Dear Burning Questions,
I so enjoyed Alice Blanchard's wonderful 1999 debut mystery novel, Darkness Peering, that I have anxiously been awaiting her next release. To date though, I haven't heard of any new books coming out by Ms. Blanchard. Does she have a new book in the works? If so, is there a tentative release date?

Ingrid Hunter
Anaheim Hills, California

Alice Blanchard does indeed have a new novel in the works, and it's kicking up quite a bit of dust. The Breathtaker, scheduled for publication in October 2003 by Warner Books, is the story of a serial killer in Oklahoma who strikes during tornadoes. Film rights to the thriller have been sold to Warner Bros. affiliate John Wells Productions, which also handled the recent adaptation of Janet Fitch's acclaimed debut novel, White Oleander.

YOUNG VOICES

Dear Burning Questions,
My favorite books are those written from the viewpoint of a young person, such as The Education of Little Tree, Meely LeBauve, Peace Like a River and Money, Love. How can I find more books of this type? Can you recommend any other books that are similar to these?

I would also like to say that BookPage is wonderful. I read my copy cover to cover every month, highlighter in hand to mark the books that catch my interest. Over the past five years or so, most of the books I have read are those I discovered in BookPage.

Marguerite Leathers
Courtland, Virginia

Flattery will get you everywhere, Marguerite. Since you have such good taste, we decided to take your question to an eminently reliable source—Brad Barkley, author of one of your favorites. Barkley's comic novel, Money, Love, is told from the viewpoint of a 16-year-old North Carolina boy touring Southern carnivals with his ne'er-do-well father. Here are Barkley's personal selections of books with young narrators:

"I would recommend The Burning Women of Far Cry and The Year of the Zinc Penny, both by Rick Demarinis, The Broken Places by Susan Perabo, and Trombone by Craig Nova. She might also want to check out a memoir by fiction writer Lewis Nordan, called Boy With Loaded Gun."

BQ would add these in-house favorites: Ellen Foster by Kaye Gibbons, The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint by Brady Udall and the classic To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.

THE BOOK ALSO RISES

Dear Burning Questions,
What ever became of William Elliott Hazelgrove? I very much enjoyed Tobacco Sticks and Mica Highways, and have a review in hand (dated November 15, 1998) that says his next novel, Hemingway's Attic, was to be released to coincide with the July 1999 centennial of Ernest Hemingway's birth. That centennial has come and gone without, to my knowledge, the release of any new Hazelgrove offering. Can you enlighten me?

Mike Heagy
LaPorte, Indiana

All artists need inspiration, and Chicago writer Hazelgrove gets his by writing in the attic of the Oak Park, Illinois, home where Hemingway was born. Even the ghost of Hemingway, however, apparently can't do much to speed up the creative process. Hazelgrove, whose last book (Mica Highways) was published in 1998, had this update for BQ on his recent work: "Yes, I'm finishing up a book called Jackpine. This has been taking me a little longer than I thought. It is similar to Tobacco Sticks in scope. I hope to have it finished this winter and out to the press within the year. Also, I have been playing around with another book called Hemingway's Attic. That too has taken longer than I thought."

IDENTITY CRISIS

Dear Burning Questions,
Can you find out if author Billie Letts is working on a new novel? I loved Where the Heart Is and The Honk and Holler Opening Soon. I would sure enjoy another book by her(?). Is this author a male or female? Just wondering.

Mari Gibbons
Springfield, Illinois

With a name like Billie, Ms. Letts has probably heard this question before, but to clear things up—this talented Oklahoma writer is most certainly female. Letts' first novel, Where the Heart Is, was published by Warner Books in 1995 and adapted into a popular film. Jamie Raab, publisher of Warner, had this to tell Burning Questions about Letts' next book: "She is busy at work on a new novel which is under contract here at Warner [but I] don't want to say too much about it at this point. Billie is really superstitious about these things."

CONSTANT SORROW

Dear Burning Questions,
In Dean Koontz's books, he always quotes from The Book of Counted Sorrows. Are these his quotes/poems and is the book available? I would love to read all of them. I look forward to his books just to see the new poems. I have searched libraries and local bookstores and no one knows that book.

Jamie Clifton
Milton, Delaware

Through the years, Koontz has led many readers (and librarians) on a wild goose chase for his elusive collection, The Book of Counted Sorrows. As it turns out, until recently, no such book existed. Koontz, a master of horror and suspense, simply made up the verses himself and attributed them to the bogus book title. In response to numerous requests from readers, he has now produced a real version of The Book of Counted Sorrows, but this collection is currently available only in e-book format.
Koontz's next thriller, By the Light of the Moon, goes on sale December 24. And to see more of Koontz's poetry, you might also try The Paper Doorway: Funny Verse and Nothing Worse, a wacky collection of his poetry for children that was released in 2001.

UPDATE

Author Julie Hilden wrote BQ recently to share the latest news on her novel, Three, which was mentioned in our September column. "Thanks to my wonderful agent Harvey Klinger and wonderful editor Trena Keating, my book will be published in the U.S. by Plume Books in summer 2003," Hilden reports. "I am also working on an author website at www.juliehilden.com that should be up in a few months, and certainly before Three comes out."