The plant - By Stephen King Page 0,3
More.
Of course this is not "all." "Don't cool me off, I'm just gettin' warmed up," as Mr. Keen says. In many ways True Tales of Demon Infestations is like The Necronomicon, except that book was fictional (made up by H. P. Lovecraft, who also came from Rhode Island) and mine is true. I have amazing stories of black magic "covens" I have attended, by taking a potion and flying to these covens through the aether (I have recently been to covens in Omaha, Neb., Flagstaff, Ariz., and Fall River, Mass., without ever leaving "the comfort of my own home"). You are probably asking yourself, "Carlos, does this mean you are a student of the 'black Arts'?" Yes, but don't worry! After all, you are my "connection" to getting my book published, right?
As I told you in my last letter, there is also a chapter, "The World of Spells," which most people will find very interesting. Working in a greenhouse and flower-shop has been especially good for working spells, as most require fresh herbs and plants. I am very good with plants, Mrs. Barfield would even tell you that, and I am now growing some very "strange" ones in the back of the greenhouse. It is probably too late to put them in this book, but as Mr. Keen sometimes tells me, "Carlos, the time to think about tomorrow is yesterday." Maybe we could do a follow-up, Strange Plants. Let me have your thinking on this.
I will close now. Let me know when you get the manuscript (a postcard will do), and fill me in as soon as possible on royalty rates, etc. I can come to N. Y. C. any Wednesday on the train or Greyhound Bus if you want to have a "publishing luncheon" or come here and I will introduce you to Mrs. Barfield and Mr. Keen. I also have more photographs than the ones I am sending. I am happy to have you publish True Tales of Demon Infestations.
Your new author,
Carlos Detweiller
147 E. 14th St., Apt. E
Central Falls, R. I. 40222
interoffice memo
TO: Roger FROM: John RE: True Tales of Demon Infestations, by Carlos Detweiller
I just received a letter from Detweiller in regard to his book. I think that, in inviting him to submit, I made the biggest mistake of my editorial career. Oooh, my skin is starting to hurt...
from the office of the editor-in-chief
TO: John Kenton DATE: 1/23/81
You made your bed. Now lie in it. After all, we can always get it ghost-written, right? Hee-hee.
Roger
January 25, 1981
Dear Ruth,
I feel almost as if I am in the middle of a goddam archetype-segments of the Sunday New York Times on the floor, an old Simon and Garfunkel album on the stereo, a Bloody Mary near at hand. Rain tapping on the glass, making it all the more cozy. Am I trying to make you homesick? Well... maybe a little. After all, the only thing the scene lacks is you, and you're probably paddling out beyond the line of breakers on a surfboard as I write these words (and wearing a bikini more non than existent).
Actually, I know you're working hard (probably not too hard) and I have every confidence that the PhD will be a world-beater. It's just that last week was a real horror show for me and I'm afraid there may be worse to come. Among other things, Roger accused me of prolixity (well, actually that was the week before, but you know what I mean), and I think I feel a real prolixity attack coming on. Try to bear with me, okay?
Basically, the problem is Carlos Detweiller. (with a name like that he couldn't be anything but a problem, right?) He's going to be a short-term problem, is old Carlos, like poison ivy or a mouth sore, but as with those two things, knowing the problem is short-term doesn't ease the pain at all-it only keeps you from going insane.
Roger's right-I do tend towardprolixity. That's not the same as logorrhea, though. I'll try to avoid that.
The facts, then. As you know, every week we get thirty or forty "over the transom" submissions. An "over the transom" is anything addressed to "Gentlemen," "Dear Sir," or "To Whom It May Concern"-an unsolicited manuscript, in other words. Well... they're not all manuscripts; at least half of them are what us hip publishing guys call "query letters" (getting tired of all these quotation marks yet? You should read Carlos's last letter-it would put you off them for life).
Anyway, they should