Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author best known for his enormously popular horror novels. King was the 2003 recipient of The National Book Foundation's Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters
King evinces a thorough knowledge of the horror genre, as shown in his nonfiction book Danse Macabre, which chronicles several decades of notable works in both literature and cinema. He has also written stories outside the horror genre, including the novella collection Different Seasons, The Green Mile, The Eyes of the Dragon, The Stand, Hearts in Atlantis and his magnum opus The Dark Tower series. In the past, Stephen King has written under the pen names Richard Bachman, Beryl Evans (once), and (once) John Swithen.
He frequently makes a cameo appearances in film adaptations of his novels.
Biography[]
Early life[]
Stephen Edwin King was born in Portland, Maine, on September 21, 1947. His father, Donald Edwin King, was a merchant seaman who was born with the surname Pollock, but changed it to King as an adult. King's mother was Nellie Ruth King (née Pillsbury). His parents were married in Scarborough, Maine, on July 23, 1939. Shortly afterwards, they lived with Donald's family in Chicago, Illinois before moving to Croton-on-Hudson, New York. King's parents returned to Maine towards the end of World War II, living in a modest house in Scarborough. When King was two years old, his father left the family. His mother Nellie raised King and his adopted older brother David by herself, sometimes under great financial strain. The family moved to Ruth's home town of Durham, Maine but also spent brief periods in Fort Wayne, Indiana and Stratford, Connecticut.
As a child, King witnessed a gruesome accident - one of his friends was caught on a railroad and struck by a train. It has been suggested that this could have been the inspiration for King's dark, disturbing creations, though King himself dismisses the idea.
King attended Durham Elementary School and Lisbon Falls High School.
King has been writing since an early age. When in school, he wrote stories based on movies he had seen recently and sold them to his friends. This was not popular among his teachers, and he was forced to return his profits when this was discovered. The stories were copied using a mimeo machine that his brother David used to copy a newspaper, Dave's Rag, which he self-published. Dave's Rag was about local events, and King would often contribute. As a young boy, King was an avid reader of EC's horror comics, which provided the genesis for his love of horror. He loved reading Tales from the Crypt.
His first published story was "In a Half-World of Terror" (re-titled from "I Was a Teen-Age Grave-robber"), published in a horror fanzine issued by Mike Garrett of Birmingham, Alabama.
From 1966 to 1971, King studied English at the University of Maine at Orono. At the university, he wrote a column titled "King's Garbage Truck" in the student newspaper, the Maine Campus. He also met Tabitha Spruce; they married in 1971. King took on odd jobs to pay for his studies, including one at an industrial laundry. He used the experience to write the short story The Mangler and the novella Roadwork (as Richard Bachman). The campus period in his life is readily evident in the second part of Hearts in Atlantis.
After finishing his university studies with a Bachelor of Arts in English and obtaining a certificate to teach high school, King taught English at Hampden Academy in Hampden, Maine. During this time, he and his family lived in a trailer. He wrote short stories (most were published in men's magazines) to help make ends meet. As told in the introduction in Carrie, if one of his kids got a cold, Tabitha would joke, "Come on, Steve, think of a monster." King also developed a drinking problem which stayed with him for over a decade.
Becoming famous[]
During this period, King began a number of novels. One of his first ideas was of a young girl with psychic powers. However, he grew discouraged, and threw it into the trash. Tabitha later rescued it and encouraged him to finish it. After completing the novel, he titled it Carrie, sent it to Doubleday, and more or less forgot about it. Later, he received an offer to buy it with a $2,500 advance (not a large advance for a novel, even at that time). Shortly after, the value of Carrie was realized with the paperback rights being sold for $400,000 (with $200,000 of it going to the publisher). Soon following its release, his mother died of uterine cancer. His Aunt Emrine read the novel to her before she died.
In On Writing, King admits that at this time he was consistently drunk and that he was an alcoholic for well over a decade. He even admits that he was intoxicated while delivering the eulogy at his mother’s funeral. "I think I did a pretty good job, considering how drunk I was at the time." (On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft) He states that he had based the alcoholic father in The Shining on himself, though he did not admit it (even to himself) for several years.
