Dean Koontz

Yesterday I was privileged to hear Dean Koontz speak. To be truthful, I've never read one of his books. Even though I've heard a lot of people rave about his work I have never cared for spooky stories. The reason I went was to support one of the local city's library fund raising efforts.

I had no idea what to expect but I was presently surprised by a very nice man and a pretty good speaker.  He was funny and I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of his speech. I even broke a long standing rule of mine and bought a book and then stood in line to have him sign it.

His is the first autograph I have asked for since I was rejected by by the Great Goose Tatum of the Harlem Globetrotters when I was twelve years of age. I had snuck into the basketball pavilion where the Trotters were playing one of their many one night stands via a heating tunnel that ran over 300 yards from the college's heating plant into the field house. I was waiting by the door of their dressing room and when they came out I asked him for an autograph.

I had purchased a brand new Voit basketball and was even ready with a pen. I remember being in total awe of of his height and stature. He was one of my heroes. I ventured to call him by what I thought was his first name,

I stood beneath him, a white boy staring into the eyes of a black iconic hero, holding a pen in one hand and a ball in the other, his eyes hard and flinty, my eye brown and begging, "Goose, would you autograph my ball for me?"

His words still ring in my ears, "It's bad luck boy, don't bother me."

I didn't go into the arena and watch him play. I went home, sad dejected, vowing to never ask for another autograph, no matter who it was and I have kept that vow until I heard Mr. Koontz speak.

But, I paid for a book and stood in line. However, even as much as I admire Mr. Koontz I would never seek him out and ask for an autograph. Yet, Mr. Dean Koontz was worth every minute of my time and every dime the lunch and book cost me.

The things that surprised me the most were first, he had body guards. I don't know why but, that surprised me. Second, the fact that he writes 6 days a week from 7 AM until 5 PM and does not eat lunch also surprised me.. Oh yes, there was one more thing that surprised me. He says he writes slowly and that he will rewrite one page as much as thirty times before he goes on to the next.

The book that I chose  was "Odd Apocalypse" in the hard back issue. I was immediately hooked when I open the first page and began reading. The book begins with a blond girl riding a black Friesian stallion. The girl and the horse are both ghost images and Koontz's hero, Odd Thomas, is the only one that can seen them. But, that mattered not to me. It was the Friesian stallion that caught my attention.

I am not a horse person so I had never heard of Friesian horses until a U-Tube video about them was sent to me by a friend only two days previous.  It is impossible to watch that video and not fall in love with that breed of horses and I did. No, I am not going to buy one but I found it intriguing that I had just learned about them and there one was in "Odd Apocalypse".

The second thing that drew me closer to this book was that it is about ghosts that have trouble moving to the other side. For one reason or another they cannot make the transition from the world of the living to the world of the dead.

I am trying to publish a story I call "My Huckleberry Friend".  It is about how our souls move from this world into the next world and why some of them do not make it.

Because I have never read one of Koontz's books I found that similarity and the fact that I have been writing in the same genre somewhat eerie. I guess I had better read more of it.

When I finish the book I will write a  review on it.