Books worth waiting for....

From Publishers Lunch Weekly:

FICTION/DEBUT:

Russell Whitfield's action-packed Ancient Roman debut GLADIATRIX, to St. Martin's, by Myrmidon Books (NA).Author of the story collection Now You See It Bathsheba Monk's first novel, NUDE WALKER, about the entangled lives of a town's returning National Guard Unit, and centered around the murder of the unit's only Arab soldier and the female sergeant who's carrying his baby, again to Sarah Crichton at Sarah Crichton Books, by David Kuhn at Kuhn Projects (NA).billy@kuhnprojects.com

Daphne Uviller's SUPERGIRL, in which an overly-educated 27-year-old discovers that all the degrees in the world are no help when she becomes the superintendent of a Greenwich Village building whose former super was taken away in handcuffs, to Kate Miciak at Bantam Dell, with Molly Boyle editing, in a nice deal, for two books, by Tracy Brown at Tracy Brown Literary Agency (world).tracy@brownlit.com

Jason Buhrmester's BLACK DOGS, the story of four young Maryland hoodlums who pull off one of the greatest rock 'n' roll swindles -- taking over $200,000 in cash from the safe deposit box of the members of Led Zeppelin at the Drake Hotel as they finish their US tour, to Carrie Thornton at Three Rivers Press, in a nice deal, for publication in Spring 2009, by James Fitzgerald at the James Fitzgerald Agency (NA).

THRILLER:

Mark Olsen's MAGI, THE MAGI CODEX, SOLO SANCTION, GATES OF HELL, GATES OF HEAVEN, starting with starting with a mystical and high octane retelling of the three Magi saga, to Amanda Bostic at Thomas Nelson, in a good deal, in a five-book deal, for publication starting in January 2009, by Lee Hough at Alive Communications (World).

GENERAL/OTHER:

Roger Alan Skipper's THE BAPTISM OF BILLY BEAN, which follows a recalcitrant man who, after witnessing what he thinks is the murder of a neighbor, must re-establish his credibility with the police, the town, and most of all his family, bringing about dangers and a chance for reconciliation that he long ago thought he'd never see again, to Richard Nash at Counterpoint, by Farley Chase at the Waxman Literary Agency (NA).

NON-FICTION/COOKING:

Jonathan Waxman's BARBUTO COOKBOOK, a compilation of 120 fun, spontaneous, earthy, rustic and authentic recipes that capture the Barbuto philosophy, to Sydny Miner at Simon & Schuster, by Jane Dystel at Dystel & Goderich Literary Management (NA).

[Note: Dystel has excellent taste in reading material...]

HISTORY/POLITICS/CURRENT AFFAIRS:

Marine veteran, Parade columnist and NYT bestselling author James Brady's untitled biography of Marine legend John Basilone -- who received the Medal of Honor for his heroics on Guadalcanal and the Navy Cross posthumously for his bravery on Iwo Jima -- to be published at the same time as the airing of HBO's "The Pacific," the follow up to "Band of Brothers," which will also tell Basilone's story, to Stephen Power at Wiley, by Jack Scovil at Scovil Chichak Galen Literary Agency.NYT bestselling popular historian

Charles Cerami's MR. JEFFERSON GOES TO PARIS, relating how Thomas Jefferson's five glorious years in Paris shaped him and his presidency, to Hana Lane at Wiley, by Bob Silverstein at Quicksilver Books (World). quickbooks@optonline.net

HUMOR:

I Can Has Cheezburger's PROFESSOR HAPPY CAT'S GUIDE TO THE LOLCATS, featuring old and new images from their blog: www.icanhascheezburger.com, to Patrick Mulligan at Gotham, in a good deal, for publication in Fall 2008, by Kate McKean at the Howard Morhaim Literary Agency (NA).kmckean@morhaimliterary.com

THE DEVIOUS BOOK FOR CATS: A Parody By Fluffy & Bonkers, by the team who wrote THE DANGEROUS BOOK FOR DOGS, a how-to for cats by cats with helpful information like "Getting Even When You're Declawed," "The Laws of Petting," "Undermining Allergy Sufferers," and "Famous Cats of the Funny Pages," again to Bruce Tracy for Villard, for publication in October 2008, by Victoria Skurnick at Levine Greenberg Literary Agency (NA).

Colors Insulting to Nature author Cintra Wilson's CALIGULA FOR PRESIDENT: Better American Living Through Tyranny, describing how America will finally be able to achieve the guilt-free looting of natural resources for the sake of immediate gratification; declare war on abstract concepts (drugs, terror, the ocean) for the sake of imperial expansion; and utilize propaganda, psychological operations, and other prisoner-of-war techniques to create a sense of learned helplessness in the populace to gain their utterly terrified trust and obedience -- and leave them begging for more, to Colin Dickerman at Bloomsbury, by Bill Clegg at William Morris Agency.

MEMOIR:

Front man and lead singer/songwriter of Alabama Randy Owen's MY HOME'S IN ALABAMA: A Spiritual Memoir, an inspirational story about how a poor country boy became a country music hero to millions of fans (with 42 No. 1 singles and more than 73 million records sold worldwide), promising new material about the Alabama story, Randy's close relationship with his father, his troubled teen years, and how his down-home country roots kept him grounded, to Roger Freet at Harper One, by Mel Berger at William Morris Agency.

2007 Whiting Writers' Award winner Paul Guest's ONE MORE THEORY ABOUT HAPPINESS, about the bicycle accident that left him paralyzed at age twelve -- and how the powerful call of poetry took hold of this young writer's soul and transformed him, to Dan Halpern and Emily Takoudes at Ecco, for publication in Winter 2010, plus a poetry collection, My Index of Slightly Horrifying Knowledge, by Betsy Lerner at Dunow, Carlson & Lerner (NA).

SPORTS:

TV Writer and ESPN.com columnist Bob Smiley's TAILING TIGER: 1,152 Holes Following the World's Greatest Athlete, to David Hirshey at Harper, at auction, by Shawn Coyne at Endeavor.

Wrap...