Horror Author King to Write Part III

P O R T L A N D,  Maine, Aug. 1, 2000 -- Encouraged by the strong fan response to his online horror story The Plant, Stephen King plans to write a third installment for his Internetaudience, his assistant says.

“The numbers are very promising,” Marsha DeFilippo,King’s assistant, said Monday. “He is going to put up part three.”

King, who had committed to publishing at least the first twoinstallments of the story, earlier warned readers on his Web sitethat at least 75 percent of those who downloaded The Plantmust pay $1 if the full story were to make its way to the Web.

On a Roll

Through midnight July 30, King’s first installment of ThePlant was downloaded 152,132 times from the Internet,DeFilippo said.

About 76 percent of the readers paid immediately or saidthey would pay later, she said. The balance downloaded the storyfor free, stiffing the best-selling author of such stories asCarrie, The Shining and Salem’s Lot.

The first chapter of the book was made available on July 24,with 100,000 of the downloads coming during the first two daysof its online offering, said Conxion Corp., the Internetdistributor of the story.

“If you pay, the story rolls. If you don’t, the storyfolds,” King cautions on his site.

The second and third installments of ThePlant will bereleased on Aug. 21 and Sept. 25, DeFilippo said.

Internet readers using dial-up modems can download the bookin two minutes. People with high-speed Internet access can getthe story about the blood-sucking plant in 15 seconds, accordingto Conxion.

Demand for The Plant has been noted by the publishingindustry. Random House Inc., the biggest English-language bookpublisher, said on Monday it will join other publishers inlaunching a unit for electronic books. The AtRandom titles willbe published starting early in 2001.