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However believable his plots seem to his readers, Stine insists he has never lived one of his stories. "I've never turned into a bee -- I've never been chased by a mummy or met a ghost. But many of the ideas in my books are suggested by real life. For example, one Halloween my son, Matt, put a mask on and then had trouble pulling it off. That gave me the idea for The Haunted Mask."
Although he never experienced terror first hand, he did enjoy reading about it. "When I was a kid, there were these great comic books called Tales From The Crypt and The Vault of Horror. They were gruesome. I discovered them in the barbershop and thought they were fabulous. I used to get a haircut every Saturday so I wouldn't miss any of these comic books. I had no hair at all when I was a kid!"
His ideas came from two sources: his memory and his imagination. "When I write, I try to think back to what I was afraid of or what was scary to me, and try to put those feelings into books." He also keeps a tribal mask and a skeleton hanging in his writing studio to provide eerie surroundings. Although he handles the writing by himself, Stine says he gets "lots of help from my editors, my readers, and my friends."
Kids reading Goosebumps may be looking for a scare, but the laughs they get are no accident. Before he was R. L., he was Jovial Bob, author of such works as 101 Silly Monster Jokes, and Bozos on Patrol and editor of Bananas magazine. His ability to know what kids will laugh at , as well as what will frighten them, makes the Goosebumps series all the more enjoyable for his readers.
Stine started writing when he was 9 years old! He would write stories and jokes on an old typewriter and hand them out at school. "The teacher would grab them and take them away," Stine says, "but I kept doing it." He wrote for his high school newspaper in Columbus Ohio. After graduating from Ohio State University, he moved to New York City, where he worked on a variety of writing jobs.
Although his books are fun and exciting, writing them is serious stuff. He treats writing "...like a job." To unwind after work he enjoys playing the pinball machine conveniently located in his own apartment.
For aspiring authors, Stine feels reading is as important as writing. He offers this advice: "If you want to be a writer, don't worry so much about writing. Read as much as you can. Read as many different writers as you can. Soak up the styles. You can learn all kinds of ways to say things." As a boy he read Norse legends, Greek myths, Edgar Allan Poe and baseball stories. "And Mad Magazine changed my life." Author biography courtesy of Scholastic, Inc.
"My first job in New York was making up fake interviews with movie and TV stars for a group of six movie magazines. I never spoke to the stars I wrote about. I wrote three-to-four "interviews" a day, all out of my imagination."
"'I've written over 300 books but I never learned to type. I use only one finger, the pointer on my left hand -- that's all. Three hundred books on one finger! The finger is very ugly now -- completely bent and curled and callused. When I show it to audiences, they can't believe it! This is my sacrifice for my art!"
"Sometimes kids show up at my country house and ask if my son Matt can come out and play. That's because they saw him mentioned in the back of my books. But they're very disappointed when he comes to the door -- because Matt is in his mid-twenties now! They were reading very old books! Matt is a musician, composer, and sound designer. You can hear his music at my web site, www.rlstine.com."
"I hope my readers get a chance to see my 4-D movie, R. L. Stine's Haunted Lighthouse. The movie stars Christopher Lloyd, Michael McKean, Lea Thompson, Weird Al, and others. You can find it playing at four parks: SeaWorld San Antonio, SeaWorld San Diego, Busch Gardens Tampa, and Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Virginia. Watch out -- you might get very wet!"
