On Tuesday, Stephen King quietly announced the impending release of a new novella called Elevation on his blog.

In Elevation, King takes us back to Castle Rock, Maine but there will be no killer clowns, rabid dogs, or mass murderers.  This time King takes on a much more dangerous and serious subject.  Homophobia and bigotry.

Although Scott Carey doesn’t look any different, he’s been steadily losing weight. There are a couple of other odd things, too. He weighs the same in his clothes and out of them, no matter how heavy they are. Scott doesn’t want to be poked and prodded. He mostly just wants someone else to know, and he trusts Doctor Bob Ellis.

In the small town of Castle Rock, the setting of many of King’s most iconic stories, Scott is engaged in a low grade—but escalating—battle with the lesbians next door whose dog regularly drops his business on Scott’s lawn. One of the women is friendly; the other, cold as ice. Both are trying to launch a new restaurant, but the people of Castle Rock want no part of a gay married couple, and the place is in trouble. When Scott finally understands the prejudices they face – including his own — he tries to help. Unlikely alliances, the annual foot race, and the mystery of Scott’s affliction bring out the best in people who have indulged the worst in themselves and others. 

King has only written a few a few gay characters before. Adrian Mellon, Dan Haggerty, and perhaps Patrick Hockstetter in “IT” and that of Tom McCourt in “The Cell” (the only one to survive.) So it will be interesting to see how King handles the lesbian couple in the upcoming book since they are an integral part of the sorry

King himself doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon, and will continue to be well-represented on TV and at the movies, with Hulu’s Castle Rock, the sequel to It, a Pet Sematary remake, a second season of Mr. Mercedes and an adaptation of Doctor Sleep all on the way. And now you can add Elevation to the King goodness coming your way this year.