Mars Needs Writers
  • Blog-O-Rama
  • The Store Thing
  • That Thing We Did
  • The Newest Thing

Okay, so we're feeling a little bummed right now...

10/2/2013

0 Comments

 
Picture
Picture
…and it’s because one of us has read Stephen King’s latest bestseller.
 
Last Wednesday, as you may recall, Renee decided to indulge in a bookgasm-oriented day. She hadn't enjoyed one for much too long but King’s sequel to THE SHINING called to her. With the brand new DOCTOR SLEEP: A NOVEL in hand, the female half of our writing team turned off the phone, pulled up the covers, and turned on her Kindle. She was ready to be transported back to the Overlook.
 
Things didn’t turn out quite as she expected.

Just in case you’d rather not see the Spoilers ahead, here’s her quick review: ***** out of ***** stars, great follow-up to the original, fun read, sadly lacking in enough Overlook-ness but terrific, nonetheless. If you love horror, you should buy it. Also, there’s this: King introduces some wonderful monsters into his story, the True Knot.

And, oh, the True Knot are evil…but, oh, they were not new to Renee. For her, almost from the start, they shared a number of similarities with the Unending, our monsters from THE ATHEIST’S DAUGHTER.

The monsters she’d helped create nearly a decade ago.

At first, she was amused. Then a little creeped out. Then angry (because, you know, she felt we had thought of these guys first). Then scared. Because, as she texted to Harrell, no one will believe we had these creatures first. Everyone will think we stole several of their crucial elements from Mr. King.

Now, everyone knows writers can be a little paranoid and that might be all we’re looking at here. We don’t think so but…we’re writers. (See the “paranoid” note above.) If you’d care to play along with us, see if you think we’re overreacting. We’re about to compare bad guys.

###-SPOILERS AHEAD-###

  At one time, the True Knot were people. They still look like people but, now, they’re monsters. At one time, the Unending were people. They still look like people but, now, they’re monsters.

Although unrelated by blood, the True Knot consider themselves a family. They are led by a powerful and cruel female. Although unrelated by blood, the Unending consider themselves a family. They are led by a powerful and cruel female.

The True Knot never use their real names around humans. They crave anonymity in order to commit their crimes. The Unending never use their real names around humans. They crave anonymity in order to commit their crimes.

The True Knot call normal people by an insulting name: Rubes. The Unending call normal people by an insulting name: Meat.

The True Knot seek special children, who they violently murder so that they can breathe in their essence. The essence comes off of the children in a cloud, to be stored and later absorbed. If the child is sick with a disease, it makes the True Knot sick.

The Unending seek special adults, who they violently murder so they can breathe in their essence. The essence drains from the adults in waves and is absorbed. If the adult is sick with a disease, it makes the Unending sick.

Breathing in the essence of their victims has allowed the True Knot to live for centuries. Breathing in the essence of their victims has allowed the Unending to live for centuries.

Certain members of the True Knot are locators, using their powers to find the children that will be murdered. Certain members of the Unending are psychics, using their powers to find the adults that will be murdered.

The True Knot appear to be see-through at times; their eyes can be seen floating in their heads. The Unending appear to be see-through at times; their eyes can be seen floating in their heads.

Dogs dislike the True Knot, avoiding them because they can see them for what they truly are. To quote THE ATHEIST’S DAUGHTER and one of the Unending: “Animals hate us but birds are the worse. Only they see us for what we are.”

When things get rough, some members of the True Knot decide to run away. When things get rough, some members of the Unending decide to run away.

The True Knot is frightened of a girl with special abilities; they want to kill her partly because she can expose them. The girl has tried to hide her abilities by pretending to be normal. The Unending is frightened of Kristin, a teenager with special abilities; they want to kill her partly because she can expose them. Kristin has tried to hide her abilities by pretending to be normal.

###-SPOILERS OVER-###

There’s more but it’s all drabs and dribbles and we don’t actually want to be too obsessed with this. Are there differences between the characters, too? Sure, there are, buckets of them. The storylines travel sharply different paths as well.