Anonymous
Posted January 21, 2008
The book I read was Call Waiting by R.L. Stine. The book was about a girl names Karen who thinks that her boyfriend is cheating on her with a girl named Wendy. Karen has been very suspicious about them. She doesn't know what to think. After a while Karen keeps getting these mysterious phone calls where the caller says he is going to kill her. When she tells Ethan, her boyfriend, every time the guy calls, Ethan rushes over to make sure Karen is okay. In the middle of the book, Karen admits she made up the whole prank-calling thing just so Ethan would feel bad and spend more time with her. Karen feels really bad about what she did and keeps asking Ethan if he is mad. They actually end up spending more time together. About two chapters after this, she ends up getting real prank calls and the person tells her he is going to kill her. She gets really scared because she doesn't know who it is and it's not her this time. One night, when she's home alone, the person calls her again and says, 'I'm going to kill you.' By the way this person said this, Karen knew right away who it was. She drives to Micah's house, who was once her friend, and she asks her why she is doing this. Micah replies, ¿You stole him away from me, Ethan, you stole him. Ever since you faked those calls, he has been spending time with just you! So I wanted to get you back.' Ethan hears the whole conversation about what Micah says, so he chooses Karen and they both live happily ever after. I recommend this book to people who like mysteries.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted March 22, 2007
Either its dumb or not I thought the book was okay and am an R.L. Stine fan since I was little. A cousin of mine gave me this book recommending it to me. So I read it and thought it was alright but not the best and is an okay read plus its easy to finish and not that long.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted October 10, 2005
This book is out of this world! At the end of each page it will have you in suspense. Trust me this is a really good, Oh excuse me this is a great book!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted October 6, 2005
This book will keep you on the edge of your seat. The ending is so unexpected. R.L Stine did a great job like she always does
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.This book is graet. I defintly recommend it. For ppl who lik thrilling on the edge of ur seat kind of books this is for u but it does have a suprising turn in the middle
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Posted April 8, 2009
Call waiting!
Karen thought her boyfriend Ethan was cheating on her. But she came to find out he wasn't. She found ot he was just paranoid. Plus he was just spending time with his friends. So they talked it over and worked everything out.
I would recommened this book to most people. If you are into mysterys you will enjoy this book very much. I would ecspecially recommened it to teens. So why don't you just read it and see if you like it.
Anonymous
Posted January 1, 2009
It was fun reading it. The series Fear Street is pretty good. It's just like that. Not boring at all and believable. I recommend it for teens.
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Posted October 16, 2006
R.L.Stine is the author of more than three dozen mysteries for young people all of which have been best sellers.Recent Scholastic horror titles include The baby-sitter III,The dead girlfriend, and Halloween Night.In addition, he is the author of two popular monthly series:Goosebumps and Fear Street. Bob lives in New York City with his wife, Jane and his thirteen-year-old son,named Matt.
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Posted February 10, 2006
this book is hot hot hot stuff. Is ethan cheating on Karen or is the voice Karen hears the last?
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Posted January 2, 2006
Karen has a boyfriend named Ethan. And she is afraid he is cheating on her. Then she keeps getting these weird phone calls saying they are going to kill her. Read the book to find out if Ethan is cheating on Karen or does the voice on the phone gonna end Karen's life forever?
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Posted September 27, 2005
This was a very interesting book. I personally loved it, but i think it kinda left-you-hanging. The ending was very surprising and that is mostly why the book should of had a better ending. in the beginning the main character has got a great friend buy her side, and by the end they try to kill each other so I thought that was unecessary. Otherwise it was a great book.
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Posted February 27, 2005
i loved this book it was 1 of the best books i have read in my life. i recommend this book 2 every1 that likes mystery books.
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Posted October 27, 2003
When I saw this book I wanted it and it took me two years to find it. Once I read it I was a little disapointed because it wasn't as good as I thought it would be.Though I read it in one day I expected something more exciting and thrilling.
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Posted May 25, 2002
This Book was a bad read...Karen recieves some spooky calls .Threating her and making her paraniod.The ending was dull.
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Posted June 4, 2002
The first few chapters was a dull moment, but at the end I was at the edge of my seat! I did fing that it was mostly a joke when all the (sort of) scarey things happened. At the end I was really surprised!!
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Posted March 19, 2002
this is a very cool book! i loved it! the best part of it was at the end!
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Posted November 25, 2001
the 'evil' person was a surprise but the ending was a happy one.ethan looked quite horrible at the begining and jake looked 'evil' 2. but the text is quite good and im not surprised by any of R.L.Stines books anymore but u should read this book.
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Posted October 7, 2001
This book is good!!!! I read it at least a year ago and I still know the whole book by heart. It's fun to read. It's funny, scary, and surprising. At the end it's pretty cool. You'll be surprised if you read it. I really think everybody should read it.
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Posted October 10, 2000
this book is ok but its kinda stupid-- everytime karen has another call she says the same thing and gets all scared in the same way. it was ok but not the best!
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Posted September 8, 2000
This book will get on your nerves!Karen and her jealousy is stupid.Her boyfriend is only looking out for himself(you can tell)and It has no story.Read if you want to waste your money
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Overview