"These are very ambitious girls, and they were worried about the house and their editor. They were afraid that the book was going to get lost, and they just panicked," said one source familiar with the situation. Ms. Weis, who did not return phone calls for comment, took a maternity leave during the publishing process. Ms. Fletcher got married and took several weeks off for her honeymoon. When she returned in April 2001, she received a letter informing her of Ms. Kraus and Ms. McLaughlins intention to make Molly Friedrich their new agent.