Veteran Kinks rocker Ray Davies, who's currently readying his one-man show, "Come Dancing," for Broadway, has just sold his first short-story collection, "Waterloo Sunset." "Ray thinks of it as a concept album on paper," says Hyperion executive editor Leigh Haber, who acquired the book for an undisclosed sum. Look for both the book and the show next spring.

Character actor Gene Hackman, collaborating with friend Daniel Lenihan, has written his first novel, a maritime adventure set in the early 1800s called "Black Star Rising." "It's in the vein of Patrick O'Brian," says literary agent Noah Lukeman, who recently submitted the novel to publishers.

Moon Zappa, the 31-year-old daughter of Frank Zappa, has inked a six-figure deal with Delacorte for a first novel. "America the Beautiful," is "a funny, fresh, girl book," says Delacorte/Dell editor in chief Leslie Schnur.