Shortly after the publication of The Tommyknockers, King's family and friends finally intervened, dumping his trash on the rug in front of him to show him the evidence of his own addictions: beer cans, cigarette butts, Xanax, Valium, NyQuil, dextromethorphan (cough medicine), and marijuana. As King related in his memoir, he sought help and quit all forms of drugs and alcohol in the late 1980s, and has remained sober since.
King spends winter seasons in an oceanfront mansion located off the Gulf of Mexico in Sarasota, Florida. Their three children, Naomi King, Joseph King (who appeared in the film Creepshow), and Owen King, are grown and living on their own.
Both Owen and Joseph are writers; Owen's first collection of stories, We're All in This Together: A Novella and Stories was published in 2005. The first collection of stories by Joe Hill (Joseph's pen name), 20th Century Ghosts, was published in 2005 by PS Publishing in a very limited edition, winning the Crawford Award for best new fantasy writer, together with the Bram Stoker Award and the British Fantasy Award for Best Fiction Collection. Tom Pabst has been hired to adapt Hill's upcoming novel, Heart-Shaped Box, for a 2007 Warner Bros release.
King's daughter Naomi is a Reverend in the Unitarian Universalist Church in Utica, New York, where she lives with her partner.
Works[]
Novels[]
The following is a complete list of all the novels written and published by Stephen King.
Year | Title | Publisher | ISBN | Pages | Note |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1974 | Carrie | Doubleday | 978-0-385-08695-0 | 199 | |
1975 | 'Salem's Lot | 978-0-385-00751-1 | 439 | Nominee, World Fantasy Award, 1976 | |
1977 | The Shining | 978-0-385-12167-5 | 447 | Runner-up (4th place), Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel, 1978 | |
Rage | Signet Books | 978-0-451-07645-8 | 211 | First novel published under pseudonym Richard Bachman | |
1978 | The Stand | Doubleday | 978-0-385-12168-2 | 823 | Nominee, World Fantasy Award, 1979;
Runner-up (15th place), Locus Award, 1979 |
1979 | The Long Walk | Signet Books | 978-0-451-08754-6 | 384 | Published under pseudonym Richard Bachman |
The Dead Zone | Viking Press | 978-0-670-26077-5 | 428 | Runner-up (2nd place), Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel, 1980 | |
1980 | Firestarter | 978-0-670-31541-3 | 426 | Nominee, British Fantasy Award’s August Derleth Award, 1981;
Runner-up (8th place), Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel, 1981 | |
1981 | Roadwork | Signet Books | 978-0-451-09668-5 | 274 | Published under pseudonym Richard Bachman |
Cujo | Viking Press | 978-0-670-45193-7 | 319 | Winner, British Fantasy Award’s August Derleth Award, 1982;
Runner-up (21st place), Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel, 1982 | |
1982 | The Running Man | Signet Books | 978-0-451-11508-9 | 219 | Published under pseudonym Richard Bachman |
The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger | Grant | 978-0-937986-50-9 | 224 | ||
1983 | Christine | Viking | 978-0-670-22026-7 | 526 | Runner-up (6th place), Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel, 1984 |
Pet Sematary | Doubleday | 978-0-385-18244-7 | 374 | Nominee, World Fantasy Award, 1984;
Runner-up (7th place), Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel, 1984 | |
Cycle of the Werewolf | Land of Enchantment | 978-0-960-38282-8 | 127 | Illustrated by Bernie Wrightson | |
1984 | The Talisman | Viking | 978-0-670-69199-9 | 646 | Written with Peter Straub;
Nominee, World Fantasy Award, 1985; Runner-up (4th place), Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel, 1985 |