But the similarities are enough that, if the True Knot ever make it to film, the Unending never will. So, sadness. 

Meanwhile, what should we do next? Thinking it over, we’ve added these words to our novel’s synopsis on Amazon:

**Please note: The monsters in THE ATHEIST’S DAUGHTER and the monsters in DOCTOR SLEEP: A NOVEL share a number of startling similarities. The Hunting Monsters Press publication date for THE ATHEIST’S DAUGHTER was 2011, while the screenplay that formed the basis of the novel was copyrighted in 2004.

DOCTOR SLEEP: A NOVEL was published in 2013.

The authors admire Stephen King’s work and don’t believe he borrowed any of our ideas. We just don’t want you to think we borrowed any of his ideas, either.**


We did this because, while you and you know the truth, the world is large and our readership is tiny. We want to protect our small, self-published novel from a sea of angry reviewers who don’t believe these kinds of coincidences can happen.
 
They do happen. After all, they just did.

And, Steve, if someone should happen to point you in the direction of this blog – you did good work, man. But so did we.

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Come on in! This

    is the electronic home of Renée Harrell. Did you bring any wine?

    Picture

                       Renée         &       Harrell


    It's about time you got here.

    We aren't kidding about the wine.
     
    This is where we talk about writing...
    ...our writing, mostly. We also discuss kiva.org, Hunting Monsters Press, the magic bakery, self-publishing, pseudonyms, life itself -- a bunch of things.
     
    Thanks for stopping by. It wouldn't be the same without you.

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    February 2021
    July 2020
    June 2016
    March 2016
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011

