Dear Burning Questions,
I recently read Larry Brown's novel Fay, and I enjoyed it so much I couldn't stop reading until I finished it. However, the ending was unsatisfactory, and maybe I missed something, but I actually felt a little letdown and guessing about Fay's future. I'm wondering if Brown plans to write a sequel. Can you find out and let me know?

Toni
Columbus, Ohio

We're in the business of finding out and letting you know. We're told that a sequel to Fay is not in the works at this time, but it's not out of the realm of possibility. In the meantime, Algonquin Books says they're publishing a wonderful collection of essays by Larry Brown in the spring. Billy Ray's Farm will center around Brown's love of his homeland (Oxford, Mississippi) and its influence on him as a writer. It will be a book for fans of Larry Brown, plus anyone interested in the craft of writing.

Daemonomania mania

Dear B.Q.,
Whatever happened to John Crowley (Little, Big)? Did he die? He started a proposed five-book series a few years back with an ambitious book called Aegypt, published the second volume, and now, many years later . . . NOTHING! Can you shed any light?

D. Gordy
via e-mail

We're happy to report that John Crowley is still very much alive and writing. You must have missed Daemonomania, which was published in August 2000. (Check our web archives at bookpage.com to read a review of the book.) Crowley's publicist at Bantam tells us that Daemonomania is the third book in a planned four-book series -- Aegypt and Love and Sleep are the first two. A publication date for the fourth book has not been set.

You say Camelot, I say Camulod

Dear Burning Questions,
I have been told for a year that Jack Whyte's new novel, Uther, would be published at any time. Do you have information as to when we can expect this next volume in the series? Thank you.

Bobbie G. Young
Louisville, Tennessee

Uther, the sixth book in The Camulod Chronicles, will be published in April (Forge). It's the story of Uther Pendragon, King Arthur's father, and his love affair with Ygraine, the wife of Uther's arch enemy, Gulrhys Lot, King of Cornwall. Uther will be followed by a two-book miniseries called The Golden Eagle, relating the story of King Arthur as seen through the eyes of Arthur's dearest friend and admirer, Sir Lancelot of the Lake.

Spellbound

Dear Burning Questions,
I liked Helen Dunmore's book Talking to the Dead. What does she have coming up?

via e-mail

British author Helen Dunmore has done well this side of the Atlantic with books like Talking to the Dead. Now, she treats us to the book that won her the first Orange Prize ever awarded. A Spell of Winter, set in turn-of-the-century England, is the story of a brother and sister who grow up in their grandfather's house, hemmed in by servants who aim to protect them from the past. It's scheduled to be published by Atlantic Monthly Press in February.

Amazing Grace

Dear Burning Questions,
Is C. L. Grace going to be writing any more Kathryn Swinbrooke novels? I've read the three in print so many times I've just about memorized them!

P. Nesbit
via e-mail

If you're in need of reading material, you've come to the right source. C. L. Grace is actually a pseudonym for one of the most prolific mystery authors around -- P. C. Doherty. This British author, who holds a doctorate in history from Oxford, has created mysteries set in many different eras, from ancient Egypt to medieval England. Under the C. L. Grace pen name, he's written four books in the Kathryn Swinbrooke series, and a fifth, Saintly Murders, will be published in July by St. Martin's. In this one, the 15th century physician and sleuth is called back to Canterbury to investigate a plague of rats and the death of a friar. And if you enjoy the Swinbrooke books, you might want to check out some of Doherty's other series. Under his own name, Doherty has written a popular mystery series featuring Hugh Corbett, a clerk in the court of Kind Edward I. The 11th book in the series, The Demon Archer, will be published in March (Minotaur). Under the name Anna Apostolou, he is the author of a series on Alexander the Great (A Murder in Thebes), and under the names Paul Harding and Michael Clynes, he has written even more mysteries set in medieval England. Doherty is indeed a man of many names and many books!

The pigeon flies again

Dear Burning Questions,
One of my favorite, authors, Nevada Barr, has been absent for quite a while. Any news of her next Anna Pigeon book?

via e-mail

Park ranger Anna Pigeon's next adventure, Blood Lure (Putnam), will be published in March. Each of Barr's Anna Pigeon mysteries is set in a different national park, and this time Anna heads to Glacier National Park in Montana to join a grizzly bear research project.

By George

Dear Burning Questions,
Elizabeth George is one of my favorite writers. Her mystery novels are both suspenseful and intelligent. When will her next book be published?

Roberta Berthelot
Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Elizabeth George's next mystery is expected this summer from Bantam. A former teacher, George has turned out a slew of scintillating English mysteries featuring Scotland Yard Inspector Thomas Lynley. Her first book, The Great Deliverance, was recently adapted for television by the BBC. Here's hoping George's engaging inspector will appear soon on American television screens.

Readers will have to wait

Dear Burning Questions,
I am a huge fan of Charlotte MacLeod/Alisa Craig and have noticed a slowdown in book production. Is Ms. MacLeod still writing? Is she well? Will we ever see the Grub and Stakers again? Or has she ended that series? Please respond. You are my last hope. Thank you.

LuAnn Brutscher
Louisville, Kentucky

Charlotte MacLeod's publicist at Mysterious Press informs us that, unfortunately, Ms. MacLeod is ill and is not writing at present. We'll let you know of any changes.

A dark tale

Dear Burning Questions,
As far as I'm concerned, Alan Dean Foster is the tops when it comes to spinning a good fantasy. What next from one of my favorite authors?

John
Cleveland, Ohio

The man who gave us the best-selling Spellsinger series offers a new fantasy world in February with Kingdoms of Light (Warner). There's not much light at the beginning of this tale, however, as evil sorcerers defeat the wizard Susnam Evyndd (try saying that three times fast).

More medieval adventures

Dear Burning Questions Friends,
I have very much enjoyed reading the Owen Archer mysteries by Candace Robb. Can you please tell me when to expect a new book from her?

Janie Murphree
via e-mail

Oh when, Owen, you ask? Fans of one-eyed Welshman Owen Archer can expect another book in the series in 2002 from Mysterious Press.