Hailed by the The Times of London as "the first important new SF writer of the 21st century," John Meaney delivers a darkly luminous thriller of futuristic noir and gothic eroticism. Here, in a city of the dead where desire is very much alive and murder a pleasure for connoisseurs, an honest cop must face his own darkest impulses… There have been four victims already. Famed for their beauty and one-of-a-kind artistic gifts, each of them was murdered in public and their corpses stolen. Now the famed diva Maria deLivnova is arriving in Tristopolis-a city powered by the massive necroflux generators that process the dead-and it is up to Lieutenant Donal Riordan to make sure she stays alive. But Riordan isn't the only one watching deLivnova. For the Diva is being followed by two other secret protectors: Commander Laura Steele-who's made a successful transition to para-life-and her partner, the invisible free-wraith Xalia. They are part of the necropolis's vast underground Lattice and they've mobilized against an unseen enemy for a battle of epic proportions. For a perverse death cult with powerful members in every strata of society has learned how to distill from the bones of their sacrificed victims the ultimate thrill-a nectar once tasted it's impossible to resist. Soon Riordan finds himself in the unlikeliest of alliances as he journeys through a world of corruption-both above ground and below-among gargoyles and zombies, spirit slaves and assassins, science and sorcery in search of an enemy even the dead have every reason to fear… The first novel in a series, BONE SONG will be followed by Black Blood in January 2009. John Meaney is the author of To Hold Infinity, Paradox ("Paradox's ingeniously stratified universe is reminiscent of Dune."-Entertainment Weekly), Context, and Resolution ("Meaney is one of the best authors of hard SF in the world at the moment, and he doesn't put a foot wrong here."-SFX). His novelette Sharp Tang was shortlisted for the British Science Fiction Association Award, and To Hold Infinity and Paradox both appeared on the BSFA shortlists for Best Novel. Meaney has a degree in physics and computer science, and holds a black belt in Shotokan Karate. He lives in England.

"Just hearing Sarah Graves list the ways you can kill yourself fixing up an old house is a hoot," raves the New York Times Book Review. Her latest clever foray into the worlds of carpentry and crime proves once again why "anyone who can mix slaughter and screwdrivers is a genius" (Boston Herald). When antiquarian book expert Horace Rowbotham dies, his death is tied to a musty volume uncovered in the cellar of Jacobia "Jake" Tiptree's 1823 Federal-style fixer-upper. Jake's already got her hands full with a cast-iron bathtub that refuses to budge, but the suspects cannot be ignored: Horace's spoiled daughter, Liane, who has enough credit card debt to give killing her rich daddy a certain appeal and Bert Merkle, a local crackpot with a penchant for black magic and a lust for its artifacts-including antique texts inked in blood; and to make matters even worse, there is Dave DiMaio, a gun-toting stranger who seems ready to avenge his dear friend Horace by shooting anyone who gives him the slightest excuse. Jake's got to pull out the sharpest tools in her shed to get this job done... or she'll find herself the victim of a well-constructed killer. Sarah Graves lives with her husband in Eastport, Maine, in the 1823 Federal-style house that inspires her books. She is at work on the twelfth "Home Repair is Homicide" mystery, which Bantam will publish in 2009.

FINAL JOURNEYS: A Practical Guide for Bringing Care and Comfort at the End of Life
by Maggie Callanan
British, Translation, Audio, and Performance:
The Gail Ross Literary Agency, 202-328-3282 (P);
202-328-9162 (F)

From hospice nurse Maggie Callanan, the co-author of the classic bestseller Final Gifts, which has sold more than 500,000 copies, FINAL JOURNEYS is the ultimate guide to understanding the special needs of the dying and those who care for them. Callanan has tended to the terminally ill for more than two decades. Now, in this compassionate book, she offers a lifetime of wisdom for navigating this difficult passage. Callanan gently guides readers through the crucial decisions that lie ahead, and shows how to meet both physical and emotional challenges with sensitivity, respect-and sometimes even humor. Drawing on the stories of her work with patients and families-from helping a husband or wife cope with the imminent loss of a spouse to observing a dying mother preparing her children to carry on without her-Callanan shares her invaluable wisdom on all aspects of an overwhelming experience, from medical and legal issues, to spiritual and ethical matters. Companionable and resourceful, Callanan gently guides patients and families to identify their fears, open the lines of communication, and increase their understanding of the process of dying. Like a hospice nurse at your side, in FINAL JOURNEYS Callanan helps to ease the leave-taking, from initial diagnosis to crucial decision making, to the final hours. Above all, as the journey nears its end, she reveals how each patient and family can find their own unique ways to communicate what matters most, leaving a legacy of good memories to ease the home-going. Maggie Callanan, R.N. has specialized in care of the dying since 1981. She lectures widely to lay and professional audiences on death and dying, bereavement, and hospice care. She lives in Reston, Virginia.