    Categories

    All
    101 Things To Avoid Doing Before You Die
    101 Things To Do Before You Die
    2012 Zinfandel Les Enfants Terribles
    50 Faust Dates
    50 Shades Of Grey
    5 Star Reviews
    Abigail Breslin
    Aces Weekly
    Acting Classes Melbourne
    Acx
    Agent Carter
    Age Of Dinosaurs
    A Heartbreaking Work Of Staggering Genius
    Alex Adventure
    Alex Cross And The Big Bag Of Gold
    Alex Sheikman
    All Fool's Day
    All Saints' Day
    Aly's Luck
    Amazon
    Amazon.de
    Amazon Eu
    Amazon Preorder
    Amazon Prime
    A. Meredith Walters
    American Horror Story
    Amy C. Cosper
    Angelfall
    Animasher
    Anja Bauermeister
    Anne Glynn
    Annual Income In Tajikistan
    Aphrodite Hunt
    April Fools
    April Fool's Day
    Arizona
    Arizona Museum Of Natural History
    Ashes & Ink
    A Tale Of Two Cities
    Atlanta Nights
    At The Mountains Of Madness
    Audiobook
    Audiobook Narration
    A Very Scary Solstice
    Azatamut
    Azerbaijan
    Babelcube
    Bad Book Covers
    Bad Monkey
    Bag Of Bones
    Baking
    Beautiful Disaster
    Bestessays.org
    Best Fat Burner Pills
    Best-seller
    Best Sellers In Kindle
    Better Off Ted
    Betty Willis
    Bibliomancy
    Bigstock
    Bigstockphoto.com
    Bill Fitzhugh
    Bill Plympton
    Birgit Hausmayer
    Black Adder
    Black Eyed Peas
    Blake M. Petit
    Blast Vegas
    Blog
    Blog-O-Rama
    Bobcat Goldthwait
    Bob's Burgers
    Book Reviews
    Bookrix
    Book Trailers
    Breathless
    Brown Recluse Spiders
    Bucket List
    Buffy The Vampire Slayer
    Business Insider
    Buzz Bernard
    Cambodia
    Can
    Candace
    Cara Nelson
    Carl Hiaasen
    Cassandra Parkin
    Cassysailermoon
    Cast A Deadly Spell
    Castle
    Casual Gourmet Chicken Sausage
    Celtic Cross
    Ceromancy
    Chanel
    Chicken Soup For The Soul
    Choluteca
    Chris Pine
    Christopher Marlowe
    Chuck Palahniuk
    Clams
    Climb Mount Everest
    Clorox Bleach & Blue
    Cobblestone Press
    Cockneys Vs Zombies
    Cold
    Cooking With Pooh
    Corante.com
    Cover Design
    Crank: High Voltage
    Createspace
    Cynthia Vespia
    Damned
    Dancing Days
    Dark Shadows
    David Danger
    David Llloyd
    Dead Sparrow
    Dean Koontz
    Deanna Lee
    Dean Wesley Smith
    Deep Thoughts
    Demon Hunter: Saga
    Depois Que Tudo Ficou Ruim
    Destined
    Detective Novels
    Digital Science Fiction
    Directorio
    D.I.Y. Or Die
    Doctor Sleep: A Novel
    Donald E Westlake
    Donuts
    Dusk Till Dawn The Series
    Easy Peasy
    Ebook Booster
    Ebook Pricing
    Edge Of Tomorrow
    Eerie
    Ellery Queen
    Emf Meter
    Enter The Fist
    Ereaderiq
    Ereader Iq
    Eric Shanower
    Escudo
    Eyewall
    Fake
    Fan Letters
    Faust
    Fawlty Towers
    Felicia Day
    Fergie
    Fifty
    Fiverr.com
    Fl
    Flu
    Fortune-telling
    Fotolia
    Fox In Socks
    Frankenstein
    Free
    Free Kindle Books
    Fried Cockroaches
    Fugu
    Futurama
    Gabbiano Chianti 2010
    Gale Haut
    Geoffrey Chaucer
    George C. Scott
    Germentrude Boggmonstro
    Get-rich-quick
    Ghost In The Invisible Bikini
    Giles
    Girl Detective
    Glee
    Go!Animate
    God Is Dead And I Don
    Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake
    Golgotha
    Golgotha Ar
    Gonxha
    Good Ereader
    Good Show Sir
    Gotham
    Grandma
    Grandmas Denturesc1be08622e
    Griffin Hayes
    Guardians Of The Galaxy
    Gun-jitsu
    Halloween
    Hamish Macbeth
    Harry Potter And The Big Bag Of Gold
    Haunter
    Head-in-a-jar Creator
    Hellboy
    Hilaria
    Honduras
    Hotel Connor
    How To Write A Best-Seller
    How To Write Faster
    H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society
    Huffington Post
    Ilibrarian
    Independently Animated: Bill Plympton
    In-tank Cleaners
    Itunes
    Jack Ryan
    James Joyce
    James Patterson
    Janet Evanovich
    Jane Wallace-knight
    J.D. Robb
    Jebediah Buzzard
    Jerome
    Jessie Harrell
    Jim Patterson
    Joe Konrath
    Joel Kinnaman
    John Brunner
    John Carter Of Mars
    John Dies At The End
    John D. MacDonald
    Jonathan Pinnock
