I jokingly tell friends that my SCARS/DEVIL’S BIBLE manuscript is cursed. Not in the way most of us aspiring, hope-to-be published novelists think all our manuscripts are cursed, where agents and editors back away from them when delivered to their doorsteps, crucifixes and wolfbane raised high, most of them clearly part of that publising industry cult whose rules preclude having relations with the industry’s virgins. Nope, my manuscript should possibly display a warning from the Surgeon General: “This manuscript is a known carrier of pain and suffering. Handle at your own risk.”

Its history to date:

Many, many queries to agents. One of them, inclusive of a few chapters, I sent on, yes, Halloween. The agent died weeks later.

I discovered this after a second agent at this agency requested the entire manuscript; many months later she requested a full rewrite. After two months of revisions followed by three further months of agency review, the agency’s interest died. In fairness to me and the agency, I was told I could submit other material.

I eventually found the wonderful small publisher Drollerie Press with Deena Fisher, a gifted, genuinely accommodating person, at the helm. Ms. Fisher found the manuscript to be terrific (”I couldn’t stop reading. Holy cow,  what a roller coaster ….”) and offered me a contract. Woo-hoo!

She assigned it to an editor; the editor got sick. She assigned it to a second editor; the second editor got sick. (Relax. Both editors are recovering from their ills and back to work.)

So here we are. My newest editing partner in this endeavor, Drollerie’s Lisa Pett (”three’s a charm!”), I suspect does not know the manuscript’s toxic history, maybe also doesn’t know the history of the real-life legend behind the 800-hundred-year-old religious artifact DEVIL’S BIBLE that my manuscript exploits. (Yep, the Devil helped a monk write it. In one night. 624 pages, some with pictures. Swear to God.) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devil%27s_Bible)

I recommend lots of orange juice and vitamins, Lisa. Please. Wouldn’t hurt to keep a crucifix handy as well.

Recently:

• SOTFOG E-Book Release 12/8/08
• First two reviews for SOTFOG
• First blurb for SOTFOG
• Getting close
• SOTFOG
• So go ahead and write something else
• Edit finished?
• Yesterday at Bucks County Coffeehouse
• SALE! SALE! SALE!
• Okay, so we had a false start