NEW YORK - Vampires are usually her passion, but Anne Rice is getting biblical in her next book, due out in November from publisher Random House. Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt will tell the story of Jesus' early years in his own words.

Excerpts of a lengthy letter that will accompany advance review copies of the book this summer are published in the new issue of Entertainment Weekly magazine.

... "I'm not a priest," Rice ... writes in the letter. "I can't be one. I'll never be able to go to the altar of the Lord and say the words of consecration at Mass, `This is my body. This is my blood.' No, I can't work that magnificent Eucharistic miracle. But in humility, I have attempted something transformative which we writers dare to call a miracle in the imperfect human idiom we possess. It's to bring Him here in the form a story, and that story is Christ The Lord."

EW's comment goes as expected: "Whether Christians appreciate the queen of the damned writing about their Lord is unclear, but Mel Gibson might want to look into the movie rights." But, if such a film could be called a "prequel" (The Fandom Menace, anyone?), let's pray it doesn't spawn a trilogy.