Conversations on writing with Anne Rice, Stephen King, Umberto Eco, and more
Anne Rice, Stephen King, and Umberto Eco from CBS Sunday Morning
Although I haven’t watched CBS Sunday Morning much in a while, I have always appreciated their relaxed, laid back journalism. The weekly show features stories on the arts, music, nature, entertainment, sports, history, science and Americana, and highlights unique human accomplishments and achievements. (They do a good job of posting segments on their YouTube channel.)
Below, you can watch excerpts from some of their authors interviews. The video spotlights conversations with some popular writers of recent years, including blockbuster horror authors Anne Rice and Stephen King, mystery authors Umberto Eco and Louise Penny, plus noted playwright and screenwriter Neil Simon.
More info about the authors and links for further reading below the video...
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“Sunday Morning”: Writers on writing | CBS Sunday Morning
Anne Rice (1941-2021)
Anne Rice wrote gothic fiction, erotic literature, and Christian literature. Best known for her series of novels The Vampire Chronicles, Rice’s fiction also includes the Lives of the Mayfair Witches, the Wolf Gift Chronicles series, her Ramses the Damned mummy series, her religious Christ the Lord books, Servant of the Bones (also adapted into a graphic novel), and Exit to Eden.
One of the best-selling authors of modern times, Rice’s books have sold more than 150 million copies worldwide. Her books have been adapted into films and TV shows over the years. Her Vampire Chronicles books have been adapted to the screen, including the AMC TV shows Interview With the Vampire and Mayfair Witches. There have also been the movies Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994), Queen of the Damned (2002), and Exit to Eden (1994).
Rice was born in New Orleans in 1941 and grew up there and in Texas. She lived in San Francisco with her husband, the poet and painter, Stan Rice until 1988, when they returned to New Orleans to live with their son, Christopher. Anne and her son Chris co-wrote several books. She died in 2021.
More about Anne Rice online:
Further reading:
27 Striking Vampire Books—including horror, romance, fantasy, and comedy titles
Complete Ramses the Damned Mummy Series by Anne Rice and Christopher Rice
27 Monster Musicals: From Addams Family and Spirited to Wicked and beyond
60+ Special Vampire Book Series—from Anne Rice, L.A. Banks, Charlaine Harris, more
The Vampire Issue: Faith Hunter, L.A. Banks, Anne Rice, Buffy vs. X-Files
Mummy Fiction Books by Anne Rice, Bram Stoker, R.L. Stine, more
Stephen King
The author of such popular horror novels as The Stand and The Shining and ’Salem’s Lot (not to mention the epic Dark Towers series) and SO MANY MORE, Stephen King was born in Portland, Maine in 1947. He made his first professional short story sale in 1967 to Startling Mystery Stories.
In the fall of 1971, he began teaching high school English classes at Hampden Academy, the public high school in Hampden, Maine. Writing in the evenings and on the weekends, he continued to produce short stories and to work on novels.
In the spring of 1973, Doubleday & Co., accepted the novel Carrie for publication, providing him the means to leave teaching and write full-time. He has since published over 50 books and has become one of the world’s most successful writers.
King is the recipient of the 2003 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to the American Letters and the 2014 National Medal of Arts. Stephen lives in Maine and Florida with his wife, novelist Tabitha King. They are regular contributors to a number of charities including many libraries and have been honored locally for their philanthropic activities.
More about Stephen King online:
Further reading:
Stephen King: ‘Holly’—return of the beloved character from ‘Mr. Mercedes’
27 Striking Vampire Books—including horror, romance, fantasy, and comedy titles
Multiverse Fiction: 22 Diverting Examples of Parallel Universe Stories
Stephen King: Debut novel 1974's CARRIE was a failure—at first
Stephen King: ‘The Shining’—when the author explored his own secrets
Louise Penny
Louise Penny is the #1 New York Times and Globe and Mail bestselling author of the Chief Inspector Armand Gamache mysteries, set in the Canadian province of Quebec and focusing on the work of the chief inspector of the Sûreté du Québec. The most recent whodunit in the series—A World of Curiosities—is Chief Inspector Gamache book #18.