The author's novel, The Alibi Club (Bantam 9/2006), was named one of PW's "Best Books of 2006" and was a "Best Books of the Season" pick by the San Francisco Chronicle. Of her Jane Austen mysteries, The New York Times Book Review states, "Barron writes a lively adventure that puts warm flesh on historical bones. The nice thing is she does so in a literary style that would not put Jane Austen's nose out of joint!" Now, with the historical immediacy of Phillipa Gregory, the thrilling pacing of The Rule of Four, and her own signature, enthralling period detail, Stephanie Barron spins a tale set in Queen Victoria's troubled court about a dangerous secret that could topple thrones. In Windsor Castle, in 1861, Prince Albert, the Queen's Consort, lies dying of typhoid fever. Victoria summons Patrick Fitzgerald, the clever, embittered Irish barrister who helped defend Her Majesty's would-be-assassin twenty years earlier. Within hours, Fitzgerald's beautiful ward is nearly murdered, his chambers are ransacked, and a young girl lies dead in a shadowy back alley. Does an unknown force at Windsor want Fitzgerald dead? The answer is entangled in a rich tale of intrigue, seduction and betrayal partially narrated by 19th century Europe's most powerful monarch. With A FLAW IN THE BLOOD, Stephanie Barron brings us a tale as vibrant and commanding as the Queen herself, seamlessly blending rich history, electrifying suspense, and a brilliant imagination in an elegant thriller which is utterly convincing-and utterly surprising-to its very end. Stephanie Barron is the author of nine Jane Austen mysteries, including the recent Jane and the Barque of Frailty. As Francine Mathews, she is the author of The Cutout, The Secret Agent, Blown, and The Alibi Club. She is at work on her next novel of historical suspense.

The Caliph's House (Bantam 2/2006) was a resounding success with readers and critics. It was glowingly reviewed in numerous publications, including The Washington Post Book World ("Tahir Shah's highly readable account of moving his young family to Casablanca is.... an outrageously black comedy [written] with the straightest of poker faces"), The New York Times Book Review (Editor's Choice), and the Los Angeles Times, among many others. It was named one of Time magazine's top ten books of 2006 ("A lively account... So much better that Shah is working on a sequel"), and it was the subject of a front-page photo-feature in the New York Times "House & Home" section. Now, acclaimed author Tahir Shah ("[his] talent is to make you laugh while you are admiring the insights given by his most original and lively view of life."-Doris Lessing) brings readers deeper into the heart of Morocco in IN ARABIAN NIGHTS. Berber tradition holds that everyone is born with a personal story living inside him that he must uncover in his lifetime. Following his father's wisdom, that to know a place you have to look beyond what your senses tell you, Tahir travels across Morocco in search of the meaning of his destined story and the rich tradition of storytelling that has been passed down in his family for generations. It's a journey that takes Tahir to a donkey-hoisting market square storyteller to master masons who labor only at night, to a Sufi wise man who writes for soap operas, to the bedtime stories Shah tells his own children as he recaptures an almost lost tradition. Along the way, Shah records all the color, character, and passion of this remarkable land. IN ARABIAN NIGHTS captures Tahir Shah's unforgettable travels-both physical and spiritual-in his quest to attain the essence of a Morocco few outsiders have ever experienced. Tahir Shah was born in London into an Anglo-Afghan family with roots in the mountain stronghold of the Hindu Kush. He has lived throughout the world in Europe, Japan, India, East Africa, Latin America, and the United States, and is the author of ten highly praised books on travel and adventure. Since 2003, Tahir, his wife, and two children have lived in the Caliph's House, in Casablanca.

LIGHT OF THE MOON by Luanne Rice
First Serial, British, Translation, Audio, and Performance:
Jane Rotrosen Agency, 212-593-4330 (P);
212-935-6985 (F)

With all of the magic and heart for which she is renowned, New York Times bestselling author Luanne Rice transports readers to southern France to weave a timeless story of "le coup de foudre"-love at first sight-that only she could write. Sometimes to find your way home you first must travel far from it... An accomplished scholar of ancient and exotic cultures and art created millennia ago, Susannah Connolly has always been supremely confident in her ability to navigate any situation, anywhere in the world. But, now, awash in grief over her mother's death, spurred by her mother's dying wish, and fleeing the demands of an impatient suitor, Susannah is adrift. She has come from Connecticut to the fabled French Camargue seeking solace in its beauty and to learn more about a mysterious saint who is inextricably linked to her family's history. Amid the endless silvered marshland, she finds a lonely man and his wounded daughter, and discovers a part of herself she hadn't known she had lost. Their encounters are brief but electrifying, and unsettling. For old secrets long buried stir, and among the locals, irreparable animosities and betrayals could send Susannah home alone... Singular, lyrical, and utterly unforgettable, LIGHT OF THE MOON is Luanne Rice at her most spell-binding and marks a new milestone for this uniquely beloved writer. Luanne Rice is the author of twenty-four novels, most recently What Matters Most, The Edge of Winter, Sandcastles, Summer of Roses, Summer's Child, Silver Bells, Beach Girls, Dance With Me, The Perfect Summer, The Secret Hour, and True Blue. She lives in New York City and Old Lyme, Connecticut.

