Stephen King's "Desperation"

Nobody does ugly quite like Stephen King and if you've caught any of the promo trailers for tonight's airing of Desperation, you know what I mean. Ron Perlman's portrayal of Collie Entragian is a study in revulsion.

King wrote the screenplay for his 1996 novel of a disgustingly evil self-proclaimed sheriff of small town Desperation, Nevada. The plot revolves around innocent travellers who wander into Collie's jurisdiction and fall into horrors beyond their wildest imaginings. The book oozes nastiness and, judging by the trailers, it is safe to assume the miniseries will also.

King was an unknown, struggling writer working in a laundry to pay the rent when he published the blockbuster novel Carrie in 1973. His commercial success has been phenomenal. He has become, over the course of his career, the best-selling writer in the world. After a horrific car accident in 2002 left him severely injured and emotionally shaken, he said he was retiring from writing. Time, however, healed and he is now back on his game, although he says he has slowed down considerably.

King and his wife Tabitha, also a novelist, have lived a normal and non-scary life in his home state of Maine for many years. Passersby are often surprised at their comparatively modest old Victorian house just a couple of blocks outside of Bangor's downtown area. The only nod to the horror that lives in King's head is the iron fence that parallels the street and is adorned with unobtrusive little bats. King and his wife have been very involved in community affairs in Bangor, where they raised their three children. A famously rabid Red Sox fan, King has written often on his beloved sport of baseball, including the 1999 Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon. In 1992, the city of Bangor celebrated the opening of Mansfield Stadium, a Little League park funded largely by the Kings.

Given the normal and seemingly well-adjusted life King leads, the things that flow from his mind seem a bit shocking but he explains it well and with great glee:

People want to know why I do this, why I write such gross stuff. I like to tell them I have the heart of a small boy... and I keep it in a jar on my desk.