Stephen King has shared a new live stream from his home in which he reads fans the first chapter of his upcoming book If It Bleeds.

The book, out next week (April 21), is comprised of four different novellas, which promise to “pull readers into intriguing and frightening places”, as a synopsis reads.

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The excerpt read in the live stream comes from the book’s first novella, Mr. Harrigans Phone, which sees King once again air his distrust for phones and technology. Watch the recital below.

King has been vocal in his opinions around the coronavirus pandemic in recent weeks. Earlier this month, the horror legend said he was “sorry” if people feel like they’re living in one of his horror stories during the ongoing pandemic.

“I keep having people say, ‘Gee, it’s like we’re living in a Stephen King story,’ the author, who wrote 1978 book The Stand about a viral pandemic, said.

King also said he approves of people nicknaming Covid-19 “Captain Trumps” as a play on “Captain Trips,” the nickname for the deadly flu depicted in The Stand.

It has also recently been revealed that a new series inspired by Stephen King’s legendary novel The Shining is set to come to HBO.

The work of Star Wars director J.J. Abrams alongside Ben Stephenson, the new show is described as “a horror-thriller series that explores the untold stories of the Overlook Hotel, the most famous haunted hotel in American fiction.”