Many a son has followed his father into the family business. But when you’re Owen King, and your dad is one of the most famous authors on the planet, there has to be a little trepidation when making that career choice.

“It was a huge concern, because I want to be taken seriously,” the younger King said. “That’s one of the reasons why I write a very different kind of fiction than my father writes. It’s more contemporary straight fiction with no supernatural elements. I wanted to find my own place in the world, not make any bread off his name.”

Fortunately, King, 28, is busy making his own name with his collection “We’re All in This Together” (Bloomsbury, $23.95). Publishers Weekly called it “a compelling, imaginative debut” while Kirkus Reviews said, “Newcomer King is a talent to watch.”

King, the young son of authors Stephen and Tabitha King, has been pleased with the response to his book by the literary community.

“It’s being taken on its own merits,” he said. “I can sink or swim on my own.”

At the heart of the collection is the 135-page title novella, about the relationship between a teen boy of a single mother and his former labor-organizer grandfather. Set after the 2000 election, the story focuses on the grandfather’s billboard praising Al Gore that gets defaced, and the aftermath of that action.

King wrote the novella in 2003 and 2004.

“I’ve had some notion of wanting to write the novella for a while,” he said. “I needed some time to elapse before I could write it, to let my feelings settle. Then I could get creative with it, and write the story.”

The four short stories that round out the collection were written during the time when King was earning his master’s of fine arts degree from Columbia University. One of the stories, “Wonders,” was a National Magazine Award nominee.

This week, King will be leaving the Brooklyn apartment he shares with his fiancee, novelist Kelly Braffett, and return to Maine as part of his ongoing promotional tour. He’s glad to be coming home.

“I love Bangor,” said the 1995 Bangor High School graduate. “It will always be my home. Growing up there, and going to public school, is something I treasure. I grew up with parents that are celebrities and very wealthy, and yet they were treated as part of the community. They were always treated as Steve and Tabby, and that was always a gift when I was growing up.”

While King readily admits that he comes from a privileged background, he said that his upbringing has kept him grounded.

“I was not sheltered from real people, and that’s special,” he said. “I believe in community, and value the fact that I was part of one.”

King first set his sights on a writing career while in high school, which was “when I knew I wasn’t going to be a pro baseball player. I never had much ability besides manual labor and writing, and I figured I’d give writing a shot first.”

What was his family’s reaction?

“They would have been supportive whatever I wanted to do,” he said. “This is the family business, what I grew up around, so I don’t think they were all that surprised.”

King’s current project is a screenplay “Fadeaway” that he’s writing with brother Joe, 33, that’s under contract with Working Title Films. In the fall, he hopes to start a novel.

Over the years, King has seen the downside of celebrity. So he’s content to be, in his words, “a mid-lister, at best.”

“It’s a small, literary book from a medium literary house,” he said. “It’s not like I’m in incredible demand.”

Owen King’s book tour through Maine will make the following stops: July 16, Sherman’s, Bar Harbor; July 19, Borders, Bangor: July 20, Books, Etc., Portland; July 21, Blue Hill Books, Blue Hill. Dale McGarrigle can be reached at 990-8028 and dmcgarrigle@bangordailynews.net.