Aaron David Miller, an advisor in every White House administration since Ronald Reagan's, participated in every negotiation the U.S. brokered between the Arabs and Israelis from 1985 until 2003. Drawing on his extraordinary participation, considerable skills as an analyst and negotiator, and exclusive interviews with all the major participants in the peace process during his tenure, including 3 U.S. presidents, 8 secretaries of state, Israeli prime ministers and foreign ministers, and the leaders of Egypt, Syria, Jordan and the Palestinians, Miller delivers an incomparable account of America's decades-long commitment to Arab-Israeli peace. In THE MUCH TOO PROMISED LAND, Miller examines the issue of whether peace in the Middle East is a self-defeating illusion, or whether a practical resolution still can be found. He addresses the problem that American leaders have wrestled with for more than half a century: Why has the world's greatest superpower failed to broker, or impose, a solution in the Middle East? Without partisanship or finger-pointing, and in a book that tackles the complicated issues of culture, religion, history, and national security that have defined-and often derailed-a half century of diplomacy, Miller lucidly and even-handedly records triumphs and failures on both sides of the negotiation table, and addresses how we got where we are today. Here is an insider's view of the peace process from a place at the negotiating table, filled with unforgettable stories and colorful behind-the-scenes anecdotes. Here, too, are new interviews with all the surviving key players, including Presidents Carter, Ford, Bush forty-one, as well as Arab and Israeli leaders, who disclose the inner thoughts and strategies that motivated them. Most important of all, Miller asks whether Israel really is the "much too promised land?" His position as an advisor to presidents, secretaries of state, and national security advisors has given him a unique perspective from which to frame and examine the issue. The result is an honest, critical, and certain to be controversial narrative; an insightful, first-person account offering a brilliant new analysis of the problem of Arab-Israeli peace and how, against all odds, it still might be solved. Aaron David Miller is a public policy fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. For the last two decades, he has served as an advisor to six secretaries of state, helping to formulate U.S. policy on the Middle East and the Arab-Israeli peace process.

Could an adorable baby chimpanzee born in captivity and raised in a Manhattan apartment by an affluent family who treated him as one of their own bridge the gap between species and change the way we think about our relationship with animals? Here is the heartwarming and ultimately heartbreaking true story of an experiment undertaken with the best of human intentions and the chimpanzee chosen to see it through… The brainchild of Herbert S. Terrace, a psychologist at Columbia University, Project Nim was a groundbreaking study conceived to refute noted linguist Noam Chomsky's assertion that language was an exclusively human trait. But Dr. Terrace needed a family to raise Nim like a human child. Strikingly beautiful, confident, and the smartest student in Terrace's class, Stephanie LaFarge eagerly agreed to be Nim's surrogate mother. LaFarge took her new role seriously, loving and nurturing Nim as if he were her own flesh and blood-to the detriment of her own marriage. Nim's progress in learning sign language dazzled his family, and his legendary charm, mischievous sense of humor, and keen understanding of human nature won him admirers and press all over the world, including guest appearances on Sesame Street. But no one considered the long-term challenges of raising a chimp in the human world or what would happen when the academic funding ran out-and a full-grown Nim, sometimes aggressive and even dangerous, soon became too much for the LaFarges to handle. From the Upper West Side to his eventual incarceration at a medical lab, where his staunchest allies fought to save him from deadly medical tests, to the ranch where he spent his last years in a cage, this powerful book draws on interviews with the people who lived with Nim, dressed him, taught him, and loved him-and shows how, in the end, the humans he loved so much failed him. A wrenching yet uplifting page-turner, NIM CHIMPSKY is a powerful tale of love, sacrifice, and the limits-both human and animal-to bridging the gap between species. It is the portrayal of a remarkable chimpanzee whom you will never forget. Elizabeth Hess is a journalist and the author of Lost and Found: Dogs, Cats and Everyday Heroes at a Country Animal Shelter. She lives with her family in East Chatham, New York.

THE PURRFECT MURDER: A Mrs. Murphy Mystery
by Rita Mae Brown
First Serial, British, Translation, Audio, and Performance:
Wendy Weil Agency, Inc.,
212-685-0030 (P); 212-685-0765 (F)

In the 16th book in this New York Times bestselling series, the season changes to fall in small-town Crozet, Virginia, and Mary Minor "Harry" Haristeen enjoys a flourishing crop of grapes, while her beloved animal companions, sleuthing cats Mrs. Murphy and Pewter, and Tucker, her Welsh Corgi, bask in the crisp weather. Harry has become close friends with Tazio Chappers, a respected local architect with a rich, highly demanding clientele. But when a particularly difficult client winds up dead at a fundraiser-and Tazio is found standing over the body-Harry must quickly investigate to clear her friend's name. Rita Mae Brown's "Mrs. Murphy" mystery series has more than 3.2 million copies in print and a vast, loyal readership. Publishers Weekly called Puss n' Cahoots (Bantam 3/2007), the most recent novel in the series, "captivating" and went on to praise its "tight pacing, combined with intriguing local color, [which] make this mystery a blue-ribbon winner." Rita Mae Brown and Sneaky Pie Brown, a tiger cat rescued from the local ASPCA, live in Afton, Virginia, with many other rescued animals. Their website is www.ritamaebrown.com.

QUEEN OF DRAGONS by Shana Abe
First Serial, British, Translation, Audio, and Performance:
Jane Rotrosen Agency, 212-593-4330 (P);
212-935-6985 (F)

A stand-out talent in fantasy and romance, Shana Abe delivers her thrilling third novel in the acclaimed Drakon trilogy-following The Dream Thief and The Smoke Thief ("Shana Abe has a rare magic. I was completely captivated by this beautifully written novel." -Jane Feather). Hidden in the remote hills of England lives a powerful clan of shapeshifters who are the stuff of myth and legend. They are the drakon-supersensual creatures with the ability to turn from human to smoke to dragon. Now a dangerous new enemy threatens to destroy their world of magic and eroticism… For centuries, they thought themselves alone at Darkfrith, but the arrival of a stunning letter from the Carpathian mountains suggests the existence of a lost tribe of drakon. Drakon Lord Kimber of Chasen Manor, has no choice but to investigate this tribe, led by Princess Maricara. Soon, Kimber and Mari must stand together against the greatest enemy the drakon have ever faced-an enemy who may or may not be one of their own. But for two such very different drakon leaders will an alliance of body and soul mean their salvation, their extinction… or both? Shana Abe, a former model, lives in Denver, Colorado, where she is at work at her next novel for Bantam.

