Page 25 of Camino Ghosts

“Was Nalla pregnant when she landed on Dark Isle?”

Lovely thought about it for a long time, then said, “Yes she was. It was not at all unusual for young women to be raped on the slave ships. Six weeks at sea, and a lot of them were pregnant when they got to this country.”

“Who was the father?”

“The child was half white.”

“Monk?”

Her eyes narrowed and flashed hot. She said, “She sliced his throat, didn’t she?” The word “sliced” was uttered with a touch of satisfaction.

4.

One of Mercer’s more pliable rules for writing fiction was to keep quiet about your work. She had long since tired of windy writers going on and on about their current projects, most of which were never finished. Writers, especially when drinking, which was most of the time it seemed, liked to try out their new material over dinner or cocktails, as if they needed the approval of their captive audience. She knew of many novels that had been described for years, yet not a word had been seen on paper. “Don’t talk about it, just do it,” she told her students. “Once the story is finished, then you have something to talk about.” Her students found it ironic that she made them discuss their ideas in class before writing their stories.

Like her other rules, she often violated this one. Now she found herself in the middle of a major violation. After showing her proposal to Thomas, Bruce, Steven Mahon, and Lovely, she felt as though she had been blabbing about it all summer. So she spent two days trimming it—Bruce in particular thought it too long for a simple proposal—and sent it, all five pages, to Etta Shuttleworth, her agent in New York.

It was the first of August, a month in which no one in New York publishing would be caught dead actually working. Etta was “summering” in Sag Harbor and reading, of course, nonstop. August reading was not considered working, and everyone—editors, agents, publishers—worked hard to give the impression that they read many hours each day. One was supposed to believe that they had little time for swimming, sailing, fishing, beachcombing, partying, or porch-sitting due to the stacks of books they were devouring.

At any rate, Etta managed to open her laptop a few minutes each day to take a peek at who might be looking for her. Mercer called and said the proposal was on the way and it was imperative that Etta read it immediately. It was only five pages.

Remarkably, within the hour the agent was on the phone gushing. Once she’d waded through the avalanche of superlatives, she said, “We should send it to Lana right now.”

“Hang on,” Mercer said. Lana Gallagher was her patient editor at Viking who had been waiting far too long for the next idea. “Are you sure it’s for her? It is nonfiction.”

“I know, but we have to start with Lana. She may decide to hand it off to a colleague, but your contract requires a first look for her.”

Mercer said, “It’s August. Have you ever sold a book in August?”

“No, don’t think so, but there’s always a first.”

“Where is Lana?”

“She has a place in Maine. I’m sure she has plenty of time to read, especially something this quick. I’ll send it to her and pester her to take a look.”

“What’s it worth?”

“That’s a tough one. Let’s wait until we hear from Lana. If she likes it then we’ll talk about money.”

“And if she doesn’t?”

“She will, Mercer. Trust me. This is a great proposal for a great book, fiction or otherwise.”

“Thank you, Etta, but it’s not my idea. The story was lived by other people. I’m just an observer.”

“It’s brilliant, Mercer.”

“You really think so?”

“Yes I do. When are you leaving the island?”

“In two weeks. Classes start at the end of the month. I’d like to spend some time with Lovely but she is hesitant. She’s not convinced there’s going to be a real book.”

“Okay, look Mercer. I’m your agent and you need to trust me here. I’ll call Lana right now, tell her I’m sending your proposal for a brilliant work of nonfiction, and insist that she read it immediately.”

“Okay.”

Evidently, Lana was having a slow day in Maine. An hour later, Etta called, gushing again. “Mercer! She loves it! She wants to buy it now and publish as soon as possible.”

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