The Eyes of the Dragon | Philtrum Press (1984)
Viking (1987) |
978-0-670-81458-9 | 326 | First published as a limited edition in 1984, then for the mass market in 1987 | |
Thinner | NAL | 978-0-453-00468-8 | 309 | Published under pseudonym Richard Bachman | |
1986 | It | Viking | 978-0-670-81302-5 | 1138 | Winner, British Fantasy Award’s August Derleth Award, 1987;
Nominee, World Fantasy Award, 1987; Runner-up (3rd place), Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel, 1987 |
1987 | The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three | Grant | 978-0-937986-90-5 | 400 | Runner-up (16th place), Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel, 1988 |
Misery | Viking | 978-0-670-81364-3 | 310 | Winner, Bram Stoker Award, 1988;
Nominee, World Fantasy Award, 1988 | |
The Tommyknockers | Putnam | 978-0-399-13314-5 | 558 | Runner-up (16th place), Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel, 1988 | |
1989 | The Dark Half | Viking | 978-0-670-82982-8 | 431 | Runner-up (2nd place), Locus Award for Best Horror Novel, 1990 |
1990 | The Stand | Doubleday | 978-0-385-19957-5 | 1152 | The Complete & Uncut Edition;
Runner-up (2nd place), Locus Award's Best Horror/Dark Fantasy Novel, 1991 |
1991 | The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands | Grant | 978-0-937986-17-2 | 512 | Nominee, Bram Stoker Award, 1992;
Runner-up (3rd place), Locus Award for Best Horror/Dark Fantasy Novel, 1992 |
Needful Things | Viking | 978-0-670-83953-7 | 690 | Nominee, Bram Stoker Award, 1992;
Runner-up (13th place), Locus Award for Best Horror/Dark Fantasy Novel, 1992 | |
1992 | Gerald's Game | 978-0-670-84650-4 | 352 | ||
Dolores Claiborne | 978-0-670-84452-4 | 305 | Runner-up (14th place), Locus Award for Best Horror/Dark Fantasy Novel, 1993 | ||
1994 | Insomnia | 978-0-670-85503-2 | 787 | Nominee, Bram Stoker Award, 1995;
Runner-up (3rd place), Locus Award for Best Fantasy/Horror Novel, 1995 | |
1995 | Rose Madder | 978-0-670-85869-9 | 420 | Runner-up (3rd place), Locus Award for Best Horror/Dark Fantasy Novel, 1995 | |
1996 | The Green Mile | Signet Books | 978-0-451-19049-9
978-0-451-19052-9 978-0-451-19054-3 978-0-451-19055-0 978-0-451-19056-7 978-0-451-19057-4 |
400 | Winner, Bram Stoker Award, 1997;
Runner-up (8th place), Locus Award for Best Horror/Dark Fantasy Novel, 1997 |
Desperation | Viking | 978-0-670-86836-0 | 704 | Twin novel of The Regulators;
Winner, Locus Award for Best Horror/Dark Fantasy Novel, 1997 | |
The Regulators | Dutton | 978-0-525-94190-3 | 480 | Published under pseudonym Richard Bachman;
Twin novel of Desperation | |
1997 | The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass | Grant | 978-1-880418-38-3 | 787 | Runner-up (4th place), Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel, 1998;
Runner-up (6th place), Locus Award for Best Art Book, 1998 |
1998 | Bag of Bones | Scribner | 978-0-684-85350-5 | 529 | Winner, Bram Stoker Award, 1999;
Winner, British Fantasy Award’s August Derleth Award, 1999; Winner, Locus Award for Best Dark Fantasy/Horror Novel, 1999 |
1999 | The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon | 978-0-684-86762-5 | 224 | ||
2001 | Dreamcatcher | 978-0-743-21138-3 | 620 | ||
Black House | Random House | 978-0-375-50439-6 | 625 | Sequel to The Talisman;
Written with Peter Straub; Nominee, Bram Stoker Award, 2002; Runner-up (7th place), Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel, 2002 | |
2002 | From a Buick 8 | Scribner | 978-0-743-21137-6 | 368 | Nominee, Bram Stoker Award, 2003 |
2003 | The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla | Grant | 978-1-880-41856-7 | 714 | Nominee, Bram Stoker Award, 2004;
