The post-Thanksgiving vacation update

I'll be back at work precisely ten hours from now, not that I'm counting, after six days off. Here are some deals and news from Publishers Marketplace and elsewhere.

Joyce Lebra's THE SCENT OF SAKE, about a 19th century Japanese woman who overcomes tremendous obstacles to build a sake empire and a family dynasty at a time when women were forbidden to do business, to Carrie Feron at William Morrow, at auction, by Natasha Kern at Natasha Kern Literary Agency (World).

Bestselling UK nonfiction author Titania Hardie's debut novel THE ROSE LABYRINTH, which centers on a mystery that begins in 17th century England with Elizabeth I's royal astrologer and unravels to present-day London, where a beautiful, brilliant young woman, still recovering from a heart transplant, embarks on a dangerous adventure in search of the secrets behind the Rose Labyrinth, to Judith Curr at Atria, with Sarah Branham editing, in a significant deal, by Robin Straus at Robin Straus Agency, on behalf of Quadrille Publishing and Andrew Nurnberg Associates (NA).

Read more about Michelle Moran's deal with Crown's Allison McCabe for her upcoming novel Cleopatra's Daughter on her website. (Congrats!)

The subject of Katie Hickman's The Aviary Gate (Bloomsbury USA, May 2008) sounds fascinating - take a look at the catalog description - but here we have Sir Frank Dicksee's Leila gracing the cover, again. You can find an image on the Scandalous Women blog. Gorgeous painting, yes, but we've already seen it on three other novels about women in the harem. Here's a reminder in case you don't remember which ones.

The Salt Lake Tribune reviews Ken Follett's World Without End. I spent part of the holiday weekend reading The Pillars of the Earth, mainly because I felt I ought to, and this seemed like a good time. I don't intend to watch Oprah talk about it, though.