Monster's Bio

I wrote my first short story when I was 12. Famous Monsters was having a short story contest and I entered my 250 word piece called Night Key. I got paid $10 - a lot of money back in 1960. For whatever reason it was never printed. Stephen King also submitted a short story called The Killers but his didn't win. I was always disappointed in that I didn't get a chance to see my name in print. But that would come later.
I was inspired at the time by classic sci fi authors like Verne, Wells and others. Also the horror, fantasy, sci fi bug hit me hard when I read Bradbury, Lovecraft. Robert Bloch, Ambrose Bierce (his Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge is a classic), et al. I wrote with a passion, story after story, I had no control over it; the stories just kept coming and I set them to paper via typewriter and longhand. By the time I entered high school I was a straight A student in English class and always, without fail, got an A/A in my compositions. My younger cousins would gather around me during this time and I would tell bone chilling tales of terror that would send shivers up and down their spines.
I probably would’ve gone on to become a full time writer had it not been for two important things in my life at that time. Number one was my parents. I credit my mom with teaching me about music and art and movies, but when she joined the Jehovah Witness cult my world ended - literally and figuratively. I had to hide everything I did for if she saw it she would destroy it - including my collection of horror magazines - as they were deemed "demonic". My piano career also ended and by age 13 they had sold my piano. So two dreams ended for me.
Secondly, when I was 15 my stepfather had a serious accident at work and wasn't able to return to his job for 18 months. In those days help was hard to find - especially in Trenton, new Jersey where I grew. Their Witness friends were no help at all, as is their practice, so at age 15 I quit school and went to work as a carpenter's apprentice with my uncle. With money coming in every week I was able to buy groceries and much needed items, and on top of all that my mom had a baby. Needless to say, four of us crammed in a one room apartment prompted me to leave home when I was 16.
I never really got back to writing full time as I was too busy making a living and the money was good. But what happened in the following years was a plus which I am eternally grateful for. They say things work out for the better. By age 18 I had moved to Asbury park, NJ - my beloved second home during summers and the second place I grew up. That's a story in itself and I won't bore you with details. Suffice to say, once I had moved I was able to buy all the magazines I wanted and keep them, write when I could, and do odd jobs before landing a job at LFO: Linoleum factory Outlet in Asbury. I was 18 then and saw an ad in the paper, applied, and got the job. It wasn't much but it turned out to be a blessing.
My first weeks were nothing more than delivery man, stockroom, and odd jobs like painting and plumbing. Within 6 weeks I was promoted to salesman, and by the end of my first 6 months I was put in charge of inventory control. No computers in those days, I had to visit each of the 7 stores, do the inventory, and return to Asbury and type up a master list. Funny how it was always up to date and accurate, unlike what happened after I left and computers came in. By year's end I was given the advertising account to handle as well and was now making more than any other person in the chain.
I did ads for the Asbury Park Press and the Newark Star Ledger. When 2001: A Space Odyssey came out in 1968 I was inspired to do a simple black and white ad: CARPET ON THE MOON. It won an award for its simplicity and content and many shoppers brought the ad in with them. It basically recalled old sci fi films and the new 2001 movie and in the end something like "If we ever do have a base on the moon, LFO will be there to supply the carpet." Silly, sure, but it worked.
I ended up back in Trenton circa 1972 and took a job as cook at Trenton State College. In the two years I was there I befriended many students as I was close to their age, and many of them came to me for help writing papers, compositions, etc. One guy I'll never forget - Sal - got an A twice from his professor. His first assignment was to write a brief outline of a Hitchcock-style story that could be turned into a movie. I think I wrote that in 15 minutes. The other was "to do a report on two writers; one obscure, the other famous".
I chose Edgar Allan Poe and Fitz-James O'Brien and again Sal got an A. While there I painted a huge mural on the wall of the second floor of "The Towers" dorm measuring 8feet high by 14 feet wide. From what I heard it was there for years.
Time passes and I have a new interest in Famous Monsters and Forry Ackerman, the editor. He was the world's greatest collector and authority in all things horror, fantasy and sci fi. One day I wrote him a letter and asked if he needed an assistant. As luck would have it, he did, and he called to tell me so. My wife and I moved to Hollywood and stayed at his home for 6 weeks and when the new issue of FM came out there was my name - Ronald Norman Waite - credited as Assistant Editor. It was a dream comes true! Never did I imagine this would happen to me. I still have trouble believing it really did happen. My greatest thrill -and there were many - was the day Ray Bradbury paid a visit and I showed him my name in the latest issue. He looked at it, smiled and said, "That's what it's all about!" Thanks to my time there I befriended the likes of John Landis, Vincent Price, Robert Bloch, Bradbury and many, many more.
Time passes again and I find myself writing articles for a new magazine my aunt and uncle started back in Pennsylvania. I wrote latest news from Hollywood columns, new movie reviews, classic cars and more. After that, little by little, the writing slowed and stopped. These days I can't even come up with an original idea let alone write it. But I keep my hands in the field by doing pieces on my favorite films, writers, and so on. During my time at FM I used many pen names. Sometimes I used my entire name, other time just Ron Waite, and a list of names that only I and a select few friends knew the real meaning of. Names like Miller McNoff, Spuds Spalding, Larry Larson, Norman Aldron (that was Forry's idea) and more. And what an age we live in! Put in any of those names on a Google search and you will find me everywhere, including my pen names. I was even on Forry's People He Wished He Never Met List along with the likes of Harlan Ellison and others he had a run-in with.
Today I am writing my memoirs - memories that go back to 1948 - and have been at it for 5 years now. One day I will gather all my notes and finally put it to paper - or more accurately, to disk. I also have detailed outlines of several unwritten stories that are screaming at me from my files to be written. Once I get around to it I think some people will be amazed. I've changed a lot over the years and my stories reflect that. So hang on and Monster, as my friends and relatives call me, will surprise you!