Dear Burning Questions,
Please let me know where Robin Cook is. I haven't seen a book by him this year. The last book I could find was Shock. Does he still spend time in Naples?

Shirley Blizard
Naples, Florida

This busy author, who indeed divides his time between Naples and Boston, Massachusetts, continues his long career of writing medical thrillers with Seizure, which will be released in July by Putnam. While the new book is true to Cook's usual focus on science, it also delves into the worlds of politics and religion when a conservative Southern senator and a genetic researcher clash over the use of stem cell technology and the famous Shroud of Turin.

NO MYSTERY

Dear Burning Questions,
I thoroughly enjoy the mystery books of Gerald Hammond. I recently heard an alarming report that he has retired from writing. Is this true or can we expect to read more of his mysteries or enchanting stories like Thin Air?

Ed Amsbury
Gainesville, Florida

Scottish mystery author Hammond hasn't retired yet. In his new novel, The Snatch, published in April by Severn Books, two kidnapped girls turn the tables on their abductors and set up a robbery of their own. Hammond has also written novels under the names Dalby Holden and Arthur Douglas.

FOR BETTER OR WORSE

Dear Burning Questions,
I have long been a Tony Hillerman fan and eagerly await each new book. I'm sure Tony is thinking of retirement soon, but wondered if he might be thinking of writing one more, with Jim Chee and Bernie and Joe Leaphorn and Louisa finally tying some knots?

Mary Begg
Bellevue, Nebraska

Sorry, Mary, but we're not spilling the beans on this one. Hillerman does have a new novel coming out this month—The Sinister Pig—but we'd rather not divulge whether his popular Navajo sleuths, Jim Chee and Joe Leaphorn, are headed down the aisle. Let's just say the book has some interesting romantic developments, and you'll be kept guessing until the end. (See this month's Whodunit? column for more details on The Sinister Pig.)

Hillerman, a former reporter who struck gold with his Southwestern mystery series, turns 78 this month. Despite some health problems, he continues to write from his home in Albuquerque.

MAINE DISH

Dear Burning Questions,
I am writing this for my mom. Could you please tell her if Elisabeth Oglivie is still alive? If she is, what is her last and latest novel? Also, is she still writing novels? My mom has devoured everything she has written; she is a true fan and also an avid reader who knows what she likes! Elisabeth lives in Maine and my mom has developed a warm nostalgia for Maine without ever being there. Thank you for everything, Elisabeth! Please respond and we will be eagerly awaiting your reply.

Nancy and Margaret Coffey
Natosha, Wisconsin

Kudos to your mother—reading every book by an author whose career spans six decades and three genres (young adult, historical fiction and mysteries) is quite a feat. Elisabeth Oglivie, who is most definitely still alive, is best known for her evocative descriptions of coastal Maine, where most of her novels are set. Her most recent book, The Day Before Winter, was published in 1997. She is currently working on the fourth book in the Jennie Glenroy series.

In the meantime, true Oglivie fans will want to look at A Mug-up with Elisabeth: A Companion for Readers of Elisabeth Oglivie, by Melissa Hayes and Marylin Westervelt, published by Down East Books. It includes a biography of Elisabeth, analyses of her popular characters, and several unpublished and out-of-print writings, including a 1944 story from Women's Day.

PRESIDENTIAL PROSE

Not content with being a former president, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize and author of three successful nonfiction books, Jimmy Carter has decided to turn his hand to historical fiction. Simon & Schuster recently announced it would publish Carter's novel, The Hornet's Nest, this fall.

Set during the American Revolution (could there be a more fitting era for a book billed as "the first work of fiction by a President of the United States"?), the novel explores the development of the war in Georgia, Florida and the Carolinas. Carter takes his inspiration from historical accounts, soldiers' diaries and the experiences of one of his own ancestors.

Dear Burning Questions,
I get your wonderful publication at the East Meadow Public Library on Long Island, New York. I read two terrific science fiction books by Mary Doria Russell: The Sparrow and Children of God. Does Ms. Russell have any further books planned? The first two were excellent—literate and thoughtful and fascinating. I would love to see more.

Brenda Giovanneillo
Malverne, New York

Russell is hard at work on her third novel, A Thread Of Grace, an historical thriller based on true stories of the Jewish underground in Genoa during the Nazi occupation of Italy. She thought her first two books required a lot of research until she started this one.

"It's been the equivalent of a doctoral thesis," she says, "complete with overseas field work and studying yet another language. I'm also a dues-paying member of the sandwich generation now, with a teenage son and aging parents. Sometimes real life has to take precedence over fiction." Despite the hurdles, she hopes to finish the book this summer.