i really like stephen kings style of writing so if you know some authors that write like him tell me

Dean Koontz is somewhat similar.

I second that...although I'm starting to like Koontz better.  After Lisey's Story I wasn't sure I could pick up a book by King again.  I so hated that book!

I know Koontz is highly regarded, but I absolutely cannot stand the guy.  His books feel forumulaic, like he read a book on writing and followed the author's rules without injecting any personality at all. 

Robert McCammon has a similar style and a large body of work to choose from.  I would highly recommend Swan Song; it's similar to The Stand and many argue that it's actually a better story.  Another personal favorite is Usher's Passing, which is especially fun to read if  you're already familiar with Poe's Fall of the House of Usher.  Usher's Passing is also in the system right now, while you'd need to add Swan Song to your Wl, if you're interested. 

Christopher Fowler, a British author, takes horror and raises it to a whole new level.  He reads easily, like King, but his stories kick it up a notch.  in my mind, he's who Stephen King would want to be when he grows up. *g*  I've read a handful of his books so far and love all of them.  Spanky is absolutely brilliant!  Roofworld is outstanding and it's in the system right now.

I second Robert McCammon.  I loved Swan Song, Stinger, Boy's Life and Gone South.  I like Peter Straub, too.

I have a love/hate relationship with both King and Koontz.  Koontz let me down when he never followed up with the Frankenstein books (though I hear the third book will be released at some point, but I'm not holding my breath) and the Christopher Snow books.

King has been hit and miss for me.  I love his early stuff and the Gunslinger series... but some of his other stuff ... neh.  Cell was a let down, but Duma Key rocked, I thought. 

I like his older books  but I'm not a Koontz  fan I find his books to be long winded and boring I dont know why  his books are listed as horror because they are not what I call horror .. I do like the dark tower books (King) & Carrie is my  favorite King  book & movie ..

Yes! to Robert McCammon.  I really loved Boy's Life and Gone South.  I think I read Swan Song years ago but cannot remember it.

While years back I was a real King and Koontz fan, I got tired of both.  King for the weirdness, and then sameness, but Koontz, well he was just a huge disappointment.  Frohike said it really well: very formulaic in his writing, yes, followed the rules...but you know, it got to the point where in some ways, I thought he was following a very poor formula for romance/horror writing.  And while I never said it aloud, one night after trying to read a Koontz, my husband said that very thing.

I hated Straub, as he bored me to death.

I love Stephen King.  I also like Bently Little.   I like Robert McCammon too.  I've read all their books!

Sarah Pinborough is also a good option for anyone who likes Stephen King.  She's written 5 books so far and I've enjoyed each and every one.  If you King's gorier side, then you could also try R. Patrick Gates; he's like King on steroids.*g* I especially recommend Tunnelvision and Deathwalker.  They should be read in that order, but it's not completely necessary. The beginning of Deathwalker will just make more sense if you read it last.

I've read Stephen King forever.  It has been interesting to watch him evolve and then devolve.  He isn't high literature, but I think he has a real gift for making his characters real, creating an atmosphere, and for bringing up some very original and unique "what if's" that leave you thinking long after reading the books.   If you are new to him, read a little about his history.  His earliest writings, like Carrie and the Dead Zone have less depth but still that immediate identification with the characters as real people.  I think he hit his peak when he was doing stuff like  Needful Things and Insomnia , and Pet Cemetary scared me silly.  There were some really great ones during that period.  Interestingly, he was pretty heavily into drugs during a lot of that period.  Then when he was hit by that van, he had a long rehab and also cleaned up his drug act and I don't know which it was, but his books after lost a lot of their punch.  Sometimes he seems to be relying on lots of grossness to cover the lack of substance and others he is doing weak imitations of his own work, Cell comes to mind.  Don't skip his short stories either or his Richard Bachman books.  Thinner  is fun.   I read everything he writes faithfully because I even like his lesser stuff.  The only one I just couldn't stomach was Hearts in Atlantis .  I'm not sure why, but I just stopped after a few chapters.  Duma Key was an improvement and a hopeful sign he's still got it.  But even if he never writes another thing, he has made a huge contribution to the genre and I've never seen anyone who does it better.

Interestingly, I just started a thread in this forum about Hearts in Atlantis because it's my favorite Stephen King book and I don't hear much about it.  I agree with Beth about his evolution in writing and how his most recent books are different from the likes of Carrie and Needful Things.  Beth, did you read Lisey's Story?  I enjoyed that one quite a bit.  Just finished Duma Key yesterday and it, too, was amazing.

I should probably try Hearts in Atlantis again, and I'll go read that thread.  I thought Lisey's Story was fairly good, but Duma Key was even better.  It think (hope) he's entering a new phase of great writing!  I just can't get enough of that guy!

I just finished Lisey's Story the other night. I liked it A LOT. I'm glad I didn't give up on it because it was slow to start, a lot like Duma Key. In the end, I was happy I finished them.

I have to say that Hearts in Atlantis didn't make much of an impression on me. That one, as well as Dreamcatcher are probably my least favorite books of his. I did like Cell, even though it sounds like no one else did...however the ending p*&%$ me off! It was like he just got bored and gave up or something! A few of my favorites are: Bag of Bones, The Stand, Duma Key, Lisey's Story and From a Buick 8.

It is interesting to see how his writing evolved and then devolved, and in my opinion, is now evolving again. I will continue to read whatever he puts out there.  

I enjoyed the older Stephen King stuff. Especially The Stand and IT. I also like Robert McCammon his Swan Song book was really good. I have just started reading Bentley Little and so far I like his books. Never really got into Dean Koontz alot although some of his books are ok. I also think Peter Straub is pretty good.