You have to hand it to Ali Gunn. A 30,000-word proposal that top editors told us was dreadful still managed to generate a hell of a lot of buzz. And now Ego and its decidedly limited audience base and potentially tepid look at an industry that few within, let alone all those outside, really want to read about again has found a home with St. Martin’s Jennifer Weis. Deborah Schneider handled North American rights, according to PW Daily, and Gunn is allegedly close to a UK deal. When it tanks, don’t say we didn’t warn you; and if it doesn’t, well…nah.

Be careful what you wish for. That’s the line in my head after an early morning conversation with a friend musing about whether someone would be snapping up fallen NASA astronaut Lisa Marie Nowak to a book deal for her recent 1000-mile trek to attempt kidnapping and murder upon her perceived rival for a fellow astronaut’s affections. “Wanna bet the story will end up as a St. Martin’s paperback with Jane Dystel doing the deal?” I quipped. “Charlie Spicer is prepping the deal memo as we speak,” was the instant reply.

And lo, that’s exactly what happened, according to a deal just posted on Publishers Marketplace this afternoon. Dystel’s the agent, Spicer’s the editor, and the author will be Diane Fanning, whose previous true crime efforts have garnered her an Edgar Award nomination. It goes without saying the book sold on proposal – or maybe a one-page sheet, if that…

After a very short stint with Touchstone/Fireside – where he acquired undercover FBI agent “Jack Falcone‘s” INSIDE MAN earlier this month – former St. Martin’s editor Ben Sevier is moving to Dutton as a Senior Editor effective January 30. “Ben is generally regarded as one of the best crime fiction and thriller editors in our business,” said Dutton editor-in-chief Trena Keating in an announcement sent out this morning. “I am very pleased to welcome him to Dutton and introduce him to our bestselling thriller writers, including Harlan Coben and Raymond Khoury, who are among the finest thriller writers anywhere.” Sevier added that “quite simply this is my dream job–I am thrilled with the opportunity to work with their elite list of talented thriller writers.”

UPDATE: I asked Sevier this afternoon about the circumstances of his move to Dutton. “I loved my time at Touchstone working with the terrific team here, and leaving is not something I could have imagined even a couple of weeks ago,” he said by email. “But when Dutton called it was with an offer and an opportunity I just couldn’t pass up, and I couldn’t be more excited to start over there next week.”