When will Michael McGarrity be coming out with a new book? He is one of my favorites. I can't find a web page for him, and nothing new shows up with the online booksellers. I enjoy BookPage every month. I read the whole thing.

Ann Burgess
Hurt, Texas

Well, since you read the whole issue every month, the least we can do is answer your question!

We, too, were foiled in our attempts to contact McGarrity directly; however, we did manage to track down his publicist at Dutton, who was eager to share with us all McGarrity-related news! The prolific—and elusive—McGarrity will be releasing his 10th novel, Nothing But Trouble, in early January. In this new adventure, Kevin Kerney is persuaded by his friend Johnny to act as the technical advisor for a new Western movie being filmed in a Mexican border town. Shooting begins—with a vengeance—on the first day when the body of a young man is found on the road to the set. How does this tie into Johnny's parents and the Mexican migrant and drug smuggling trade? You'll have to wait until January to find out.

One more thing—McGarrity does have a website. You can find plenty of information on the Santa Fe-based author and his previous novels at www.michaelmcgarrity.com.

FIDDLE DEE-DEE

I would like to know when a new book by Micaela Gilchrist will be available. I read her first novel, A Good Journey, about two and a half years ago and it was unforgettable: well written with great characters.

Val Sanderson
Longwood, Florida

You're in luck. Micaela Gilchrist's next novel, The Fiercer Heart, will be released in October by Simon & Schuster. Like The Good Journey, The Fiercer Heart is a sweeping saga that chronicles the rocky marriage of one of the real-life Bullitt women. This time, Kentucky belle Diana marries wealthy military adventurer—and Yankee—Philip Kearney just as the tension is building between North and South.

A lawyer and law professor, Gilchrist takes her research seriously, grounding her stories with excerpts from contemporary first-person accounts. Much of The Fiercer Heart comes from Diana's and Philip's letters and journals. Gilchrist's vivid depictions of 19th-century pioneer life convinced Hollywood to option The Good Journey, though there's no word on when—or whether—it will actually appear on the big screen.

LOVE AND MURDER

I've enjoyed every one of Janet Neel's mystery-romance novels. It's been a long time since her last one. Anything new?

Sara Arrowood
Raleigh, North Carolina

Janet Neel's seventh book, Ticket to Ride, is set to be published by Minotaur on December 5. In the novel, English solicitor Jules Carlisle works to uncover a mystery brought to her by an illegal immigrant who claims his brother was one of the eight Yugoslavians found buried in a mass beachside grave near Kings Lynn. Will Carlisle follow her conscience and adhere to correct MI-5 procedure, or her heart and bring justice to a man who defected for love?

Janet Neel is a pen name for Janet Cohen, a baroness and former solicitor who serves in Britain's House of Lords. Her first novel, Death's Bright Angel, won England's John Creasey award in 1988 as best mystery by a debut author.

THIRD TIME'S THE CHARM

I am a big fan of Mercedes Lackey and her work. One of her series, The Obsidian Trilogy, has recently got my attention. I was wondering if you could find out when the next book, after To Light a Candle, is coming. This trilogy is really good and I can't wait for the conclusion!

Rabia Sadiq
Woodland, California

Prolific fantasy writer Mercedes Lackey, best known for her Valdemar series, has many devoted fans, so you're not alone in your anticipation. And the good news is that the final installment of The Obsidian Trilogy, co-written with James Mallory, is on the horizon. Their editor at Tor gave us this update:

"The final volume in a trilogy can be difficult to write—so many plot threads to tie up, so many climactic scenes to produce, so many characters to put through the wringer. Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory are working on When Darkness Falls, the third Obsidian book, but have not yet completed it. We hope to have the manuscript in our hands sometime this summer, and to publish during the summer of 2006."

Sounds like this one will be worth the wait!

ALL GOOD THINGS

Not long ago, we had an Episcopal priest named Father Keith Ackerman in our town. I think Jan Karon has given credits to him in her books. He was such a nice man. Will Karon have a new book out in 2005?

Donna Moody
Charleroi, Pennsylvania

The Rt. Rev. Keith Ackerman, an Episcopal bishop in Illinois, is indeed a close friend of Karon's. Or is it the other way around? On her website, Karon says, "I'm not sure whether Bishop Ackerman adopted me or I adopted him, but in any case, we're stuck with each other." For his part, Ackerman sent each of his priests a copy of the first Mitford book, saying that the series "modeled pastoral care."

Karon's final Mitford novel, Light from Heaven (Viking), goes on sale November 8. In the book, Father Tim and Cynthia house-sit a century-old farm. Though they weather windstorms, unexpected arrivals and mystery-enshrouded chicken coops, it is the call to revive a long-empty mountain church that provides the couple with their greatest challenge.

Karon has always had a close connection to books. Her parents named her after a popular novel, Janice Meredith, and she left a successful advertising career to follow her dream of becoming a writer.