James Patterson Cancels Release of The Murder of Stephen King

It’s been just over a week since he announced it, but James Patterson is canceling the release of The Murder of Stephen King, his BookShots story about a stalker reenacting the horrors from King’s books on the author himself.

In a statement to The Associated Press, Patterson said:

My book is a positive portrayal of a fictional character, and, spoiler alert, the main character is not actually murdered. Nevertheless, I do not want to cause Stephen King or his family any discomfort. Out of respect for them, I have decided not to publish The Murder of Stephen King.

Though Patterson says the novella was meant as a tribute to King, it always seemed in odd taste considering the two aren’t exactly friends. In the past, King has said of Patterson that he’s “a terrible writer but he’s very successful.”

King has not commented publicly on the book.