How I Met Stephen King by Horror Author Joel M. Andre

We have a special guest today!  Joel M. Andre, author of The Black Chronicles: Cry of the Fallen , is here to tell us how he met the big kahuna of horror authors, Stephen King.

The Day I Met Stephen King

by Joel M. Andre

To begin this process, I need to mention this isn’t one of my prouder moments. You see, I actually annoyed Mr. King. While I don’t like to share this story with people, I have been asked about it enough times, that those who are interested can read it here.

For about 6 months, I spent time working in a tourist town. We’d see a number of people pass through every day and on occasion you would catch a celebrity or two. In my time working in my friend’s shop, I encountered Samuel L. Jackson but no one else that I recognized.

As many of you know, I grew up around Sedona, AZ. In that town you had a number of famous people who lived in the area, and most people encountered. John McCain, Michelle Branch and several others, so you would think I would have been on my best behavior.

Well, as my dear friend Mike Blevins will attest, I was not. The day started off typical enough. We had the normal flow of people coming through the shops and I smiled and greeted them. Some were interested in small talk others just wanted to browse without someone talking off their ear.

Around 2 in the afternoon, I was streaming videos online and someone walked into the store. I briefly looked up and took little notice to the person that walked it. Normally, I would let them browse for a few minutes before I settled in on the small talk. Those who work in tourist shops know that it is the small talk that makes the sale.

When I returned my attention to the computer screen it began to bother me. I felt like I knew the person that had just walked into the shop. With his back turned to me, I couldn’t make out who he was, so I offered the basic pleasantries. How are you doing? Are you enjoying your vacation? What has been your favorite part so far? The usual stuff that the gets asked hundreds of times.

It was during this time it finally dawned on me who I was speaking with. I felt my body tremble in excitement and I squealed. Yes, you read that one right. I went into fantard mode over Steven King. He stopped what he was doing, gave me an annoyed look and left the shop.

As you can see, this isn’t one of my prouder moments in life. But it was a moment that happened anyway. While, Mr. King didn’t buy anything from the shop that day, his wife Tabitha did from my friend’s shop that was next door.

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Joel M. Andre was born January 13, 1981. At a young age he was fascinated with the written word. It was at fourteen that Poe blew his mind, and Andre began to dabble with darker poetry.

Between the years of 1999 and 2007 Joel was featured in various poetry anthologies and publications. In 2008 he released his first collection, Pray the Rain Never Ends.

Knowing there was something deeper and darker inside of his soul, Joel decided to take a stab at commercialism. Releasing the dark tongue in cheek, A Death at the North Pole, created a dark world among the death of Kris Kringle. Ultimately providing a tale of redemption.

October of 2008 saw Joel release his second book, Kill 4 Me. A tale in which a woman is haunted by a vengeful spirit through text messages and instant messaging.

Taking some time off and doing a lot of soul searching, Joel took things in a new direction and dabbled in the Fantasy Genre with, The Pentacle of Light. The tale dealing with five major races battling for control of Earth, and the acceptance of their God.

Finally, after missing his detective Lauren Bruni, he released the book The Return in October 2009, this time moving the action from the North Pole and placing it in the small Arizona community he was raised in.

Andre’s latest book is The Black Chronicles: Cry of the Fallen about a dead man who seeks revenge on the woman that tormented him in peaceful Northern Arizona.

Currently, he resides in Chandler, AZ.

You can visit his website at www.joelmandre.com.