Stephen King’s new novel, “Holly,” is his sixth book to feature the private investigator Holly Gibney, who made her debut as a mousy side character in the 2014 novel “Mr. Along the way, he also tells a dad joke, remembers his friend Peter Straub, and discusses his views on writing and life. “Writing is partially an escape valve, but it’s also a way of understanding what’s going on in your life and what’s going on in a particular story. Those things are part of the reason to write at all, I think,” King says. “I don’t think you should think a lot about the act of writing as you write, because I think that’s counterproductive.

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Persons: Stephen King’s, “ Holly, ”, Holly Gibney, Mercedes ”, King, Gilbert Cruz, Peter Straub, it’s, ” King, “, Cruz, Joumana Khatib, Zadie Smith “ Elon Musk, Walter Isaacson “, Homer, Emily Wilson, Emily Weiss’s Glossier, Marisa Meltzer “, Pam Zhang “, Cameron McWhirter Organizations: Holly’s