SEARCHING FOR PARADISE IN PARKER, PA
by Kris Radish
Translation and Performance:
Frances Goldin Literary Agency,
212-777-0047 (P); 212-228-1660 (F)

"A paean to womanhood, a celebration of friends, of family, and, last but hardly least, of female libido. Kris Radish creates characters that seek and then celebrate the discovery of a kind of women's innate power often hidden by fear." -Denver Post

A reading group favorite and the Book Sense-bestselling author of The Sunday List of Dreams ("Every page contains a warm fuzzy." -Publishers Weekly) makes her hardcover debut in the heart-tugging, tremendously witty story of one woman's poignant search for happiness… just beyond the front door of her own life. Addy Lipton is dying to give in to a wild desire she's been nurturing for years-to drive her '98 Toyota Celica through the closed garage door of the house she shares with her husband, Lucky, in Parker, PA. Fed up with Lucky and their boring, predictable, 28-year marriage, Addy suddenly feels Lucky understands her despair when he comes home with tickets to Costa Rica, hoping that the trip will save their failing marriage. But then Lucky ruptures a disc, cancelling their tropical retreat, and their adopted son, Mitchell, arrives home from college announcing his intention to drop out and seek his birth mother. With her sister's love and the support of Addy's abs-workout gal pals, the Sweat-Hers, Addy begins a crusade to revive her dreams-and she takes the women of Parker along for the ride. Soon the men realize they'll have to step up to the plate to keep their wives and lovers happy. And Addy will have to decide if the paradise she's creating in Parker is big enough for two.... Filled with small-town characters and big-time soul searching, this sparkling and inspirational tale will hit you where you live-and show you that just as happiness can get buried beneath the jumble of years, it can be rediscovered… if you look hard enough for it within your heart. Kris Radish is the bestselling author of four novels, The Elegant Gathering of White Snows, Dancing Naked at the Edge of Dawn, Annie Freeman's Fabulous Traveling Funeral, and The Sunday List of Dreams. She lives in Wisconsin, where she writes two nationally syndicated columns each week and is at work on her sixth novel, The Poetry of Emma's Salvation, which Bantam will publish in 2009.

A tour de force of the imagination and a brilliant tale of rebellion, THUNDERER heralds the arrival of a gifted fantasy writer who has created a tale as wondrous and captivating as the world in which it is set. In this breathtaking debut novel by Felix Gilman, one man embarks on a thrilling and treacherous quest for his people's lost god. Arjun arrives in Ararat just as a magnificent winged creature swoops and sails over the city. For it is the day of the return of that long-awaited, unpredictable, mystical creature: The Great Bird. But does it come for good or ill? For one inhabitant, The Bird sparks a long dormant idea: to map the mapless city, and liberate its masses through the power of knowledge. As the creature soars across the land, shifting topography, changing the course of the river, and redrawing the territories of the city's avian life, crowds cheer and guns salute. Then The Bird's power is trapped within the hull of a floating warship called "Thunderer," an astounding and unprecedented weapon. The ship is transformed into a living temple to The Bird, a gift to be used, allegedly, in the interests of all of Ararat. Hurtled into this convulsing world is Arjun, an innocent who will unwittingly unleash a dark power beyond his imagining-and become entangled in a dangerous underground movement that will forever transform Ararat. As havoc overtakes the streets, Arjun dares to test the city's moving boundaries. For in a place teeming with divinities, he has come to search among them, not to hide. Gilman's richly textured story adds a new dimension to the ever popular urban fantasy genre spearheaded by China Mieville, Alan Campbell, and Naomi Novik. Felix Gilman lives in New York City. THUNDERER is his first novel. Look for the sequel coming from Bantam in 2009.

Hailed by the Washington Post as "intelligent, witty, and complex," New York Times bestselling author Laurie King gives us a triumphant new novel of electrifying psychological suspense-her first stand-alone historical novel. Featuring a unique hero and vividly set in a Great Britain trapped between two devastating world wars, TOUCHSTONE is Laurie King at the top of her game. With a glance, he can read other people's true feelings. With a touch, uncover their darkest secrets. He can sense if people are telling the truth; and their lies leave him in blinding agony. His unwanted talent has driven him to the edge of madness and to a remote cottage in Cornwall where he lives in virtual seclusion. American FBI agent Harris Stuyvesant, one of J. Edgar Hoover's best and brightest, has come to bring Bennett Grey out of seclusion. Once a war hero, Grey is about to become England's most valuable weapon in a race to stop a terrorist plot set to rip the world apart. In the aftermath of the Great War, with the democracies on both sides of the Atlantic threatened from within by agitators and anarchists, Grey's talent may hold the key to defusing the enemy's next explosive move. Agent Stuyvesant has been trained to pose and dissemble, and now, with Grey's help, he will infiltrate a world where the rich and radicalized exist in a volatile mix of ambition, wealth, and sexual desire epitomized by two alluring and dangerous women. Stuyvesant has only one weapon to stop the inevitable countdown to a deadly plot… the most unpredictable one in his arsenal-Grey: the touchstone. A novel of ferocious suspense and masterful pacing, TOUCHSTONE is a riveting tour-de-force from an award-winning writer of historical suspense. King garnered outstanding reviews and a Barry nomination for Keeping Watch and her last hardcover, The Art of Detection, hit the New York Times extended list, San Francisco Chronicle, IMBA and Book Sense bestsellers lists. King's Kate Martinelli series has won both the Edgar and Creasey Awards. She lives in northern California, where she is at work on her next Mary Russell novel, which Bantam will publish in 2009.

