One Degree of Separation

If I were Kevin Bacon, I’d now only have one degree of separation from one of my all-time idols – Stephen King. Or Steve, as Ridley Pearson refers to him. After spending the weekend at the Write to Learn conference in Osage Beach, I got to introduce an author I’ve admired for over a decade. If that wasn’t enough, hearing Ridley talk about playing in his band, The Rock Bottom Remainders, I had a serious case of author envy. Ridley’s current YA book (he has published mostly thrillers until he and Dave Barry decided to answer the questions never explained in Peter Pan) spent 47 weeks on the NY Times Bestseller List. When I intro’d him, I suggested he loan me a week. I’d even do a minute or two, though that might not be long enough to call my mom and my friends…

What I learned this weekend is that as long as authors stay “real,” fans will always stay loyal. It makes you wonder what Britney, Paris, and Lindsay are thinking. What Ridley proved is that great success happens to normal, nice, and inherently good people. Movies, TV shows, Bestseller lists…it took him nearly a decade to achieve it, so with all the success I’ve enjoyed so far, I think I’ve been lucky…plus, I have six years to go to start fretting over the movie and TV thing.

Hmmmm, in 8 Days, I’ll have Brad Pitt play Jake, Al Pacino would be a perfect Tony Andrews, Matthew McConaughey could be Dusty…as for Slipping, Ed Norton is my only choice for Seth, Mark Wahlberg is Mikie, and Danna Scanlon? That’s easy…Jodi Foster needs to reverse age. And in Dregs, let’s see…