U.S. editors anticipate 'Game'

Redmond novel hot off six-figure U.K. deal

NEW YORK -- Friday will be the official submission day for U.S. book editors to receive "The Wishing Game," a first novel by 32-year-old London lawyer Patrick Redmond, already snatched up by U.K. publisher Hodder & Stoughton in a £100,000 ($165,840) preemptive offer.

Redmond, who promptly quit his day job after the U.K. deal, penned a tale that agent Patrick Walsh of the Christopher Little agency describes as " 'Lord of the Flies' meets 'Carrie,' " about a group of young boys at a 1950s British boarding school gradually drawn into telepathic evil-doing thanks to their charismatic leader.

Last year around this time, the Little agency had sent out "The Lazarus Child," a first novel by Robert Mawson that attracted a $696,528 U.K. deal and ultimately a $1.4 million deal from Bantam, which just released the book last month. So far, however, "Lazarus" has neither made a strong rising on bestseller lists nor scored a film deal -- a reality check of how "buzz books" can play out.