Sarah Ash's acclaimed trilogy, The Tears of Artamon-"Lovers of big, complex fantasy sagas (think Robert Jordan or George R.R. Martin) will be well pleased," praised Publishers Weekly in a starred review-is a stunning blend of sorcery and intrigue, politics and breathtaking imagery. Now, this gifted storyteller returns to the realm of the Quadrant in a new, two-book series, with a siege between kingdoms, and a battle between heretics and believers-each with their own truths, their own lies, and their own soul-shattering discoveries waiting to revealed. The kingdom of Francia has purged its magi. But when its enemies strike a blow that only magic could cause, it is clear that one magus remains. He has violated the Shrine at Ondehessar, unleashing the spirit of The Eternal Singer, Azilia, the patron saint of music. Now, the stolen power of a demi-goddess, bound into a handful of colored crystals and a child's book of stories will change everything… When young Guerrier rescues an orphaned street waif, little does he know that she is the daughter of a magus who met his end on their pyres-or that she is guarded by an aethyric spirit-and driven to find the traitor who condemned her father to flames. With the gift of song infused within her, the child's voice will bring her before the most powerful heads of state. And she will craft herself into a weapon… aimed at the heart of the man she despises. A timeless tale of adventure, battle, and beauty, this dazzling story spans the realm of the human and the immortal, the schemes of the power hungry, the dreams of lovers and the resurrection of the fallen in one magnificent, epic fantasy. Sarah Ash is the author of six fantasy novels: Children of the Serpent Gate, Lord of Snow and Shadows, Prisoner of the Iron Tower, Moths to a Flame, Songspinners, and The Lost Child. She also runs the library in a local primary school. Ash lives in Beckenham, Kent, where she is at work on her next novel for Bantam.

If you never knew that avocados can improve cholesterol, summer squash can ease the pain of arthritis, and walnuts may help fight certain cancers, this is your chance to learn. From top nutritionist David Grotto, here are more than one hundred easy, delicious, science-backed answers to the question: What should I eat? In working with thousands of clients over many years and searching for the most nutritious and tasty foods, nutritionist and spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association David Grotto made a simple but profound discovery: telling people what they couldn't eat was far less effective than telling them what they could. So began his list of power foods, rich in nutrients, loaded with disease fighting antioxidants and important omega fats-and surprisingly more familiar than you might expect. Selected from hundreds of contenders, the 101 foods recommended in this fascinating and informative book are likely to include many of your favorites. For each one, Grotto includes:

• a description and history of the food's origin and use
• therapeutic benefits, along with relevant research
• practical tips for use and preparation plus a delicious recipe designed by a leading chef or nutritionist …and so much more.

More than a reference book, 101 FOODS THAT COULD SAVE OF YOUR LIFE will make a significant, not to mention appetizing, impact on your health by guiding you to simply and gradually add these foods to your diet. Best of all, you will awaken your taste buds, lose excess weight, and feel the healing begin… David Grotto, RD, LDN, CLL, is the president and founder of Nutrition Housecall, LLC, a nutrition consulting firm that offers personalized at-home and group dietary guidance. Formerly the director of nutrition education at the Block Center for Integrative Cancer Care in Evanston, Illinois, he continues his private practice while serving as national media spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association, in which capacity he has made numerous media appearances and has hosted radio programs. He lives in Elmhurst, Illinois; this is his first book.

"[C]ompelling, honest, and frighteningly real...one of my favorite books of the year" --Jane Green

In this provocative novel of modern relationships-an instant top-ten bestseller in the UK-Nicholas Lyon is the perfect husband-a divorce attorney who dotes on his family. Sara Kaplan is the perfect seductress-a vivacious young lawyer unburdened by sexual scruples. And Malinche Lyon is the perfect dupe-a forty-ish, still-beautiful cookbook writer and mother to three darling daughters. All are about to join…The Adultery Club. Suddenly Nicholas-a man totally in love with his wife-is fantasizing about Sara. Sara is toying with Nick. And Malinche is facing temptations of her own. What begins as instant animal attraction is spinning wildly out of control, turning lives upside down-and hearts inside out. Now, one heretofore happily married man and two very different women are about to discover the difference between fulfilling your wildest desires-and getting your just desserts… Wickedly insightful and sexy, THE ADULTERY CLUB is sure to appeal to fans of Lolly Winston's Happiness Sold Separately, as well as the bestselling novels of Elizabeth Buchan and Meg Wolitzer. Tess Stimson is a journalist who lives in Florida with her family. She is currently at work on her next novel, The Infidelity Chain, which we'll publish in 2009.

