Fantasy-Tainted Thriller: Secret of horror novelist's lineage is broken as book wins acclaim
Whois? Joe Hill
Hill, 34, took on his secret identity to test his writing skills and marketability without having to trade on the family name...
Meet Stephen King's son...
For the last ten years, Joe Hill has been writing short stories and wrote an unpublished novel under his pen name. Now he brings us a fantasy-tainted thriller that Warner Bros. has already bought the film rights to six-months before Heart Shaped Box hit the market!
Facts:
The moniker he chose did not come out of the blue. He is legally Joseph Hillstrom King, named for the labour organizer whose 1915 execution for murder in Utah inspired the song, "Joe Hill," an anthem of the labour movement. His parents, who came of age during the 1960s, "were both pretty feisty liberals and looked at Joe Hill as a heroic figure," he said.
"Heart-Shaped Box," a title drawn from a song by the rock group Nirvana, is a fast-paced tale of another man with dual identities. Judas Coyne, born Justin Cowzynski, is an over-the-hill heavy metal rocker with a strange hobby: amassing ghoulish artifacts. The choice of title was pure serendipity. Hill's initial idea, "Private Collection," went by the wayside when the 1993 Nirvana song popped up on iTunes as the author was getting ready to write the episode in which UPS delivers the haunted suit to Coyne. It was then that Hill decided to package the suit in a heart-shaped box.
As excitement percolated about "Heart-Shaped Box," so, too, did lingering questions about its author. Inklings about Hill's family background started appearing in online message boards in 2005 when his collection of short stories, "20th Century Ghosts," was published in Britain.
Still, his pen name had a good ride. The editor of "Heart-Shaped Box" was unaware of the King connection and Hill's agent remained in the dark for eight years before the author spilled the beans two years ago.
As excitement percolated about "Heart-Shaped Box," so, too, did lingering questions about its author. Inklings about Hill's family background started appearing in online message boards in 2005 when his collection of short stories, "20th Century Ghosts," was published in Britain.
Still, his pen name had a good ride. The editor of "Heart-Shaped Box" was unaware of the King connection and Hill's agent remained in the dark for eight years before the author spilled the beans two years ago.
More Info:
Mar 17, 12:27 PM EST
By Jerry Harkavy
PORTSMOUTH, N.H. (AP) - Joe Hill knew it was only a matter of time before one of the publishing industry's hottest little secrets became common knowledge. He just wished he could have kept it under wraps a bit longer... read more
Related Site:Joe Hill Official Website
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