Dear Burning Questions,
I have a big list of authors I read. I catch up on all of them, but, so far, I haven't heard from three of them. So, what happened to Susan Isaacs, Tess Gerritsen and Judith McNaught? I've read their latest books: Red, White and Blue, Gravity and Night Whispers. Please help me out on keeping in touch with their latest works.

Kris Howe
via e-mail

September is your lucky month, for it is in that auspicious month that both Susan Isaacs and Tess Gerritsen offer their latest novels. Isaacs' Long Time No See (HarperCollins) heralds the return of Judith Singer (last seen in Isaacs' 1978 whodunit Compromising Positions).
Doctor turned writer Tess Gerritsen brings us The Surgeon (Ballantine), a thriller not recommended for the squeamish or those scared of hospitals. The surgeon of the title is no healer -- he's a vicious madman who murders women.
As we reported last month, the publication date of Judith McNaught's Water's Edge is a wet and slippery kind of thing. We can't tell you when the book will be released, but we can tell you that the book is in the contemporary romance/suspense vein, not the time travel story she had originally planned.
To keep in touch all year long with these three authors, you can visit their websites:

www.susanisaacs.com
www.tessgerritsen.com
www.judith-mcnaught.com

That certain Sparks

Dear Burning Questions,
Nicholas Sparks released his last book, The Rescue, last year. I was wondering if you know if there are any more books to come from him this year. Thanks.

C. Jones
via e-mail

In September, Warner Books will publish Sparks' A Bend in the Road. It's the story of a man who loses his wife and then finds new love -- until certain secrets are revealed.

Couch potato

Dear Burning Questions, I haven't seen anything from political satirist P. J. O'Rourke for ages. Is he currently working on a book? I know that he freelances for several publications, but I have not found anything past 1998. Even Rolling Stone, where he is editor of the foreign affairs desk, doesn't seem to know. I would also love an e-mail address or snail mail address where I could contact him. Thank you.

Nicole A. Smith
Dayton, Ohio

In September, the cigar-smoking humorist with the acerbic wit offers us a book on subjects close to home with The CEO of the Sofa. To contact O'Rourke, you can write his publisher at the following address: Atlantic Monthly Press, 841 Broadway, New York, NY 10001 or e-mail: info@pjorourke.com.

Now that's just nitpicking

Dear Burning Questions:
What happened to The Nitpicker (aka Phil Farrand) who compiled those wonderful guides to Star Trek, Deep Space Nine and The X-Files? There's been nothing since '97.

EA Gurkin Williamston, NC

We spoke to the head Nitpicker himself, and this is what he had to say: "Ah, the Nitpicker's Guides. That was a fun ride! For five years, I made my living watching television. Your reader is correct. There were five Nitpicker's Guides released five years in a row from the fall of 1993 through the fall of 1997. They were light-hearted commentary and analysis on popular sci-fi shows. The sixth Nitpicker's Guide was to be released in May of 1999, barely a month before the release of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. As you've already guessed, it was to be a Nitpicker's Guide for Star Wars fans. . . .
I had worked on that guide for several months when my agent informed me that my publisher had decided not to publish the guide and wouldn't be publishing any Nitpicker's Guides in the future." Apparently there were some copyright infringement problems that led to the demise of many "media tie-in" books. In street speak, the big studios started to crack down on book publishers. As far as Farrand's future: "Thankfully, I happen to have employable skills in the computer industry. . . . Since August of 1998, I've made my living as a business consultant. I plan to work like crazy, retire at 50 and spend the rest of my days self-publishing the novels that I have banging around in my head. At least, that's the plan! Thanks for remembering the guides."

There's no business like the publishing business

Dear Burning Questions,
I recently borrowed The Making of a Bestseller: From Author to Reader by Arthur Vanderbilt from my creative writing professor. What a wonderful book -- I couldn't believe that I had never heard of it or seen it reviewed anywhere. My prof tells me it's one of those books that's a "well kept secret." WHY? Vanderbilt has a Web site and has published several other books. Can you tell us anything about him and any possible future books? Thank you.

Rod Andrews

We recently corresponded with Vanderbilt who shared the following: "Many thanks for your e-mail about my book The Making of a Bestseller. Good question! And one that's puzzled me. The book received absolutely glowing endorsements from Frank McCourt, William F. Buckley Jr., Tom Wolfe, Louis Auchincloss and others (I think they're all on my website www.vanderbiltbooks.com so you can read them there). Yet . . . the book wasn't reviewed by one -- not one! -- review publication. (I have been getting some reviews on Internet sites, all favorable.) Why the traditional review publications have ignored it is a mystery to me, the sort of mystery I describe in my book about an industry -- publishing -- which has always been riddled by such mysteries. I didn't write the book or intend the book to be controversial, but maybe the reviewers were offended by it? I don't know. Thanks for your interest."

Phoebe Siegel rides again

Dear Burning Questions,
I recently discovered the Phoebe Siegel series by Sandra West Prowell, and loved all three. Are there any new books forthcoming?

BonTissier
via e-mail

Her publicist at Walker tells us Sandra West Prowell is in the middle of several projects, including a new Phoebe Siegel title. The fearless cop turned private investigator has appeared in three Montana mysteries, including By Evil Means and When Wallflowers Die. No publication date has been set for the new title, but you can be sure it won't be in March. The headstrong heroine suffers from an extreme aversion to that month.

Updates

Alice Randall's novel The Wind Done Gone was expected to reach bookstore shelves in late June after a U.S. appeals court lifted an injunction blocking publication of the book. Randall's publisher, Houghton-Mifflin, is being sued by Margaret Mitchell's estate, which alleges that the book infringes on Gone With the Wind's copyright.

As we mentioned last month, we've been hounded by readers who want to know when Virginia Lanier's next Bloodhound book will be published. We reported that her publisher, HarperCollins, still has the next book under contract but that the release date is uncertain. What we did not make clear is that, unfortunately, Lanier continues to be very ill and confined to a wheelchair. A Bloodhound to Die For remains only about half completed at this point because the author is simply not able to devote the time or energy to writing. She says maybe some day she will, but she can't imagine when that might be. For more information, you can visit the official Lanier website:
www.geocities.com/Heartland/Meadows/1442/vlanier.html