Dear Burning Questions,
The Sweet Potato Queens' Book of Love by Jill Conner Browne is the funniest book known to womankind that I have read in my 48 years. I recommend it to any woman who has spent time laughing at herself. Life is too short not to have read this work. When is her new (if any) work coming out? I'm going through withdrawals as I write.

e-mail from a reader

You can keep on laughing at yourself, because Three Rivers Press will publish Browne's next Sweet Potato Queens' book in early 2001, God Save the Sweet Potato Queens. God bless 'em.

Des mots from DeMille

Dear Burning Questions,
I like Nelson DeMille's books so much. It seems that in every book he writes, he lived the experience. The subjects are so varied. How does he do it?

N.J. Dulaney
Gainesville, Florida

We tracked down DeMille who offered these words on how he works his magic:

Dear BookPage Reader,

Thanks for your kind words about my novels.

What am I working on now? I'm working on a sequel to The General's Daughter, featuring Army Criminal Investigator Paul Brenner, who was played by John Travolta in the movie version of the book. This new novel is called Up Country and is set in Vietnam in the present.

How do I write? I write long-hand on yellow legal pads with a #1 soft pencil. I write two handwritten drafts, then my assistant puts it on the word processor, and I do my rewrites from there. I write mostly in the afternoon and early evening. I have a small writing studio with no telephone.

Regarding research, as you can tell from my novels, there's a lot of it. Library research, location research, internet, and interviews with people who know the subject -- airline pilots, cops, FBI people, etc.

Hope that answers your questions, and thanks again for your interest in my writing. Hope you enjoy Up Country, which will be published by Warner Books in November 2001.

- Nelson DeMille

Volume two

Dear Burning Questions,
Nelson Rockefeller by Cary Reich only includes his life until 1958. I would like to know if Cary Reich or anybody else has chronicled his life from 1959 onwards.

Harvey Horowitz
via e-mail

We spoke to Cary Reich's agent who told us that Reich passed away before writing volume two of Rockefeller's biography. Reich did, however, leave research, and Reich's agent said that if they find the right writer, they'll go ahead with the book.

The Queen of the Nile

Dear Burning Questions,
Pauline Gedge is one of my favorite authors, and her book The Hippopotamus Marsh is one of my favorite books. I have desperately been looking for information on this trilogy, specifically when the second installment of the series will come out, but can find nothing. Please give me some news about these anxiously awaited novels!

Sonya Hope
via e-mail

Exciting news is what we're all about. This month, Soho Press will publish The Oasis, part two of the epic trilogy that brings to life the passions and intrigues of the great Eighteenth Dynasty. This enthralling three-part story from the mistress of Egyptian historical fiction began with The Hippopotamus Marsh, which was published in hardcover in April and will be released in paperback this month.

Double trouble

Dear Burning Questions,
When is Michael Connelly's next Harry Bosch novel coming out?

e-mail from a reader

A Darkness More Than Night (Little, Brown) will be published in January. This riveting new crime novel stars two favorites: Terrence McCaleb, the retired FBI agent from Blood Work, and LAPD homicide detective Harry Bosch. L.A. author Michael Connelly is the author of the Harry Bosch series and Void Moon, Blood Work, and The Poet.

The latest mews

Dear Burning Questions,
We miss Jim Qwilleran, Koko, and Yum Yum. Our cat even listens to the audio tapes! I hope they will be back soon!

Glenda Hoffman
via e-mail

Journalist/philanthropist James Qwilleran and his clued-in cat companions are back in January with The Cat Who Smelled a Rat (Putnam). This time, they're sniffing out an arsonist who's terrorizing Moose County. Lilian Jackson Braun is the author of 23 Cat Who . . . mysteries.

Giddy about Gabaldon

Dear Burning Questions:
I have enjoyed Diana Gabaldon's saga of Clair Randall and Jamie. I have read every book in the series. What I am hoping to find out is if there will be any more books to come in this series, as there are still a lot of avenues for this adventure to continue. Impatiently waiting. I have read all four books in this series.

Glenice Mallais
via e-mail

According to Gabaldon's official Web site, a prequel about her beloved time traveling duo is under contract, but no publication date is set. In three novellas, Gabaldon will detail the story of Jamie's parents, Brian and Ellen Fraser.