NEW IN PAPERBACK

AS FRANCESCA Martha Baer (Broadway, $13, first published in 1997) Mordantly funny first novel in which corporate fast-tracker Elaine Botsch is energized by anonymous cybersex with an Internet dominatrix (and possible coworker).

AT WEDDINGS AND WAKES Alice McDermott (Delta, $11.95, 1992) McDermott is at the top of her artistry in this languid, detached tale of alcoholic aunts mired in Brooklyn.

THE RANCH Danielle Steel (Dell, $7.50, 1997) Three college roommates, each with their own travails, reunite on a Wyoming ranch. Smooth-poured Steel.

AFTER MIDNIGHT: THE LIFE AND DEATH OF BRAD DAVIS Susan Bluestein Davis, with Hilary de Vries (Pocket, $14, 1997) Though at times she's repetitious, the Midnight Express star's widow -- Emmy-winning casting director of NYPD Blue -- sheds a sharp light on Tinseltown's seamy side.

NAKED CAME THE MANATEE Dave Barry, Edna Buchanan, Carl Hiaasen, et al. (Fawcett, $11.95, 1997) A funny romp about a freak accident near Biscayne Bay -- written, in tag-team fashion, by 13 famous South Florida authors.