her red
drawing of King’s West Broadway home, emblazoned with the message “Happy Halloween.”
On the side of the table were Boston Red Sox and bat — the flying kind — beanies.
Finally, Altemeier stepped up to the table, shaking, as his mother videotaped the
historic meeting. When King inquired how he was, he said, “Absolutely, absolutely
perfect.”
King replied, “You can’t be from around here, since you act like I’m incredibly
important.”
Others told about their experiences with King’s books. One woman named Chelsea
recalled: “My mother read ‘Carrie’ to me when it came out, but she read it in a
happy voice.”
A pregnant woman wearing a T-shirt which read “Stephen King fan under construction”
asked King to sign her belly. When he politely declined, she asked him to initial
her shirt instead, which he did.
He did sign the arm of one man, who explained that he was going to have the signature
turned into a tattoo.
When one woman near the end exclaimed how much she enjoyed the book, King replied,
“You probably had a chance to read the whole thing online.”
Near the end of the two-hour session, King was visibly tired. Still, he willingly
posed with squealing members of a group of female Japanese exchange students.
By the time the session was over and King had left the building, Berlin estimated
that 140 to 145 people had gotten books signed.
“The fun of it for us is seeing how much people enjoy it,” he said. “People are so
appreciative.”