Promised Land

Since they first teamed up, in Water Witch, Willis and Felice have been a solidly successful pair known for smoothly mixing SF adventure with humor and light romance. Their latest collaboration follows young Delanna Milliflores back home to the seemingly desolate plains of the planet Keramos to settle her mother's estate. Delanna's plans to sell the family farm as quickly as possible and return to ""civilization"" are stymied by the complex inheritance laws on Keramos. According to rules originally designed to protect colonists from land speculators, Delanna must fulfill some terms before she can sell the run-down farm: she must live on the property for a year-as the wife of Sonny Tanner, an old acquaintance from an adjoining farm whom she hasn't seen since they were children. Delanna accepts the arrangement grudgingly, but soon enough she's captivated by the challenges of settling the world her mother hated. Lively characters, a well-defined setting and sure-handed storytelling add up to a novel that's bound to capture readers' imaginations. (Feb.) FYI: Willis has won numerous Nebula Awards, including one for Best Novel, for Doomsday Book, in 1992.