[who did it] Berkley/Diamond; February, 1991 (mass-market paperback).

[chance of gettin'] One of the harder ones, but you can find it used if you look enough.

[the skinny] Loopy, sarcastic, and so off-the-wall, Lee–looking back–is surprised that this book got picked up by a major mass-market house. More like a revved-up gross-out ‘70s B-movie, COVEN revels in its ultimate editorial no-no: it’s science-fiction dropped into a contemporary horror plot, something that horror editors seem to never buy. Maybe this one sold...because it works. Originally entitled THE WOMEN IN BLACK, this “turgid,” original take on the There’s Something Fucked-Up At The College plot highlights Lee’s gross-out skills early on and demonstrates that pulp horror writers really can create fresh, well-developed, easy-to-realize characters. Cameos of Lee’s then-favorite beers--during his beer-snob days--appear in abundance, and Lovecraftian symbols abound (it’s fun just picking them out), but wait till you meets the gals in this book. This is the only existing novel that Lee wants to sequelize. Eventually COVEN will be re-issued as a limited-edition hardcover by Necro Publications.