Stephen King jealous of Stephenie Meyer? Get real! He has dozens of novels of which quite a few have also been made into movies. I have read the twilight series and enjoyed them but i do think that they are kinda like the bubble gum pop of the horror genre, popular now but not of any real substance. Then again they are written for young adolescents and anyone who can get kids to read for fun I guess cant be all bad.

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Stephen King is a terrific writer, and he isn't in it for the success. He's not bitter; he just sees right through Meyer's scam. She wrote the book knowing that it would appeal to a huge audience, not because she's a great writer or even had some fantastic story to tell. I praise Stephen King for finally stepping forward and saying what others would not: Stephanie Meyer is a businessperson, not a writer. She knows how to sell books; too bad she can't write them.

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I think he's right. I have read the books and really didn't enjoy them all that much. The story line was interesting; not one I would allow my young teenager to read, but as an adult thought it interesting. The writing was not very interesting.

I was actually talking to someone today and said that, I believe, that the only reason these are so popular right now is that there really is nothing else out there for this age group.

At least they are reading, but my teen would not be reading these books.

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I love Stephen King. But I also loved the Twilight series.

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I agree with Stephen King. I have read the entire Twilight Series and could barely get through #3. I continued to read them because I wanted to see what happened. The books can't even be compared to the brilliance of the Harry Potter Series.

Rowlings is a genius, and probably the most talented writer of our times.. It is an insult to even compare the two authors. I am glad that Meyer's books are a success. Any book that gets children to read is a success as far as I am concerned.

I wish that Stephen King could have been a little kinder. His words were harsh and mean spirited.

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Or maybe he said what he did because Stephanie Meyer really CAN'T write?

The idea for a storyline isn't so bad, really, even if she did get a little too ridiculous with it (for instance, why does Bella not have any freaking personality on her own?). But from a technical standpoint, her writing is AWFUL. It's not constructed well, it's full of plotholes, she uses the same metaphors and phrases so repetitively it's almost comedic, and if she could have squeezed the word 'chagrin' in one more time, I might have screamed. I don't know if I should pity her editors, or be sad that it's still as bad as it is post-editing.

And they're letting her get away with "releasing a second series" - the same exact story line from another character's point of view?! I'm sorry, can't most authors handle writing from 2 PoVs in one novel?

Also, can anyone explain to me why a book whose major themes are pedophilia, necrophilia and teenage pregnancy (married or not, she's still a teenager) make for a good role model? Especially when the 'heroine' (a term I use with trepidation) is incapable of doing things for or standing up for herself. Is that really a role model you'd want for your child?

I'm 19. I should be in LOVE with these books, or so everyone says. Instead I'm just highly disappointed.

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If Stephen King was motivated by jealousy, then he would have attacked Rowling- not Meyer. It is ridiculous to accuse him of such a thing. He has no reason what so ever to be jealous of Meyer. She is not a good writer and he only states this. He knows her books are the "hot" thing right now, but that doesn't negate the fact that they are not well written. As he said, J.K. Rowling IS a gifted writer and she has broken all records in being the "it" book. King has earned the right to critique other authors work due to the brilliance of his own works, many of which have been made into major motion pictures. Jealous! I think not.

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I agree with him...and I have read almost all of his books. He is a brilliant writer, and has NO reason to be jealous. He complimented JK Rowling, and she was wildly more successful than Stephanie Meyer. I read the first one because I was on a plane and I wanted to know what the fuss was all about....if I were not a captive audience I would have put it down. I did go on to read the other ones, but only after my neice bought them and was raving on them. They were not terrible....but they are nowhere in league with Stephen King or JK Rowling.

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Jealous? Bitter? He certainly doesn't have a reason to be jealous of Meyer and I doubt he is bitter. He was run over by a van a few years ago and almost lost his life, so I doubt something so redundant to his own life such as the success of Meyer would cause him to be bitter.
I read the first 3 Harry Potter books but became bored. The books written by Rowling & Meyer are entertaining for tweens/teens, but I need "more" from the books I read.
I have read 3 of books from Meyer's Twilight series and my 11 year old is on the second and is enjoying it. I'll re-scan the 3rd & go through the 4th before she reads them, to make sure I think she is mature enough to handle the content.
I don't think Meyer's Twilight movie and King's Carrie can be compared. Most of Stephen King's novels are NOT for younger readers. It is more difficult to make one of his novels into a movie because his writing is so detailed and vivid. The week-long I think) mini-series version of his book The Stand was a great attempt, but I don't think it could have expressed the nuance (sp? of the novel if it were a month-long series.
I was 17 when I read King's IT, and quickly decided reading it in bed at night wasn't a great idea. I remember reading one night and thinking "What if I move the book & Pennywise's face is looking at me from the foot of the bed?" LOL
Any time Stephen King has suggested the works of another author & I've read one of their books, I've never been disappointed. I had read some of Peter Straub's books before he and King teamed up to write The Talisman (excellent, one of my all time favs) but may not have thought to check out the works of Whitley Streiber, James Junetka (worked together to write War Day and the Journey Onward,also excellent) and several other authors.
Meyer is great for the younger set or adults who enjoy the more "tame" horror with some romance mixed in.
I am what King calls a "constant reader", often have 2 or 3 books going at the same time,& have probably read thousands of books in the last 40 years because I can finish some 300-400 pagers on a Saturday or Sunday.
My point is: Meyer is not in the same class as Stephen King.

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I'm confused as to why one would think that Stephen King would be jealous of Stephanie Meyer. He's made a lot more money and had a LOT more movie deals than S. Meyer ever will, based purely on the fact that he knows the concept of plot development.