Runner-up (4th place), Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel, 2004 |
2004 | The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah | 978-1-880-41859-8 | 432 | Runner-up (4th place), Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel, 2005 | |
The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower | 978-1-880-41862-8 | 845 | Winner, British Fantasy Award's August Derleth Award, 2005;
Nominee, Bram Stoker Award, 2005 | ||
2005 | The Colorado Kid | Hard Case Crime | 978-0-843-95584-2 | 184 | |
2006 | Cell | Scribner | 978-0-743-29233-7 | 351 | |
Lisey's Story | 978-0-743-28941-2 | 528 | Winner, Bram Stoker Award, 2007;
Nominee, World Fantasy Award, 2007; Runner-up (10th place), Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel, 2007 | ||
2007 | Blaze | 978-1-416-55484-4 | 304 | Published under pseudonym Richard Bachman | |
2008 | Duma Key | 978-1-416-55251-2 | 607 | Winner, Bram Stoker Award, 2009 | |
2009 | Under the Dome | 978-1-439-14850-1 | 1074 | Nominee, British Fantasy Award's August Derleth Award, 2010;
Runner-up (7th place), Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel, 2010 | |
2011 | 11/22/63 | 978-1-451-62728-2 | 849 | Nominee, British Fantasy Award, 2012;
Nominee, World Fantasy Award, 2012; Runner-up (2nd place), Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel, 2012 | |
2012 | The Dark Tower: The Wind Through the Keyhole | Grant | 978-1-880-41876-5 | 336 | The eighth Dark Tower novel, but chronologically set between the fourth and fifth volumes. |
2013 | Joyland | Hard Case Crime | 978-1-781-16264-4 | 288 | Nominee, Edgar Award for Best Paperback Original, 2014;
Runner-up (11th place), Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel, 2014 |
Doctor Sleep | Scribner | 978-1-476-72765-3 | 531 | Sequel to The Shining;
Winner, Bram Stoker Award, 2014; Runner-up (5th place), Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel, 2014 | |
2014 | Mr. Mercedes | 978-1-476-75445-1 | 436 | First novel in the Bill Hodges Trilogy;
Winner, Edgar Award for Best Novel, 2015 | |
Revival | 978-1-476-77038-3 | 403 | Runner-up (8th place), Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel, 2015 | ||
2015 | Finders Keepers | 978-1-501-10007-9 | 434 | Second novel in the Bill Hodges Trilogy. | |
2016 | End of Watch | 978-1-501-12974-2 | 432 | Third novel in the Bill Hodges Trilogy. | |
2017 | Gwendy's Button Box | Cemetery Dance Publications | 978-1-58767-610-9 | 175 | Written with Richard Chizmar |
Sleeping Beauties | Scribner | 978-1-50116-340-1 | 702 | Written with Owen King;
Nominee, Bram Stoker Award, 2018 | |
2018 | The Outsider | 978-1-50118-098-9 | 576 | Runner-up (2nd place), Locus Award for Best Horror Novel, 2019 | |
Elevation | 978-1-98210-231-9 | 144 | |||
2019 | The Institute | 978-1-98211-056-7 | 576 | Nominee, British Fantasy Award's August Derleth Award, 2020;
Runner-up (3rd place), Locus Award for Best Horror Novel, 2020 | |
2021 | Later | Hard Case Crime | 978-1-78909-649-1 | 256 | |
Billy Summers | Scribner | 978-1-982-17361-6 | 528 | ||
2022 | Gwendy's Final Task | Cemetery Dance Publications | 978-1-58767-801-1 | 412 | Third novel in the series, second written with Richard Chizmar |
Fairy Tale | Scribner | 978-1-66800-217-9 | 599 | ||
2023 | Holly | Scribner | 978-1-66801-613-8 | 449 |
Upcoming novels[]
The following is a list of upcoming works being written by Stephen King.
- The Talisman 3
- Lisey's Story Tie-In Edition
Short Story Collections[]
The following is a complete list of all the short story collections written and published by Stephen King.
