Norman Spinrad gathered plenty of attention when he put the first two chapters of a completed novel on the Internet and offered "to sell the American volume rights to my completed novel HE WALKED AMONG US for an advance of $1 to the publisher who persuades me that they will publish it properly."

The decision was made after Spinrad’s publisher, Bantam Books Inc., informed him that based on the sales figures of his most recent novel, PICTURES AT 11, the major bookstore chains would "not order sufficient copies of whatever my next novel might be--regardless of content or quality--for any publisher to bring it out."

Although American rights are still available. Spinrad’s main German publisher has purchased the German language rights for an undisclosed five figure advance. The novel has yet to be translated and the release date is not scheduled.

Asked for comments on the recent sale, Spinrad says, "I am gratified that Wilhelm Heyne Verlag will be publishing HE WALKED AMONG US in Germany. I am mystified as to how it is possible that a novel which has garnered me the largest advance I've ever gotten in Germany has yet to find an American publisher willing to publish it for an advance of $1."

" Perhaps this will be an eye-opener. In my experience, Heyne has always been a house with idealism and courage, from Herr Heyne at the top (and yes there is one) to the editorial staff, notably Wolfgang Jeschke. Heyne Verlag spent many years and a lot of money on a long string of legal actions to remove THE IRON DREAM from the German Index, ultimately succeeding. Although the novel was commercially successful in Germany, the court costs were considerable. Whether any current American publisher would have done what Heyne did is open to question."

The online extract from HE WALKED AMOUNG US is available at http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/normanspinrad/he.htm.