Dear Burning Questions,
Can you please tell me when Annette Meyers will write another Smith and Wetzon book? Thank you!

Mildred Baribault
East Meadow, New York

An executive search consultant turned mystery writer, Annette Meyers has turned out seven books about the female headhunters Smith and Wetzon. But Meyers recently told BookPage that her fans may have a long wait for another entry in the series:

"I get e-mail all the time asking, demanding to know when the next Smith and Wetzon will appear, which is very gratifying. I am working on a new Smith and Wetzon right now called Hedging. I had just begun working on it when my agent sold Free Love (a new series set in 1920 in Greenwich Village) and its sequel Murder Me Now to Mysterious Press. I'd hoped that Mysterious Press would want to publish Hedging, but they felt, from experience, that two series with one publisher dilutes sales of one or the other. So I do not have a publisher for Hedging, and the way the marketplace is these days, who knows?"

Into the wilderness

Dear Burning Questions,
I've enjoyed all of Peter Jenkins' books (A Walk Across America, Along the Edge of America and Close Friends are three of them). Does he have a new book coming along, or is he off on a trip to get material for one? The last I heard, he lived in Tennessee.

Harriet A. Moir
Venice, Florida

Yes, he's walked across America and along its edge, and now he embarks on a journey to its northernmost point. We recently contacted Jenkins who confirmed that he has been on the road -- this time in the far north with his 21-year-old daughter and others. This spring, Jenkins traveled to Alaska to write what he calls his "best book yet." St. Martin's Press will release Looking for Alaska in November.

Into a different wilderness

Dear Burning Questions,
When is Sara Donati's next novel coming out? It should be a continuation of the epic story of Elizabeth and Nathaniel that started in Into the Wilderness. In the back of this novel, it stated the follow-up would come out in the fall of 1999. I hope you can help.

Lucille Scherman
Paola, Kansas

Dunno about Donati? We do. Recently back from traveling abroad, Sara Donati (aka Rosina Lippi) wrote us with the following: "Thanks so much for taking the time to write to me about the Wilderness books. . . . Up until now, the working title of [the third book in the series] has been Hidden Wolf. That will change quite soon, I think, and as soon as I have a final title I'll post it on the Web page [saralaughs.com]. If I can stay on track, I will have finished this novel by the end of September. After that it's up to the publisher on how long it takes to get to the shelves. The shortest turnaround (an unlikely event) is four months; the average is six months. So the answer to 'when' is . . . hopefully sometime between December (unlikely) and March (more likely). . . . I have had many wonderful compliments and supportive words from the readers who take the time to write, and every single one of you is greatly appreciated."

Serious about a new series

Dear Burning Questions,
What has happened to Eric Van Lustbader, aka Eric Lustbader, who wrote The Miko, Floating City, White Ninja and The Ninja. Is he going to continue [The Ninja] series?

Ann Price
Topeka, Kansas

We recently spoke to Eric Lustbader, who told us he will "probably" continue the Ninja storyline though he doesn't know when. For now, he's fully committed to his new fantasy series which he began because he felt the need for a "change of scenery." The Pearl series, as it's called, began in May with the publication of The Ring of Five Dragons. The second book, The Veil of a Thousand Tears, will be released in July 2002 as one of Tor Books' lead titles.

Lustbader said he never intended The Ninja to be a recurring character and found it increasingly difficult to write. The Pearl books, however, were originally created as a series.

Regan Reilly returns

Dear Burning Questions,
Hi, I was wondering if you knew anything about Carol Higgins Clark's latest novel, Fleeced. It was supposed to come out this past February, but every time I tried to request it at my library, they said it was having publishing problems. Will it ever come out? Do you know anything? I bet that all of Carol Higgins Clark's fans want to know.

Kris
via e-mail

That saucy sleuth is back! On October 23, Scribner will at long last publish Fleeced, the fifth Regan Reilly mystery. The mean streets of Manhattan provide the setting for Reilly's latest adventure as she tracks down a murderer and a cache of missing diamonds. Clark, daughter of author Mary Higgins Clark, is also an actress and lives in New York City.