Year | Name | Publisher | ISBN | Pages | Note |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1978 | Night Shift | Doubleday | 978-0-385-12991-6 | 336 | Nominee, World Fantasy Award, 1979;
Runner-up (8th place), Locus Award for Best Single Author Collection, 1979 |
1982 | Different Seasons | Viking Press | 978-0-670-27266-2 | 527 | Nominee, World Fantasy Award, 1983;
Runner-up (4th place), Locus Award for Best Single Author Collection, 1983 |
1985 | Skeleton Crew | Putnam | 978-0-399-13039-7 | 512 | Winner, Locus Award for Best Collection, 1986;
Nominee, World Fantasy Award, 1986 |
1990 | Four Past Midnight | Viking Press | 978-0-670-83538-6 | 763 | Winner, Bram Stoker Award, 1991;
Nominee, British Fantasy Award, 1991; Runner-up (6th place), Locus Award for Best Collection, 1991 |
1993 | Nightmares & Dreamscapes | 978-0-670-85108-9 | 816 | Nominee, Bram Stoker Award, 1994;
Runner-up (6th place), Locus Award for Best Collection, 1994 | |
1999 | Hearts in Atlantis | Scribner | 978-0-684-85351-2 | 528 | Nominee, Bram Stoker Award, 2000;
Nominee, British Fantasy Award, 2000; Nominee, World Fantasy Award, 2000; Runner-up (5th place), Locus Award for Best Collection, 2000 |
2002 | Everything's Eventual | 978-0-743-23515-0 | 464 | Nominee, Bram Stoker Award, 2003;
Nominee, British Fantasy Award, 2003; Runner-up (5th place), Locus Award for Best Collection, 2003 | |
2008 | Just After Sunset | 978-1-416-58408-7 | 386 | Winner, Bram Stoker Award, 2009;
Nominee, British Fantasy Award, 2009; Nominee, Shirley Jackson Award, 2009 | |
2010 | Full Dark, No Stars | 978-1-439-19256-6 | 368 | Winner, Bram Stoker Award, 2011;
Winner, British Fantasy Award, 2011 | |
2015 | The Bazaar of Bad Dreams | 978-1-501-11167-9 | 495 | Winner, Shirley Jackson Award, 2016 | |
2020 | If It Bleeds | 978-1-982-13797-7 | 448 | Runner-up (7th place), Locus Award for Best Collection, 2021 | |
2024 | You Like It Darker | 600 | Mentioned in an interview on Talking Scared Podcast |
Non-Fiction[]
The following is a complete list of all the non-fiction books written and published by Stephen King.
Year | Title | Publisher | ISBN | Pages | Note |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1981 | Danse Macabre | Everest House | 978-0-896-96076-3 | 400 | Winner, Hugo Award for Best Non-Fiction Book, 1982;
Winner, Locus Award for Best Related Non-Fiction Book, 1982 |
1988 | Nightmares in the Sky | Viking Studio Books | 978-0-670-82307-9 | 128 | Illustrated by f-stop Fitzgerald |
2000 | On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft | Scribner | 978-0-684-85352-9 | 228 | Winner, Bram Stoker Award for Best Non-Fiction, 2001;
Winner, Locus Award for Best Non-Fiction Book, 2001 |
Secret Windows: Essays and Fiction on the Craft of Writing | BOMC | 978-0-965-01851-7 | 433 | ||
2004 | Faithful | Scribner | 978-0-743-26752-6 | 432 | Written with Stewart O'Nan |
Screenplays[]
Year | Title | Notes |
---|---|---|
1982 | Creepshow | An anthology film consisting of adaptations of five short stories (3 of which were written original for the film) |
1985 | Cat's Eye | An anthology horror film based on King's short stories "Quitters, Inc." and "The Ledge" |
Silver Bullet | A horror film based on King's novella Cycle of the Werewolf | |
1986 | Maximum Overdrive | A comedy horror film written and directed by King, based on King's short story "Trucks" |
1987 | "Sorry, Right Number" | An episode of the horror anthology series Tales from the Darkside; later included in King's short story collection Nightmares & Dreamscapes |
1989 | Pet Sematary | A horror film based on King's novel of the same name |
1991 | Golden Years | An original television science fiction thriller limited series created by King, and cowritten with Josef Anderson |
1992 | Sleepwalkers | An original horror film |
1994 | The Stand | A television miniseries based on King's novel of the same name |
1996 | Michael Jackson's Ghosts | A musical short film with a story by King, Stan Winston, Mick Garris and Michael Jackson, based on an original concept by King and Michael Jackson |
1997 | The Shining | A three-episode television miniseries based on King's novel of the same name |
