July 16. That’s the release date for Sleepy Hollow as American Myth. If you’re so inclined, preordering helps to earn a book attention. (I know it’s pricey, but thanks for considering it for a second.) This book has been, like most books, a long time in the making. As my wife will attest, reading the proofs nearly sent me into a spiral this time around. It wasn’t because they were bad (I only found 7 mistakes) but it was because of my own doubt about how well I’d done this one. I found myself between elation at some parts, and dread at others. I really like this book but I spent my proofreading journey anticipating what critics would say. I do take a few chances in this one and it has what I believe to be an important message.
Writing books is like walking into a library naked. There may not be many people there, but those who are can see more than you want them to. I love the Legend of Sleepy Hollow. I learned a lot about Washington Irving doing this research. I learned a lot about Halloween—that’s one of my favorite chapters. I also like the conceit I applied to the book itself as a labyrinth. And I’m already looking forward to reading more renditions of the myth once the dust settles a little. Reading the proofs took a good portion of the weekend, as well as after-work time the previous week. I could focus on little else. Books, you see, are parts of their authors. I feel a little bit crazy for even writing them in the first place.
That having been said, I’m chuffed with a July publication date. The best time for Halloween books to be available is the summer. My last two Halloween titles (Holy Horror and Nightmares with the Bible) both came out in November or December. Not that there were angry mobs at Barnes & Noble demanding them at the end of October. The other deadline I’d set myself was to have this published before Lindsey Beer’s reboot of Sleepy Hollow hit theaters. I seem to have managed that one by quite a margin; there’s still been no release date announced. For her, that is. I just received mine yesterday. I guess it’s time to start touching base with those good folks in the Hudson Valley who expressed an interest in the project when I first told them about it. I’m anticipating Halloween already.
