That's the specialty of Gavin de Becker, a consultant on violent behavior whose bestselling The Gift of Fear was designed to teach people how to protect themselves from avoidable violence. Now he has just sold Little, Browna book called Fear Less: Real Truth About Risk, Safety and Security in a Time of Terrorism. De Becker said he had been working on the book for nearly a year, but after the September 11 attacks he set aside everything else—including many invitations to appear on TV to discuss the attacks—to complete the book swiftly and "to specifically address our current situation." It will now appear as early as January. LB executive editor Geoff Shandler and LB consulting editor William Phillips, de Becker's editor on his previous LB book, jointly bought North American rights from agent Kathy Robbins. In his book, de Becker will draw on his years of experience in advising people and groups that were terrorist targets to offer his insights to readers and help allay their current fears.