BIRMINGHAM, 35 MILES by James Braziel
First Serial and Performance:
Queen of Angels Media, 310-869-9264

COSMIC LOVE: Secrets of the Astrology of Intimacy Revealed
by Jan Spiller
Performance: Author c/o Bantam Dell Publishing Group, 212-782-9800 (F)

World-renowned astrology expert and author of Astrology for the Soul (16 printings), Jan Spiller brings us COSMIC LOVE, her new breakthrough book that uses the science of the heavens to give you down-to-earth relationshship advice-and achieve complete intimacy with your partner. In this insightful and powerful guide, Jan demonstrates that astrology is a practical science that leads to predictable results in intimacy in love. First, Jan helps you establish the location of your North Node, which is the point in your chart where the orbits of the earth, moon, and sun intersect. With this crucial information in hand, she guides you on how to bring out the best in others, what gifts you and your partner can give to one another (based on your partner's North Node), and how to redirect damaging behavior into positive energy. And Jan's remarkably accurate advice is not isolated to romantic love: this book will help you in all of your loving relationships, with siblings, parents, and friends. Jan Spiller is a worldwide leader in astrology. She teaches regularly at New Age and astrology conferences and is the author of two Bantam books: New Moon Astrology and Astrology for the Soul, both of which will be reissued in Spring 2008. She lives in New York and South Carolina.

Part memoir of a passionate gardener, part master class in organic gardening, part meditation on the natural world, GARDENING AT THE DRAGON'S GATE stands squarely in the tradition of Thoreau's Walden, Beston's The Outermost House, and the work of Barry Lopez and Annie Dillard. For more than thirty years, Wendy Johnson has been meditating and gardening at the Green Gulch Farm and Green Dragon Zen Temple in northern California, where the fields curve like an enormous green dragon between the hills and the ocean. Out of her lifetime of experience has emerged this extraordinary celebration of inner and outer growth, a meditation on how the garden cultivates the gardener as she double-digs beds, heaps up compost, plants flowers and fruit trees, and harvests bushels of organic vegetables. Johnson is a hands-on, how-to gardener, and her book is filled with practical knowledge and fascinating garden lore. But she is also a lover of the wild and weedy, and she evokes these untamable forces in exquisite prose that stands in the great tradition of American nature writing. This is a big book-in size, in conception, in richness of content-and it is illustrated with fine duotone drawings throughout by award-winning artist and printmaker Davis TeSelle. Wendy Johnson is one of the founders of the organic Farm and Garden Program at Green Gulch Farm and Green Dragon Zen Temple in Marin County, where she lived with her family from 1975 to 2000. She has been teaching gardening and environmental education since the early 1980s, helping to establish many garden programs in public schools, local communities, and hospice centers throughout the Bay Area. In 2000 Wendy and her husband, Peter Rudnick, received the annual Sustainable Agriculture Award from the National Ecological Farming Association. Since 1995 she has written a quarterly column, "On Gardening," for Tricycle Magazine:The Buddhist Review. She was honored in The Best Science and Nature Writing 2000, published by Houghton Mifflin. Wendy is a mentor and advisor to the Edible Schoolyard program of the Chez Panisse Foundation, a project which she has been involved with since its inception in 1995. This is her first book. Davis TeSelle holds an M.F.A. in printmaking from the San Francisco Art Institute and received the 2003 James D. Phelan Award for printmaking in California. He teaches nature drawing at the Environmental Program at the University of Vermont and maintains a printmaking studio in Burlington, Vermont.

As he proved in his debut novel The Patron Saint of Plagues, Barth Anderson is a master at combining mainstream storytelling with subtle fantasy. The San Diego Union-Tribune calls The Patron Saint of Plagues, "a cinematic, futuristic techno-thriller with smarts and heart... this cleverly managed skein of cliffhangers and revelations begs to be filmed." Salon.com claims, "Anderson has some serious writing chops, and he delivers a page turner that is at once a medical thriller, cyberpunk romp and provocative tease... a novel about race and class, science and faith." Now, in THE MAGICIAN AND THE FOOL, Anderson is back with a novel that follows the intertwined paths of a down-and-out former professor and a homeless man known as "The Boy King," as they pursue a mystical treasure many are willing to sacrifice fortunes and lives for: the earliest known tarot deck. Years ago, fallen scholar Jeremiah Rosemont left the bitter rivalries of academia. Now he lives a simple nomadic existence in South America, far from the arguments that once defined his life. But he can't outrun his past… or the dangerous truth that lies within his abandoned studies. Following an enigmatic summons to Rome, Rosemont finds himself at the center of a mystery that dates back to the fall of Troy. As Rosemont delves into the tarot's unsettling secret origins, his own fate is inexorably intertwined with that of the Boy King, a man with an unspeakable gift… and a mysterious past of his own. For these two men-and the demons, dupes, and power seekers drawn to them-the cards will reveal everything, even the shattering, unseen truths of human life itself… Barth Anderson lives in Minnesota. His short stories have appeared in numerous journals and anthologies, including On Spec, Asimov's, Mojo Conjure Stories, and Polyphony 3. He is the winner of the Spectrum Award for Best Short Fiction in 2004.