    Jo Ramsey
    Julie Kaewert
    Jurassic Park
    Kakamega North District
    Kate Hawkins
    Katy Mattress
    Kdp Select
    Ken Follett
    Kenya
    Kettle Corn Recipe
    Kevin Yarbrough
    Kindle
    Kindle Daily Deal
    Kingdom Hospital
    Kit Foster
    Kiva.org
    Kobo
    Krispy Kreme
    Kristine Kathryn Rusch
    Las Vegas
    Lawrence Block
    LC Kane
    Leanne Salter
    Led Lighting
    Lee Goldberg
    Legends Of Tomorrow
    L. Frank Baum
    Liam Neeson
    Lou Ferrigno
    Louis Armstrong
    Luke Forney
    Luke Reviews
    Luxor
    Magic Promotion Genie
    Malice
    Mangos Mexican Cafe
    Manybooks
    Marian Keyes
    Mars Needs Writers
    Martin Salvador
    Mary Shelley
    Matilda The Musical
    Maybe You Should Write A Book
    M.C. Beaton
    Media Bistro
    Meira Pentermann
    Merri Hiatt
    Method Coffee
    Michael Agger
    Michele Lee
    Mike Mignola
    Moby Dick
    Modern Library
    Mojo Jojo
    Mongolia
    Monk
    Morgan Kearns
    Mother Teresa
    Mrs. Darcy Versus The Aliens
    Murder She Wrote
    Myfreeindie
    Nach Der Katastrophe
    Name Withheld
    Neil Gaiman
    Netflix Daredevil
    New Arrival
    Newman's Own Old Fashioned Lemonade
    New World Fairy Tales
    Niceville
    Nick Hornby
    Nipple Piercing
    Non-Stop
    Norman Spinrad
    Nudiustertian
    Nwf Daily News
    Omidyar Network
    One Bride For Seven Brothers
    One Republic
    On The Writing Of Speculative Fiction
    Open Your Legs
    Other People
    Out Of Print
    Ozma Of Oz
    Paolo Di Giovanni Fei
    Paste Magazine
    Paul Cosca
    Peanut
    Pee Funnel
    Peeps
    Penelope Trunk
    Penguin Books
    Pen Name
    Penn And Teller
    Penn & Teller
    Pest Control
    Peter Cannon
    Phucket List
    P.I.
    Picton Bay South Lisand Pinot Noir
    Pillar Box Red
    Pillsbury Bake-Off
    Pillsbury Wine Company
    Pinyourbook.clom
    Portuguese
    Powdered Milk
    Private Lessons
    Project Gutenberg
    Proxima Books
    Pseudonym
    Psych
    Psychic
    Public Library
    Publishamerica
    Purse
    Quick Rise And Shine Breakfasts
    Rachel Ruiz
    Ralph Daigh
    Rasputina
    Reklamproduktion
    Relentless
    Replica
    Rio
    Ripper Street
    Romance Novel
    Romance Writer
    Ron Goulart
    Ron Perlman
    Rss Feed
    Rune Reading
    Sable Grey
    Salem's Lot
    Scream For Jeeves
    Self-publishing
    Sensualreads.com
    Sequels
    Sexy People
    Shortlist
    Shutterstock
    Sift Reviews
    Six Women Of Salem
    Skottie Young
    Slate Magazine
    Slow Burn
    Snopes.com
    Something Evil
    Something Wicked
    Sometimes You Catch The Shark
    Spanish
    Sparkle271
    Spellbound By Books
    Spodomancy
    Stephen King
    Stephen King's Revival
    Steve Haynes
    Steve King
    Storage 24
    Superblog
    Superfriends
    Supermoon
    Susan Ee
    Taco Barn
    Taiko Pumps
    Take Me To Your Leader
    Tarot Reading
    Tattoo
    Tavush
    Team Imon
    Team Inom
    Tears For Fears
    Thanks For The Ether
    The Atheist's Daughter
    The Black Bridge
    The Death Of A Policeman
    The Death Zone
    The Faust And The Furious
    The Fifth Brother
    The Getaway Car: A Donald Westlake Nonfiction Miscellany
    The Guild
    The Hobbit Movies
    The Holy Trinity
    The Key To Rebecca
    The Land Of Painted Caves
    The Lego Movie
    The List Cafe
    The Lovecraft Chronicles
    The Magicians
    The Ocean At The End Of The Lane
    Theodor Seuss Geisel
    The Old Man And The Sea
    The Powerpuff Girls
    The Shining
    The Slut In The Hut
    The Sphinx Project
    The Stand
    The Summer We All Ran Away
    The Ten Word Game
    The World Swappers
    Thighs Wide Apart
    Tim Minchin
    Tom Clancy
    Tom Cruise
    Torchwood
    Train Diorama
    T.v. Show
    Twilight
    Ulysses
    Unicorns
    Vj Chambers
    Walt Disney
    WeatherBug
    Werewolf Sex
    Wicked Games
    Woody Allen
    Worst Self-marketing
    Writing A Successful Romance
    Writing Careers
    Xtranormal
    Yay!
    Young Adult
    Your Stripper Name
    Zarrowski
    Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance
    Zombeavers

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.