Stephen King had one more subject to raise as Joy Behar tried to wrap up his appearance on The View, his own death. The author’s joke about eventually falling silent drew an immediate protest from the cohost.
King, 79, joined the panel on Friday, November 6, to promote his fantasy novel Other Worlds Than These. The conversation included a question about how he maintains his writing routine.
He told Behar that he usually writes for three hours a day, confirming that he works seven days a week. As Parade reported, King explained that the regular practice helps keep his work fresh.
The new book was published October 6, more than half a century after his debut novel, Carrie, arrived in 1974. It returns to a fantasy world he first explored with fellow author Peter Straub.
Joy Behar Objects as King Reflects on Getting Older
King acknowledged that he wasn’t as young as he once had been, joking that his appearance might suggest otherwise. “God will shut me up eventually, but, hopefully not too soon,” he said, according to Entertainment Weekly.
“Don’t even say that!” Behar replied. Ana Navarro responded by assuring him that his books would endure beyond his lifetime. “I don’t know about that,” he said. “That’s kind to say.”
King Completed a Final Collaboration With Peter Straub
Other Worlds Than These concludes the Talisman trilogy, which began with The Talisman in 1984 and continued with Black House in September 2001. The final volume arrived just over 25 years after its predecessor.
Straub died in September 2022. King later found an old email in which his friend had suggested ideas for another novel, giving him a starting point for completing their shared story.
In a February interview with Esquire, King explained how he approached writing without his collaborator. “So far as it was possible, I wanted to collaborate with Peter. The seed was there, and I channeled Peter throughout like crazy,” he said.
King also sought the support of Straub’s widow, Susan, and their children, Emma and Ben, before proceeding. The published novel credits both authors.
Jack Sawyer’s New Adventure Connects With the Dark Tower Universe
Readers first met Jack Sawyer as a 12-year-old traveling across America and a parallel world called the Territories to save his mother’s life. In Black House, he had become a retired homicide detective drawn into an investigation involving murdered children.
The latest novel finds an older Jack confronting infected teenagers and the forces of the Gullet at the edge of Mid-World. The threat extends across multiple worlds, bringing the story into the mythology of King’s Dark Tower books.
Simon & Schuster describes the novel as both a trilogy conclusion and a standalone story accessible to new readers.
Patton Oswalt narrates the audiobook, with King reading the afterword. On October 8, King’s website shared their recorded conversation about the book and Oswalt’s experience bringing it to life.