The worlds of Christian and mainstream commercial fiction all too seldom meet. The work of Jan Karon is a noted exception, and now Karon's Viking editor, Carolyn Carlson, has signed a deal that is likely to mark a further erosion of the borders. After a spirited auction, she secured a long-term, multibook deal for a series of historical novels about Jerusalem, to be written by husband and wife team Brock and Bodie Th ne, who wrote the bestselling Zion Covenant and Zion Chronicles series. The new one is to be called The Zion Legacy and it will cover 3000 years of the city's history through some of its notable characters, with the first volume to appear in spring 2000. Their agent, Rick Christian of the Colorado Springs agency Alive Communications, said that six publishers, both Christian and secular, participated in the bidding, and also noted the Karon precedent for the Th nes' crossover possibilities. "Viking proved with Karon it could get the job done," he said.

THE WHITE HOUSE FRONT
Its occupants, past and present, continue to exercise a powerful hold on publishers' imaginations, and two books recently signed both involve writers associated with Vanity Fair. Contributing editor and bestselling author Carl Bernstein has signed with Jonathan Segal at Knopf to write a big book about First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, in a deal orchestrated by Owen Laster at William Morris that gives the house world rights. Jonathan Segal, who will edit the book, said Bernstein approached a number of publishers, including Knopf's Sonny Mehta, an old friend, who brought Segal in on the conversation, and they decided to make an offer. There is no timetable for delivery. "This won't be any kind of instant book," said Segal. "Hillary's life is evolving all the time, and there's no rush to get it out."

Bernstein told PW he was fascinated by Mrs. Clinton as "the most famous woman in the country, who is yet deeply private in the way she d s the business of the First Lady. There's more we don't know about her than we do -- though I don't intend to try to find it out in an intrusive manner." He declined comment on the size of the deal, which has been reported as a seven-figure one.

In the other deal, Warner's new publisher, Jamie Raab, signed the magazine's longtime special correspondent, Bob Colacello, to do an in-depth study of the Reagans' marriage, tentatively titled Ronnie and Nancy. Colacello originally wrote a two-part article on the pair for VF last summer, and Raab said she found it "so rich and fascinating I really thought it should be told at book length. Bob wasn't sure at first, but then he thought about all the material he hadn't been able to use, and some of the sources still untapped, and agreed." A deal was worked out with the author's agent, Anne Sibbald at Janklow &Nesbit, and publication is set for two years from now. The book will cover the Reagans' entire relationship, from early Hollywood days to the former president's current struggles with Alzheimer's disease. "Bob's interests embrace both society and politics, and this book will bring the two together," Sibbald said.

FROM THE DEPTHS
Narrative nonfiction about disaster springing from extreme risk remains a hot category, which is why HarperCollins's Trena Keating pre-empted a new book about deep-sea diving, securing world rights (except movie) for what agent Andrew Stuart of Literary Group International called a high six figures. The book, to be called The Last Dive, by experienced diver and diving magazine editor Bernie Chowdhury, is set for publication in spring 2000. It tells the story of a daredevil father-and-son diving team, Chris and Chrissy Rouse, who became ever more venturesome in their dives until, in an exploration of a sunken vessel off the New Jersey coast six years ago, both succumbed to the "bends" -- abrupt decompression caused by coming up from the depths too rapidly. The author, who knew the Rouses well, has had his own narrow escapes, and his book, Stuart said, will be a study of the ethos and perils of diving -- "a sort of underwater Perfect Storm," as he describes it.

SHORT TAKES
No one diet suits everyone, which is the theme of Metabolize: The Personalized Program for Weight Loss, Health and Longevity by Ken Baum and Richard Trubo, which was sold by Jane Dystel for "a solid six figures" to Sheila Curry at Perigee. According to Dystel, each would-be dieter requires his/her own plan, which is dietician Baum's approach with his hundreds of clients, and he has set forth these principles in his book. Perigee also bought the authors' previous book, The Mental Edge.... Author Greg Rucka, who writes the suspense series featuring bodyguard Atticus Kodiak for Bantam, has just been signed by that house's Kate Miciak to write books five and six in the series, in a six-figure deal for hard and softcover rights. His agent, David Hale Smith of Dallas's DHS Literary, said Rucka has also been tapped by DC Comics to write the next Batman novel, to be done as a Pocket Books hardcover in 2000.... In an unusually large deal for reprint rights for a children's author, Betty Greene, who wrote the award-winning Summer of My German Soldier and Philip Hall Likes Me I Reckon Maybe, saw Puffin take paperback rights for these titles and two others for a "mid to high six figures," according to her representative, literary lawyer Adam Cohen. The deal was signed by Puffin's Tracy Tang and Penguin Putnam's Doug Whiteman and Phyllis Fogelman, and the books are to be published over a period beginning next fall. Bantam previously held the licenses to the books, originally published by Dial....