Authors, need your book published in time for the Christmas shopping season? Contact us RIGHT AWAY and get $125 off at BookLocker! Details and the discount code are RIGHT HERE.
THE FALL, 2025 24-HOUR SHORT STORY CONTEST WILL BE ON SATURDAY, September 20, 2025! Only 500 participants permitted so DON’T DELAY IF YOU WANT TO PLAY!!
Unfortunately, the Bangor Daily News links below are behind paywalls. You can only read the first few sentences in each article.
As I promised on social media this week, I’m sharing my encounter with Stephen King. I wouldn’t have even thought about it until he was ALL over the news just a few days ago.
This week, Stephen King had to issue a major, public mea culpa after he falsely reported that Charlie Kirk had advocated stoning gays to death. One bookstore took immediate action:
Even fiction writers have to do fact-checking and Stephen King failed in that regard. Also, while he’s no stranger to publicizing his political beliefs, what did he think was going to happen when he pulled a comment out of his butt, posted it online, and offended roughly 50% of his fan base? King, that was royally STUPID! There are countless people online stating they’re boycotting his books and movies.
When we were living in Bangor, Maine, we were alerted by the police (they were going door to door) that a twice convicted child rapist (he raped two very young girls in two completely separate incidents) had moved into a house directly across the street from the largest park in the city. We contacted City Hall because we thought that wasn’t permitted. Weren’t child predators prohibited from living near schools, parks, and daycare centers? That is an assumption of many parents across the country. And, it’s completely wrong. If there is no state law, a city/town must create their own ordinance to prevent that from happening.
We knew children were at risk so we hired an attorney. We paid (if I recall) $11K out of our own pockets for him to write the proposed ordinance to present to the city council. It was modeled after an ordinance that was passed by the next town over. During our first presentation, we received support from all of the city council members. Many of them wanted to shake our hands after the meeting. However, at the meeting that followed that one, the support had disappeared. We then only had the support of two of the council members. If things didn’t turn around, our ordinance wasn’t going to pass. And, it didn’t.
It’s All About the Money!
We soon learned that there were rooming houses in Bangor, Maine that catered to sex offenders. The owners of the rooming houses got tax dollars to house and feed sex offenders. We also learned that other states were flying and bussing their paroled sex offenders to Bangor, Maine because there were no housing restrictions, and because they would get free food and housing there. Bangor, Maine was turning into a cell pool!
Why did we lose votes? Special interests (including the homeless shelter) were going to lose money if the flood of rapists stopped coming in. Those special interests had the ear of city council members. Even though we paid high taxes in Maine, that was a pittance compared to what the special interests were bringing into the city.
On election day, we had a table set up, and were gathering signatures from residents on our proposed ordinance. I was standing there with the clipboard and Stephen King approached. I knew who he was but I didn’t call him by name, nor gush over him (I’m not that kind of person). I didn’t even indicate that I recognized him. I briefly explained that we were petitioning to have the city council pass an ordinance that would prevent convicted child rapists (Tier 3 – the worst of the worst) from living near parks, schools, and daycare centers.
Stephen King responded, “I’m not signing that!” And, he walked away.
Why would any level-headed human being WANT child rapists to have the opportunity to live in such close proximity to where children congregate? Of course, that means they are able to WATCH numerous children from their own window, and potentially target their next victim. Child rapists stalk and groom their victims!
After we lost the city council vote, we put our house up for sale. It sold quickly and we left Bangor, Maine as quickly as we could. We still had two young children and a teenager at home and that city was no longer safe.
Fast forward two years. We were living in Florida and my phone rang. I didn’t recognize the number but it had a Maine area code so I answered. It was a new Bangor, Maine City Councilwoman. She was calling to thank us for our advocacy work. She explained that the sex offender problem got so bad that the city used the ordinance that we paid our lawyer to create, and they had just passed it!
When we moved to Maine in 1999, it was rated, at that time, as the “safest place to raise a child.” That’s why we chose it. It’s unfortunate that the city put money ahead of children’s safety, and only did an about-face when council members who were influenced by special interests were no longer city council members. I can imagine why some of them weren’t re-elected. I bet you can, too.
RELATED
- Mason’s Vanishing Act
- How Small is Bangor, Maine? Well, I’ll Tell Ya…
- Nature’s Awesome Fall Show!
- C-r-r-r-a-c-k-k-k!
- It’s Beginning to Look…
HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT SELF-PUBLISHING A BOOK?
a self-publishing services company that has been in business since 1998. Ask her anything.
ASK ANGELA!
