Lilja's Library Read Free

Sweden, which is not normally part of their territory? I assume there is some King material that is difficult for you to gain access to in a timely manner—such as movies or TV adaptations.
    Lilja: When it came to books, I struggled in the beginning to get publishers in the U.S. and the U.K. to send stuff. The U.K. was a bit easier since it’s a lot closer to Sweden. At the beginning, I managed to get a book, review it and apparently do a good job on it. I’d get another book and do the same thing, and so forth. Today, I’m fortunate to have very good relationships with King’s publishers in both the U.S. and the U.K. They are very kind when it comes to sending books.
    Movies are a bit harder. I have been extremely fortunate when it comes to TV, though. I have good relations with most U.S. TV channels and they are usually nice enough to send screeners of series and movies as if I were a reviewer stationed in the U.S.
    Feature movies and DVDs are more difficult. I get some DVDs but there are stricter rules with the different regions. Feature movies are impossible, though, because you have to attend a screening at a theatre, which obviously I can’t.
    But all in all I have very good relations with both publishers of books and distributors of movies. I hope and think it’s because I have proven to be a reliable partner to work with.
    Bev Vincent: What was it like to have King on the phone for all that time? Tell us about the experience.
    Lilja: Well, what can I say? It was a dream come true. I had to work for it, though. I had been asking for five years until I got a “yes.” They didn’t say “no,” though, during that whole time, which kept me motivated. I kept asking every three to six months or so, and finally they said OK, you can have fifteen minutes with Stephen on the phone.
    When we set up an exact date, Stephen said he would give me forty-five minutes instead of fifteen, and I was just floored. I’m not sure exactly why he granted me that much time, but I’d like to think it’s because he liked the site and thought I’d do a good job interviewing him. He later said he thought it was a good interview. At the time, though, I had a very hard time understanding that I was going to speak to Stephen King for forty-five minutes on the phone.
    When the day came I was so nervous I couldn’t work or anything. He was supposed to call me at 5 p.m., so I had to go the entire day waiting for it. I sent my girlfriend and two kids to a friend’s so I wouldn’t be disturbed. Five minutes before he called I was so nervous I almost got physically sick. Then the phone rang, I answered and heard: “Hello Hans? Steve King…”
    The first few minutes I was still extremely nervous, but his kindness and down-to-earth persona soon made me feel like I was on the phone chatting with a friend. The forty-five minutes just sailed by. It was an amazing experience.
    Bev Vincent: What are some of your other favorite moments from your years working on the website?
    Lilja: The day-to-day highlight is when I get e-mail from people who read and like the site. It really makes my day to get mail from people saying they enjoy the site or they found something they could use or didn’t know before.
    Some of the milestones of the site are:
2002 , when I registered the domain.
2004 , when I got a link to Lilja’s Library on Stephen King’s official site.
2006 , when I got to meet Stephen King in person in London, which was made possible because I made some contacts while running the site.
2007 , when I got to do a phone interview with Stephen King for Lilja’s Library.
2008 , when I got to do a second phone interview with Stephen King for Lilja’s Library.
2010 , when this book was released.
    I hope to add more to the list as time goes by. I have some ideas but we’ll see what happens.
    Bev Vincent: What sort of response have you had to the website over the years? Any interesting people pop up in your guestbook?
    Lilja: The response has