Wanna-be authors as inscrutable as their would-be subject

"I'm going to write a book, write a book about the life of a farm boy and a rock star," said Carson Erickson.

Erickson's the farm boy, and the rock star would be -- ? "Prince," Erickson said.

The pathologically private Symbolina is going to love reading that a Minnesota couple plan to write a book about him.

After a fair amount of cloak-and-dagger e-mail (on a par with some stories Neal Karlen has recounted about getting Prince interviews), I arranged for Carson and his wife to meet me at the Star Tribune so I could see if they looked or acted like crazy people. "I'm Julie Erickson, Carson's wife," she introduced herself with a smile. "I'm not crazy, either."

They seem normal, but they are being very mysterious.

After our interview they were persistent about me disclosing their book plans. They are looking for a publisher who will pay them an advance. Nothing huge, just the industry standard for never-published authors writing about a world-famous musician.

"I'm to the point where I have enough information to get a publisher or somebody interested in taking this to the next level," Carson said.

They brought along a manila folder of documents, but I was not allowed to view it at will. I did get to look at what I was told was a "Purple Rain" royalties statement.

"I have over the years accumulated, from difference sources, real documentation about Prince's life," Carson said.

Julie's e-mail states that she is a "broker/agent." Carson called himself "a salesman" with a dream of writing a book about Prince, though they've never met: "Our [Carson's and Prince's] paths have crossed, our lives have crossed and not necessarily personally or knowingly but through other people," he said.

The Ericksons claim to have documentation of an elaborate home Prince planned to build near the site of his current residence in Chanhassen (which may have already been demolished). "I've seen 'em," Carson said of the plans. In the book, he says, he'll reveal why Prince didn't follow through with the house.

They are open to talking to Prince. "If somebody wants to contact us, it will be in the book. This will be in the book," said Carson, speaking of my whipping out a video camera and shooting their driver's licenses.

Why are they being inscrutable? "We expect he will try to stop us," she said, as Carson added, "We are hoping he'll work with us, but we're not going to hold our breath."

The Ericksons said that naturally they will tell a prospective publisher more than they had told me.

They're taking sides! Coldwell Bank Burnet Realtor David Azbill called me Wednesday to say he was "no friend of Harold Kail's."

Azbill was upset about Kail's comment regarding his "girlfriend," WCCO-TV's Jeanette Trompeter, that was made in this column Tuesday. They were at a private party for the newest branch of Sofas & Chairs. "If he's going to make derogatory comments about my girlfriend, he needs to man up and return my phone calls," Azbill said. "She was not hitting on his son -- she was just paying a compliment to his son."

WCCO's Esme Murphy, the wife of one of the Sofas & Chairs guys, called, too: "I'm upset, too. It's ridiculous. Harold's wife, Carroll [Britton], who is wonderful and talented and who did an amazing job with all the flowers [for the party], is a dear friend of mine." Guess that means Harold isn't.

Accuracy is my only concern. Was there anything wrong with the item? "No, journalistically, there was no problem," said Murphy, who knows a lot more about reporting than Azbill.

C.J. is at 612.332.TIPS or cj@startribune.com. E-mailers, please state a subject -- "Hello" doesn't count. Attachments are not opened, so don't even try. More of her attitude can be seen on FOX 9 Thursday mornings.