"I have enjoyed it like a compulsive reader, from the first to the last line." -Arturo Pérez-Reverte, author of The Seville Communion

Critically acclaimed in Spain, and now available for the first time in English, this tender, satirical novel is soon to be a major motion picture directed by Michael Radford ("Il Postino"). Set in a time and place where it is difficult to distinguish man from beast, THE MULE vividly captures the intrinsic absurdity of war-and the joys of true friendship. Juan Castro Pérez is a muleteer caught up in the brutal Spanish Civil War. Never far from his closest companion-a stray mule named Valentina that he is determined to keep for himself after the war-Juan will lie, cheat, and steal to protect Valentina on his journey home. During his extraordinary odyssey through the conflict, he unwittingly "fights" for both sides-and becomes a reluctant and unlikely hero of the people, exploited by opportunistic journalists desperate to convince the Spanish public that the war is under control, when it is anything but… Juan Eslava Galán is the author of more than fifty books, and winner of the Planeta Award for En Busca del Unicornio (Looking for the Unicorn). You can visit his website at www.juaneslavagalan.com. A translator of over a half-dozen book-length works of literature, history, and pedagogy, Lisa Dillman is best known for her translation of Gioconda Belli's The Scroll of Seduction. She is a professor in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at Emory University in Atlanta. She lives in Decatur, Georgia.

In the tradition of Caleb Carr's The Alienist and Matthew Pearl's The Dante Club, Lawrence Goldstone's mesmerizing forensic thriller thrusts us into the operating rooms, drawing rooms, and back alleys of 1889 Philadelphia, where a doctor grapples with the principles of scientific process to track a daring killer. In the morgue of a Philadelphia hospital, physicians uncover the corpse of a beautiful young woman. What they see takes their breath away. Within days, one doctor, Ephraim Carroll, strongly suspects that he knows the woman's identity… and the horrifying events that led to her death. But in this richly atmospheric debut novel-an ingenious blend of history, suspense and early forensic science-the most compelling chapter is yet to come as the young doctor is plunged into a maze of murder, secrets, and unimaginable crimes. Peopled with vibrant, real-life characters like William Osler, hailed as the Father of Modern Medicine; famed surgeon William Stewart Halsted, who performed the first emergency blood transfusion; and the painter Thomas Eakins, THE ANATOMY OF DECEPTION brings to life a little-known and exciting turning-point in American medical history, when ignorant butchery gave way to intelligent surgery, as it tells the story of a young doctor forced to confront an agonizing moral choice between exposing a killer and undoing a wrong, or, quite possibly, protecting the future of medicine itself. Lawrence Goldstone, with his wife Nancy, is the author of two critically acclaimed narrative histories of medicine and anatomy. He has written for the Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, and Miami Herald. He lives in Westport, Connecticut, where he is at work on his next novel of historical suspense, which Delacorte will publish in 2009.

"Ron Leshem has succeeded in creating an entire world, simply through language." -David Grossman, author of The Yellow Wind

Ron Leshem makes his American debut with BEAUFORT. A wrenching novel set at the time of Israel's occupation of Lebanon, it is the winner of Israel's top literary prize, and a Berlin International Film Festival award-winning movie. Beaufort, in southern Lebanon, is a world of its own, a Crusader fort in the heart of enemy territory, in a deadly no-man's zone of land mines and terrorists. Here young Israeli soldiers charged with protecting Israel's borders live in an isolated state of heightened alert, with its unique rules and its own language. Written as the diary of Liraz Liberti, the twenty-one-year-old head of a thirteen-man commando team stationed at Beaufort during the last winter of Israeli occupation, this brilliant coming-of-age novel addresses the horrors and absurdities of war head-on, as seen through the eyes of the young men who must fight it. "A spellbinding, gripping book that leaves you no choice but to feel that claustrophobic military outpost drenched in fear right inside your belly."(Israeli Army Radio). Ron Leshem is deputy director in charge of programming at Channel Two, Israel's main commercial television network. BEAUFORT won the Sapir Prize-Israel's top literary award-in 2006. The film version of BEAUFORT, which Leshem co-authored with director Joseph Cedar, won the Berlin International Film Festival's Silver Bear for Best Director. Leshem lives in Tel Aviv and is at work on his second novel.

By the time he got to Iraq, Chris Hunter was one of the most experienced counter-bomb operators in the British armed forces, having served in bomb disposal operations in the Balkans, East Africa, Northern Ireland, Columbia, and Afghanistan. But Iraq is different. It is a place where terrorists and soldiers rapidly climb a deadly learning curve. New terrorist bomb devices lead new allied disposal tactics in ever escalating counter-measures between combatants, capturing both innocent and killer in the carnage. Written with an immediacy found in the best of war reportage, EIGHT LIVES DOWN is the unfiltered, inside story of deadly, high pressure, high stakes counter IED operations in Iraq. As Hunter's unit became more skilled at disabling bombs, the bombers became more skilled and determined-until Hunter ended up with a price on his life and bombs designed just for him by both Sunni and Shia terrorists. From a horrifying ambush in the heart of Shia-dominated Basra to the chilling interrogation of a captured bomber, Hunter guides us through his service in Iraq and introduces us to the rare men of his unit. A first-of-its-kind account, EIGHT LIVES DOWN is an eloquent, immediate and heart-breaking chronicle of a man clinging to his sanity, his marriage, and his duty to succeed in a war unlike any in history. Filled with brave characters, piercing descriptions of the war zone, and an unusual emotional potency, EIGHT LIVES DOWN is a revealing portrait of the world's most dangerous job in the world's most dangerous place. Chris Hunter is currently working as an intelligence officer on the Defense Intelligence Staff in Whitehall and is chairman of the Technical Committee of the Institute of Explosives Engineers. He works regularly with the CIA, DIA, and US Special Forces. He was awarded the Queen's Gallantry Medal for his actions during his tour in Iraq. He lives with his wife and two daughters in England.