HOW TO REMEMBER, WRITE AND PUBLISH YOUR LIFE STORY
Angela Hoy's popular online class is now available in book format!
Remember Your Past
Write It and Publish It
in as little as 12 weeks!
Angela Hoy's book will get you started!
- Using Angela's MEMORY TRIGGERS, recall memories that have been dormant for years
- Record those memories in chronological order in your memory notebook
- Using the memory notebook as your outline, write your autobiography!
- Also works for biographies and memoirs!
Read more here:
https://booklocker.com/books/4764.html
Angela Hoy lives on a mountain in North Georgia. She is the publisher of WritersWeekly.com, the President and CEO of BookLocker.com and AbuzzPress, and the author of 24 books.
Follow Angela: twitter | facebook | linkedin
Angela is the creator of the Original 24-Hour Short Story Contest!
Learn more here: https://24hourshortstorycontest.com/
![](https://writersweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/BLTestimonial-wollard.jpg")
![](https://writersweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/BLTestimonial-shull.jpg")
![](https://writersweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/BLTestimonial-snyder.jpg")
![](https://writersweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/BLTestimonial-beasley2.jpg")
You left Maine at a good time, Angela, as there are still many poor policies driving Maine’s increased taxes and many societal problems.
And Ive never been a fan of King’s books, although he has donated much money to projects but many of his books are too horrifying for me. Its too bad he made such a misinformed statement about Charlie Kirk and was so rude to you.
Kudos on the legwork and tbat it was eventually passed. We need more brave citizens like you!
A lifelong Mainer
I met Stephen King when I worked at Doubleday years ago and his book The Stand was coming out. As a marketing person I was asked to revew the manuscript – I had never read anything like it and thought that beside a horrific plot, the writing was SO bad I could not believe we were going to publish such trash. I said that in the pub meeting and of course was soundly bashed, especially when he went on to become such a bestselling author. But I thought him a very rude, strange man in person back then.
What lingers is the question why Stephen King would refuse to sign the petition. I can only guess that he feels some empathy for sex offenders. Many of his novels deal with the issue. What does cast light on his character is his characterization of Charlie Kirk, stoning gay people to death. Guessing now, but maybe King is covertly gay and saw Kirk as a threat. Impulsive ejaculations often result from stuffed emotions. He couldn’t help himself, despite the backlash he knew would come.
From ChatGPT: Some of Stephen King’s novels touch on themes related to sex offenders or characters who commit sexually violent acts. His works often explore the darker sides of human nature, including abuse, trauma, and the consequences of such behavior. Some examples include:
“It” (1986) – The novel features the character of Henry Bowers, who is a violent bully and, in some disturbing scenes, sexually harasses and assaults another character, Patrick Hockstetter. Additionally, Pennywise, the supernatural entity, preys on the fear and trauma of children, which sometimes involves sexualized violence.
“Carrie” (1974) – Carrie White, the protagonist, is subjected to bullying and humiliation, including a sexually abusive scene at her high school prom. While the focus is more on the trauma of bullying and the resulting telekinetic powers, the assault and its aftermath are central to her emotional breakdown.
“The Dark Tower” series – In The Drawing of the Three (1987), there are references to sexual violence, including a subplot about Eddie Dean’s troubled relationship with his brother and his own struggles with addiction and trauma.
“Gerald’s Game” (1992) – This novel deals directly with themes of sexual trauma and abuse. The main character, Jessie, is trapped in a secluded cabin, and through flashbacks and hallucinations, the reader learns about her past experiences of abuse, including her troubled marriage to a man who had sexually violent tendencies.
“Dolores Claiborne” (1992) – While not specifically about a sex offender in the typical sense, this novel deals with the consequences of sexual abuse and how the trauma can manifest in violence. Dolores herself is a survivor of sexual abuse by her father, and the novel unpacks how this impacts her life and relationships.
Stephen King’s works often examine how past trauma, including sexual abuse, affects the characters’ present lives, shaping their actions and decisions. His exploration of these dark themes is usually tied into his larger narratives about the battle between good and evil, as well as the complexities of human morality.
“I can only guess that he feels some empathy for sex offenders.”
That was my first through when he reacted that way. Reminded me of all the FAKE out of town and overseas comments being posted under the Bangor Daily News articles about the advocacy work we were doing. It was clear there were numerous people NOT from Bangor who were opposing the ordinance. Reminds me of the people who support “MAPS” (Minor Attracted Persons). Disgusting…
Keep going for justice. Never stop. And divine help is always there when we help those in need.