1998 | "Chinga" | An episode of the television series The X-Files, cowritten with series creator Chris Carter |
1999 | Storm of the Century | An original horror television miniseries |
2002 | Rose Red | An original horror television miniseries |
2004 | Kingdom Hospital | A horror television series based on Lars von Trier's The Kingdom |
2006 | Desperation | A horror television film based on King's novel of the same name |
2014 | "Heads Will Roll" | An episode of the television series Under the Dome, based on King's novel of the same name |
A Good Marriage | A psychological thriller film based on King's novella of the same name | |
2016 | Cell | A science fiction horror film based on King's novel of the same name, cowritten with Adam Alleca |
2021 | "The Circle Closes" | A science fiction fantasy episode of the 2020 television miniseries The Stand, based on and serving as a new ending for King's novel of the same name |
Lisey's Story | A fantasy horror television miniseries based on King's novel of the same name |
Others[]
Year | Title | Publisher | ISBN | Note |
---|---|---|---|---|
1982 | Creepshow | Plume | 978-0-452-25380-3 | Graphic novel, illustrated by Bernie Wrightson |
1985 | The Bachman Books | NAL | 978-0-453-00507-4 | Originally four stories, with Rage removed from later editions |
1988 | Bare Bones - Conversations on Terror | McGraw-Hill | 978-0-070-65759-5 | Collected interviews |
1994 | Mid-life Confidential: The Rock Bottom Remainders Tour America with Three Chords and an Attitude | Viking Press | Essays written by members of the Rock Bottom Remainders, which included King | |
1997 | Six Stories | Philtrum Press | Limited edition (1100 copies); five of these stories reissued in Everything's Eventual (2002), one of them (Blind Willie) reissued in Hearts in Atlantis (1999) | |
1999 | Blood and Smoke | Simon & Schuster | 978-0-671-04617-0 | Original audiobook of three stories; collected in Everything's Eventual (2002) |
Storm of the Century | Pocket Books | 978-0-671-03264-7 | Original screenplay, published shortly before the initial airing | |
2000 | The Plant | Philtrum Press | Published partially in 1982/83/85/2000; Unfinished | |
2009 | Stephen King Goes to the Movies | Pocket Books | 978-1-416-59236-5 | Contains five previously collected short stories |
2010 | Blockade Billy | Simon & Schuster | 978-1-451-60821-2 | Contains the title short story and "Morality", both collected in The Bazaar of Bad Dreams (2015) |
American Vampire Vol. 1 | Vertigo | 978-1-401-22830-9 | Graphic novel, co-written with Scott Snyder, Illustrated by Rafael Albuquerque;
Winner, Eisner Award for Best New Series, 2011 | |
2013 | Ghost Brothers of Darkland County | Hear Music | 978-1-579-40235-8 | Libretto for musical |
Guns | Philtrum Press | Non-fiction essay written by King on the issue of gun violence | ||
2016 | Six Scary Stories | Cemetery Dance Publications | 978-1-587-67570-6 | An anthology of stories picked by Stephen King (not to be mistaken with Six Stories) |
2016 | Charlie the Choo-Choo | Simon & Schuster | 978-1-534-40123-5 | Published under pseudonym Beryl Evans, illustrated by Ned Dameron |
Hearts in Suspension | University of Maine Press | 978-0-891-01127-9 | A collection of essays by King with other authors | |
2018 | Flight or Fright | Cemetery Dance Publications | 978-1-587-67679-6 | An anthology edited by Stephen King and Bev Vincent, and including stories from King, Vincent, and Joe Hill |
Publishers[]
- Scribner
- Viking
- Doubleday
- Putnam
- New American Library (Signet)
- Simon & Schuster
- Cemetery Dance
- Hard Case Crime
Trivia[]
- Stephen King refused to write a sequel until Doctor Sleep.
- Several of Stephen King's novels reference King's works—or film adaptations of those works—as existing within their respective universes. Some also reference King directly. For example, in the novel Thinner—which was written by King under his main pseudonym, Richard Bachman—after protagonist Billy Halleck gives Dr. Mike Houston the explanation for his supernatural weight loss, Houston tells him he "was starting to sound a little like a Stephen King novel."