"Brilliantly imagined…Iggulden weaves a spellbinding story of an exotic and 'unforgiving land' and the enigmatic young man--charismatic, a brilliant tactician and capable 'of utter ruthlessness' who sets out to tame it. This is historical fiction of the first order." -Publishers Weekly (starred review) on Genghis: Birth of an Empire (Delacorte May 2007)

Conn Iggulden's novels are grand historical tales of conquest and vengeance, cruelty, cunning, and greatness. Now, the acclaimed author of Genghis delivers a masterful new novel of the Mongol conqueror, as the mighty warrior and fearsome leader Genghis Kahn embarks on a daring quest to conquer the mighty Chin empire. Laying siege to fortress after fortress, Genghis will crush each enemy in a different way, overcoming moats, barriers, deceptions and superior firepower-until his army faces the ultimate test of all… In the city of Yenking-the site of modern-day Beijing-the Chin will make their final stand, setting a trap for the Mongol raiders, confident behind their towering walls. But Genghis will strike with an audacity never imagined, laying siege to a city whose starving populace will stand in awe-then bow under the might of history's most brilliant and brutal conqueror…. Iggulden brings this epic story to life with vivid characters, daring battle scenes, and remarkable historical detail. Conn Iggulden is the author of four novels about Julius Caesar, Emperor: The Gates of Rome, Emperor: The Death of Kings, Emperor: The Field of Swords, and Emperor: The Gods of War, all of which are available in paperback from Dell. He lives with his wife and two children in Hertfordshire, England.

The award-winning author who crafts "psychological suspense of the highest order" (Publishers Weekly), and who critics compare to Ruth Rendell, Minette Walters, and P.D James, returns with THE NIGHT FOLLOWING, a haunting Hitchcockian exploration of the intersection of two lives following a tragic hit-and-run death. It took only an instant: Suddenly, a woman was dead and two marriages irrevocably shattered. And as the dead woman's grief-stricken husband slides into darkness and decline, a silent figure stands in the shadows of his garden, waiting to approach him. A story of loss, lies, and wrongdoing, astonishingly complex and extravagantly inventive, THE NIGHT FOLLOWING is also a love story and the extraordinarily moving story of a killer's journey from the shadows into the light. It confirms the masterful talent of a writer who is both tender and unflinching in her examination of human frailty-and the shattering repercussions of deception. Morag Joss is the author of Half Broken Things, which won the CWA Silver Dagger Award, Puccini's Ghost, and three mystery novels set in Bath.

New York Times bestselling author Mary Balogh presents the final installment in her dazzling "Simply" series. In Simply Magic, Simply Love, and Simply Unforgettable, Mary Balogh has woven irresistibly enthralling tales of four close friends, teachers at the genteel Miss Martin's School for Girls in Regency England. In SIMPLY PERFECT, Balogh turns her attention to the owner and headmistress of the school, Miss Claudia Martin herself. Claudia resigned herself to a life without love long ago. But when handsome, sensual Joseph, the Marquess of Attingsborough, appears in her life, she is unable to resist his advances. She knows she has no place in his world of money and propriety. But Joseph is determined to make Claudia his at any cost. Even if it means defying convention and breaking every rule for a love that is everything he has ever wanted-a love that is perfection itself… With Mary's trademark sparkling wit, brilliant dialogue, and ravishing romance, this is the SIMPLY PERFECT conclusion to a delightfully mesmerizing series. Mary Balogh is the author of the acclaimed "Slightly" novels: Slightly Married, Slightly Wicked, Slightly Scandalous, Slightly Tempted, Slightly Sinful, and Slightly Dangerous, as well as the romances No Man's Mistress, More than a Mistress, and One Night for Love. She is currently at work on a new Regency series for Delacorte.

From an exciting new voice in fiction comes a smart, sexy, hilarious novel that exposes what really goes on in the kitchens and coveted corner booths of Manhattan's hottest celebrity restaurants. Erin Edwards never saw it coming. Downsized from her high-level marketing job, Erin panics as her career goes into freefall. Why else would the savvy twenty-nine-year-old, who once thought nothing of switching tables ("no one likes to sit by the kitchen"), take a job as a… waitress? Life at exclusive Roulette Restaurant is even worse than she imagined-from the deranged celebrity chef to the terrifying food critic who could make or break them… But things look up when she waits on Daniel Fratelli, a gorgeous TV news producer who seems totally out of her league. And just as her restaurant career seems almost on track, a series of disastrous missteps sends her right back to the bottom of the food chain. That's when Erin comes up with an idea that could take her life in a whole new direction. Suddenly, she's pursued by everyone from major New York power brokers to the man of her dreams. And that's just the first course… TURNING TABLES is a delicious debut! Rose and Heather MacDowell are identical twin sisters who've waited tables in some of the best (and worst!) of New York's fashionable dining establishments. Today they live in California with their husbands, dine out often, and are big tippers. And they are at work on their next novel, to be published by Delacorte.