Graham Masterton was invited to Bolesławiec by the director of the Youth Cultural Centre and spent an afternoon with admirers of his books at the Old Theatre.
Graham proved to be as excellent a speaker as he is a writer. He shared with readers the story of his career, which turned out to be full of surprising twists and turns.
At school, young Graham was more interested in his female classmates than in the works of Shakespeare or Byron, so his education did not last long. At the age of 17, he took a job at a greengrocer’s shop. He was so good at it that he was offered a managerial position.
– To this day, I can professionally pack a bag of potatoes – Masterton joked.
Graham turned down the promotion at the greengrocer’s shop, as he did not want to spend his entire life among potatoes and cauliflowers. He left the shop and, through an employment agency, found a job at a local newspaper.
His first journalistic experiences were very good. He knew how to listen, and people who met him were eager to share their stories.
– The woman I interviewed for the first time shared with me her personal story of domestic violence – Masterton recounted. – That was when I had the revelation that if I listened carefully and allowed people to trust me, they would in return share important matters with me – Masterton added.
His career began to develop rapidly. Inspired by a female colleague, he joined the editorial team of the adult magazine Myfair.
– I immediately liked the magazine because it contained a lot of naked women and good articles – Graham told the audience in Bolesławiec.
Then he was offered a job at Penthouse. There, Graham applied his technique of listening attentively to women, who effectively told him his bestselling book “How Women Love to Be Loved”.
At the publisher’s request, Masterton wrote this erotic guide under the female pseudonym Angel Smith.
Angel had a huge following and many admirers. One of them even sent him a rather problematic gift, thinking he was giving it to a woman. It was a condom in a letter in which the fan informed him that, in Angel’s honour, he had put it on his penis.
Masterton threw the gift in the bin and decided from then on to write under his own name.
When the formula for the guides had run its course, the author began writing horror novels. In this way, he returned to his youthful fascination with books of horror.
At the meeting in Bolesławiec, Masterton revealed that he was considering moving to Poland and admitted to being fascinated by Slavic mythology. It is possible that his next book will be written in the country on the Vistula.