The man is a former English teacher, as well as a recovering drug addict and alcoholic. I don't understand why his struggles with drugs and alcohol somehow make him bitter - he overcame them, and it doesn't make him any less intelligent. Some of the greatest minds in the history of the world struggled with drug addiction.

Incidentally, he didn't have a "slow-growing" fanbase. Carrie was his FIRST novel, and it took off in much the same way that Twilight did, only with adults rather than teenagers.

Twilight is a mediocre novel - from plot and character development all the way to her grammar usage. Stephen King simply called her on it, that's all.

Frankly, this blogger sounds more bitter than Stephen King does. He just called it as he saw it.

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I don't consider his words to be harsh or mean spirited. He was asked his opinion during an interview, and he gave his honest opinion.
I agree with Jenny's view, and the views of a couple of other commenters. King would not "attack" the works of another author. Someone asked what asked what he thought and he answered. He offers advice to new writers with little experience.

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Stephen King is just a different kind of writer. I am an 18 year old college student struggling into the writing world and I got to give Stephenie Meyer credit for getting her book out there. She writes for kids not adults like Stephen King, and most teen girls love them because its like a cutesy fairytale/ fantasy escape with a vampire/werewolf instead. I do admit Stephenie's work can be rather dry at first found #4 very slow and she doesn't use as much humor and imagery as Stephen King. J. K. Rowling hands down is a brilliant writer with a great story behind her her success. She incoporates everything a successful writer could want for his/her readers. I don't think he was being mean, just honest- he has been writing for over 30 years. It's a dog eat dog kind of industry and young writers need to know that coming in. Heck Carrie was rejected 20x before being accepted!
Don't attack a writer just because of a particular opinion.
And know the difference between attack and just opinion/feedback- that is not attack but the tagline here on AOL makes it seem biased- heck the blog writer could be setting this up to draw readers in!
Just a thought.

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It's very easy to see why this blogger would be enchanted, along with the rest of the masses, with the tween-phenomenon Twilight. It isn't horror; it's corny romance at its best (or worst; this is one of those rare instances where they really mean the same thing).

Stephen King, as others have mentioned, has absolutely no reason to be jealous. He isn't a bitter old man: he is an author with a better track record, larger fan base, more money, and the intelligence to put good ideas on paper in a way that delivers a story readers will love. Also, please get your facts straight: Carrie was his first novel to begin with. People who are less than satisfied with Twilight express their opinions intelligently, by actually researching what they would like to rant about; it would only be polite to extend the same courtesy to us.

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I agree with Stephen King. If he was really bitter and jealous he'd say the same about J.K Rowling who is actually a lot more popular than Meyers. The bottom line is what he said is true. Yeah it's great that mother/daughters bonding but I wouldn't let my child read those books and I'm 24. It's only popular because there are young vampires involved and someone thought it would be a GREAT idea to make ANOTHER vampire movie. Kudos for getting a book published but it doesn't mean it's good.

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I agree, she can't write, but she has a great laugh..because she is doing it all the way to the bank...

I read entire series, had I known what I was getting myself into, I would have saved myself from all the irritation. When I say irritation, I mean the girl, Bella and the Indian kid/wolf...are really annoying. They were all wrong in the way their characters were written and the way they were described by other characters in the book. I just can't wrap my brain around a mature man/boy/vampire in a 17 year-old body, being attracted to her. And the last book was just totally out of character!!! I can see how she got the idea from a dream. Most dream run that way...with no pace and totally illogical.

I did like The Host much better. I felt she could have done more with the story...but it was much better.

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On another note...I can't see them doing a movie on the entire series. What I can't see is the character in the movie doing the crap the girl in the book does. It just doesn't fit.. I just can't see it. The movie will have to be so far off from the book that it will be 'BASED' on the book written by Stephanie....not 'FROM' the book by.......Sorry Steph...it won't be a Harry Potter Anne Rice lost us after "Interview with a Vampire" Because Queen of the Damned was a great book...need I say more about the movie.

Alliyah..may she rest in peace

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Well, obviously 'crappy internet jounalist > Stephen King'

Oh wait, the person writing this is clearly a brain-dead Twihard.

Yes, I'm sure Stephen King just burns up with jealousy over Smeyers. God, who does he think he is?! Wait, he's a sucessful, talented writer with global recognition, not the adoration of preteen girls and their sad moms.

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I think that they are all OK writers. Twilight is fast and fun, but not deep or insightful writing. Harry Potter is good literature, but not great by any means. It's fun too, it's just not as well written as "great" literature. And stephen king, his stuff is popular, fun and fast as well. Again, not great lit. They are all in the same "fluff" lit category. Honestly, none of you can say that any or their work is comparable to the great classics can you?

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What a nit-picking society we've become, when, all the judgementalists crawl out of the woodwork, to insult and criticize ,one of the most brilliant and consistent Horror writers' of our time. To suggest that a seasoned writer, of Stephen King's caliber, who has a vast library of literary successes and film credits, could amuse himself with the thought of being jealous of an up and coming writer, is just foolish. Mr. King was giving a hard dose of what all writers' know as, "constructive criticism". As a writer you must know how to take it and how to make it work for you. That's not jealousy, it's good advice. As far as alcohol or drug problems, who cares! That would be listed under, "his personal business". Mr. King got whatever help he needed and it did'nt seem to affect him turning out one book after another and being successful. I think Stephen King's books are the best, in adult Horror. His influence has encouraged me to try my hand at it. Who knows, maybe someday he'll be criticizing my work. I'd be honored! So, to that end I say, "Rock on, Stephen King, Rock on".

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