Dear Burning Questions,
Please track down the whereabouts of my favorite author, T.R. Pearson. He has not published anything in some time, and all my searching has turned up nothing as to what he is doing. I would prefer to hear that he is not dead and is working on the next great American novel.

Mark Gervasi
via the Internet

Thankfully for all of us, the author of Cry Me a River and A Short History of a Small Place is alive and well and has a new book due out in September, Blue Ridge (Viking). His first novel in seven years, it is a tale of two cousins -- and two corpses -- that takes place in tandem in the wilds of Virginia and the even wilder streets of New York. Word on the streets is that Blue Ridge very well could be "the next great American novel."

What's up, doc?

Dear Burning Questions,
I have read and loved all of Ferrol Sams's books, but I haven't seen anything recently from him. Is he retired? Or is he still writing? Is he still alive?

Cheryl Spence
via the Internet

Dr. Ferrol Sams is definitely not retired. Far from it. Not only does he practice family medicine in his hometown in Georgia, but he's continuing to write in the hope of someday publishing another book. We recently spoke to him and in the most genteel of southern voices, he graciously thanked his readers for their interest in his work and assured us that he hasn't permanently traded in the pen for the stethoscope. Though he doesn't have any plans to publish in the near future, he says he hopes Epiphany, a collection of stories published by Longstreet in 1994, will not be his last book. He also said to tell you specifically, Ms. Spence, "Bless you" for reading all of his books and enjoying them.

In the Spotlight

Dear Burning Questions,
I just finished reading Carole Bellacera's gripping first novel, Border Crossings, and I feel like I just came up for air. What a great read! When can I expect to see another novel from this talented new author?

Kathy Foley
via the Internet

You don't have to wait long because this month Bellacera is back with Spotlight (Forge). Though they made only a brief appearance in Border Crossings, Devin and Fonda now star in their very own story.

Ellroy confidential

Dear Burning Questions,
I am a big fan of James Ellroy. I think he is one of the best writers working today, one of the best of the last 30 years, and I am dying for his next book to come out. I thought it was supposed to be this year, but I haven't heard anything. Do you know if he has anything in the works?

Dylan Grant
via the Internet

James Ellroy, author of L.A. Confidential, does indeed have a new novel coming out in the spring of 2001 from Knopf. It is the sequel to that wild ride of a novel, American Tabloid, Ellroy's much lauded take on the JFK assassination in which mob bosses, politicos, and femme fatales abound.

Like husband, like wife

Dear Burning Questions,
I'm eagerly awaiting the next Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus mystery from Faye Kellerman, or anything from Faye Kellerman for that matter. Can you help?

Dotti Robinson
Birmingham, AL

Stalker, due next month from William Morrow, is the latest installment in the series. In this one, Decker's daughter, an LAPD rookie, is being stalked. (FYI: Faye Kellerman's writerly husband John Kellerman has a new Alex Delaware novel being published by Random House in November. A prolific pair, these two.)

The waiting room

Dear Burning Questions,
Each month I search your column for my answer to no avail. I am wondering if Marvin Kaye and Parke Godwin ever finished or will finish the trilogy begun with The Masters of Solitude and continued with Wintermind. Help me, Burning Questions Master, help me!

Amy and Brian
Markowich
Leonardtown, Maryland

How could we deny such a desperate plea? The Burning Questions Master has an answer for you, at long last. We recently corresponded with Mr. Kaye, who told us that he hears this question at every SF/fantasy convention he attends. His answer? The final volume, which was originally entitled Singer Among the Nightingales, but might be called Phase 2, was "plotted in some detail by me and my collaborator Parke Godwin a number of years ago when Bantam Books bought the paperback rights to the first two titles in the projected trilogy." Unfortunately, the authors chose to withdraw the final book citing irreconcilable (read: marketing) differences. Since that time Kaye and Godwin have traveled different paths, writing different kinds of books along the way. "[Godwin] also moved to the West Coast, and we are only occasionally in touch," Kaye said, noting, "I am still committed to the idea of writing the final volume." Several publishers have expressed an interest, but due to changes in the publishing world, the book has not yet found a home.

Get a life

Dear Burning Questions,
I know that Anna Quindlen is now writing a column in Newsweek magazine. Is she planning on writing any more novels in the future? Please tell me there is another book in the works.

Lori Miller
via the Internet

There is another book in the works, though it isn't a novel. This isn't to say that Quindlen has abandoned writing novels all together, but her next book, A Short Guide to a Happy Life (Random House), an October release, is advice about life that was originally a commencement speech.

Karr talk

Dear Burning Questions,
I like Mary Karr's gritty writing and thought The Liar's Club was great. What is she working on now?

Megan Augustine
San Antonio, Texas

Cherry is Karr's long awaited new memoir. As you might guess from the not-so-subtle title, it is the story of Karr's adolescence and sexual coming-of-age. Karr thinks this is a period of life not usually addressed in women's memoirs and has decided to take matters into her own hands.

A much welcome return

Dear Burning Questions,
I was a big fan of Josephine Humphreys's books Dreams of Sleep and Rich in Love (I liked the movie too and don't usually like the movie if I liked the book.) What's next on her plate?

Barbara Madison
via the Internet

Nowhere Else on Earth (Viking) is this wonderful author's next dish, her first novel in nine years. Set in a Native American community in North Carolina in the aftermath of the Civil War, this meticulously researched novel, to be released in September, is a saga of love, honor, justice, and glory. Humphreys's three previous novels will be reissued in paperback in September.

Correction: In our last issue, we told you that writer Sharyn McCrumb has a new ballad mystery coming in January, but neglected to mention that in September, Ballantine will publish McCrumb's The PMS Outlaws, another entry in the mystery series featuring anthropologist Elizabeth MacPherson.