Stephen King plans to write COVID-inspired novel: 'It's gonna be difficult'

Stephen King only had to look out the window or on Twitter to find inspiration for his next horror novel.

"I want to write a book next that deals directly with the coronavirus," the author of over 60 novels, featuring all-time great horror titles such as IT and The Shining, told The View on Tuesday (Aug. 3). "I want to set it in 2020 and see how that works as a book. It's gonna be a difficult."

If there were ever a man for the job, though, it's King.

The 73-year-old additionally gave his take on the COVID-19 pandemic:

"I live in Florida half the year, and after observation of Ron DeSantis, I can say—how can I put this?—he's not the brightest bulb in the chandelier. He's got this idea that freedom is a personal thing, and it's OK not to wear a mask, and he can order kids in schools not to wear masks if he wants to. The thing is, it's not a personal freedom issue. It's a social issue, and it's a public health issue.

"It would be a personal choice if I were to light up a cigarette, but it not be my personal choice if I were to light up a cigarette in the public supermarket and blow smoke in your face. That's the big difference, and the thing that they're overlooking here is that there's just no comparison between personal freedom and the need to wear a damn mask so that you're not spreading your COVID germs somewhere where they shouldn't be."

Billy Summer also arrived Tuesday. The crime novel plot is as layered as you'd expect from  King, per his official website: "Billy Summers is a man in a room with a gun. He’s a killer for hire and the best in the business. But he’ll do the job only if the target is a truly bad guy. And now Billy wants out. But first there is one last hit. Billy is among the best snipers in the world, a decorated Iraq war vet, a Houdini when it comes to vanishing after the job is done. So what could possibly go wrong? How about everything."

To read more about King's latest work, head over to his interview with Rolling Stone.

Watch his full The View segment below.