Just one month to go until the release of Duma Key. Here’s the Publisher’s Weekly review (mild spoilers):

In bestseller King’s well-crafted tale of possession and redemption, Edgar Freemantle, a successful Minnesota contractor, barely survives after the Dodge Ram he’s driving collides with a 12-story crane on a job site. While Freemantle suffers the loss of an arm and a fractured skull, among other serious injuries, he makes impressive gains in rehabilitation. Personality changes that include uncontrollable rages, however, hasten the end of his 20-year-plus marriage. On his psychiatrist’s advice, Freemantle decides to start anew on a remote island in the Florida Keys. To his astonishment, he becomes consumed with making art–first pencil sketches, then paintings–that soon earns him a devoted following. Freemantle’s artwork has the power both to destroy life and to cure ailments, but soon the Lovecraftian menace that haunts Duma Key begins to assert itself and torment those dear to him. The transition from the initial psychological suspense to the supernatural may disappoint some, but even those few who haven’t read King (Lisey’s Story) should appreciate his ability to create fully realized characters and conjure horrors that are purely manmade.

The end of the year is list time. Here are King’s  top tunes of 2007 and best of TV and movies lists.

My buddy Dave from Overlook Connection sent me samples of slipcases for Blaze and Gunslinger Born. He’s selling both slipcased books and standalone slipcases. Check ’em out.

Issue 1 (of 5) of The Long Road Home, the second Dark Tower graphic novel serial, will be released on March 5, 2008. Here’s Marvel’s exclamation point-riddled description: “It’s the return of the best-selling comic book series, inspired by Stephen King’s epic The Dark Tower! Gunslinger Roland Deschain has seen the death of his lover Susan Delgado. And the Big Coffin Hunters who burned her at the stake are now in pursuit of Roland and his ka-tet Cuthbert and Alain. The friends are forced to flee into the desert with the deadly posse in hot pursuit….and Roland is in a coma! Don’t miss this opening chapter starring the Gunslinger whose quest for the Dark Tower will shake the foundation of reality itself!”

USA’s series The Dead Zone has been cancelled after a six-year run, leaving several continuing plotlines unresolved. “We wish we could keep all our great shows alive forever,” said Jeff Wachtel. “But we feel we need to give some of our new shows a platform to grow, and it’s with great sadness that we say goodbye to two shows that had a great run and helped create the resurgence of original programming on our network and on all of cable.” The premiere of The Dead Zone, created by the late Michael Piller and his son Shawn, set a record for a series debut on basic cable with 6.4 million viewers.

Two prisoners escaped from Union County jail in Elizabeth, New Jersey last week. Using improvised tools, the men removed cement blocks from two walls, squeezed through the holes, jumped to a rooftop below, scaled a 30-foot high wall and hopped a razor wire fence to escape from what was considered the most secure area of the prison. The escape was apparently inspired by The Shawshank Redemption—the inmates covered up their escape holes with photographs of women in bikinis. The escapees left a note saying “Happy Holidays,” and thanking a guard they claim helped them escape.

And, in closing, here is King’s year-end message, as posted on his web site:

I had a great year and, as always, it starts with the people who read the books and have been so kind to me over the last 30 or so years that I have been making up stories. It was especially nice to hear from you this year because I turned 60 and finally had to kill my teddy bear. Just joking about the teddy bear, but it’s a little traumatic and you guys helped to ease the pain. I hope you will all have a happy holiday season whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanza, or simply the imminent coming of Great Cthulhu. I hope that all of us will have a happy new year, that you will enjoy Duma Key, and that you vote for all the right candidates in November! Be well and be good to one another.

Steve King