A former radio broadcaster for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), Penny’s fiction has won numerous awards, including the Agatha Award for Best Mystery Novel of the Year five times (including four consecutive years in 2007-2010). She has also won a CWA Dagger and has been a finalist for the Edgar Award for Best Novel. Her novels have been published in 23 languages.
More about Louise Penny online:
Umberto Eco (1932-2016)
Umberto Eco was an Italian novelist, philosopher, and cultural critic. As a novelist, one of his best known works was the 1980 historical murder mystery The Name of the Rose, which integrated biblical analysis, medieval studies, and literary theory. The book was adapted into the 1986 movie of the same title, starring Sean Connery and Christian Slater.
His fiction also included the intellectual thriller Foucault’s Pendulum, the alternate history book The Prague Cemetery, and the metaphysical novel The Island of The Day Before. While for many, The Name of the Rose and his other fiction is all they know about him, Eco also wrote academic texts, children’s books, translations from French and English, plus a regular magazine column, and political and social essays.
More about Umberto Eco online:
Neil Simon (1927-2018)
A playwright, screenwriter, and author, Neil Simon wrote more than 40 Broadway plays, including Barefoot in the Park, The Odd Couple, and Lost in Yonkers, which won the Pulitzer Prize. He also wrote dozens of movie screenplays, mostly film adaptations of his plays. He received three Tony Awards, and a Golden Globe Award. He was awarded a Special Tony Award in 1975, the Kennedy Center Honors in 1995 and the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2006.
Some of his earliest professional writing was comedy scripts for radio programs and early TV shows. In 1950, he was a writer on Sid Caesar’s Your Show of Shows—working alongside a group of writers that included future legends Carl Reiner, Mel Brooks, Woody Allen, Larry Gelbart, and Selma Diamond.
His first produced play was Come Blow Your Horn (1961), followed by Barefoot in the Park (1963) and The Odd Couple (1965). In 1966, he had four successful productions running on Broadway at the same time. In 1983, he was the only living playwright with a New York theatre named after him.
His screenplays—beyond just adapting his stage scripts—also included notable originals like the underrated heist movie After the Fox (1966), The Out-of-Towners (1970 and 1999), The Heartbreak Kid (1972), the hilarious detective series parody Murder by Death (1976), the romantic dramedy The Goodbye Girl (1977), the Humphrey Bogart-ish and Dashiell Hammett-ish crime parody The Cheap Detective (1978), the classic romantic triangle crime(ish) comedy Seems Like Old Times (1980), the dramedy about an old-timer trying to make things right with his family Max Dugan Returns (1983), and the bizarre (but hilarious) textbook adaptation The Lonely Guy (1984).
I also want to again applaud Neil Simon’s original play The Odd Couple. First staged in 1965, the hysterical original play inspired lots of adaptations, including movies, some of my favorite sitcoms, and even a cartoon series. (And The Odd Couple has influenced lots of copycats as well.)
More about Neil Simon online:
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Further reading online
13 Best Anne Rice Books - Definitive Ranking (Most Recommended Books)
Readers Poll: The 10 Best Stephen King Books (Rolling Stone)
Umberto Eco: ranking his novels from worst to best (The Bundle)
Louise Penny sets the record straight on the ‘cozy mysteries’ myth (Globe and Mail)
Neil Simon movies: 15 greatest films ranked from worst to best (GoldDerby)
Where to Start with Anne Rice (New York Public Library)
20 Best Stephen King Books, Ranked by Goodreads Reviewers (Business Insider)
Ranking the Umberto Eco novels (Freelance Flaneur)
Why Everyone Should Read Thriller Writer Louise Penny (Oprah Daily)
Neil Simon At The Movies: Why This Comedic Genius Deserved More Respect From Hollywood (Deadline)
10 Best Anne Rice Books (2023) - That You Must Read! (Ereads)
Where to start with: Stephen King (The Guardian)
Umberto Eco, The Art of Fiction No. 197 (Paris Review)
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