It’s fascinating, watching a book taking shape. Just yesterday I noticed Sleepy Hollow as American Myth is now up on McFarland’s website. And yes, it’s on Amazon too. Go ahead and preorder! (It hasn’t made it to Bookshop.org yet, though.) I have to say the feed to Amazon was much quicker this time than it was with The Wicker Man. That book took several weeks to appear, probably because it was with a UK publisher. Yes, it does make a difference. Now the trick is to try to get people interested in the Legend of Sleepy Hollow again. I’m thinking I ought to join Historic Hudson Valley. They might be interested in such a book. It is, in a sense, right in their back yard.
The thing about writing a book is that you come to suppose other people are interested in your obsession. I know that Sleepy Hollow is deeply embedded in American culture. I also know that some of the fandom began to die down when Fox’s Sleepy Hollow went off the rails. Most analysts suggest, with good reason, that the show failed when it began foregrounding white characters and writing Americans of color into the background. A great part of the appeal was the melting-pot aspect of the cast, no doubt. In the book, however, I suggest a somewhat different reason for the decline. It’s one I’ve seen no one else suggest. I’m hoping that we can both be right. In any case, that was the fandom that got this book started.
You see, I had written my first popular culture article on the role of the Bible in Sleepy Hollow. That article, published in the Journal of Religion and Popular Culture, led to the book Holy Horror. I was already thinking about a project around Sleepy Hollow then, but I had a couple more books to finish first. I’m excited about this one because it marks a move away from publishing primarily about religion to publishing primarily about a story. There’s still religion there, of course. We have the Old Dutch Church to pay mind to, but there’s even more about the Headless Horseman, and Ichabod Crane. And so much more! Sleepy Hollow as American Myth was a lot of fun to write. I’m not sure when the book will be out, but I’m hoping next year. Maybe if I can generate a little excitement around this Halloween—it is closely connected with the story, as I explore—there’ll be some interest next time. Until then there are still plenty of steps to be taken.