Dear Burning Questions,
Does anyone know if Barbara Michaels is still writing? I know she has other pen names and I can't think of them at the moment, but I was wondering if she had anything new under the name Barbara Michaels. I love her mixture of ghost stories, horror and romance.

Angela George
Canal Winchester, Ohio

Barbara Mertz, who holds a doctorate in Egyptology, writes under two pen names: Elizabeth Peters for mysteries and Barbara Michaels for gothic suspense. Though she launched her career in 1966 with a Barbara Michaels book (The Master of Blacktower), in recent years this talented writer has focused on the Elizabeth Peters line, turning out a string of Amelia Peabody mysteries. The next book in the series, Tomb of the Golden Bird, will be released in March 2006 by William Morrow. Though no new Barbara Michaels books are on the horizon, you might check out a new collection from HarperAudio, The Barbara Michaels CD Audio Treasury, which contains spoken word versions of the last two Michaels novels: Other Worlds and The Dancing Floor.

FLASHBACK

Dear Burning Questions,
I love to read, especially books in series, and Stuart Woods is one of my favorites. Will he write anything more in his Orchid Beach series?

Diane A. Davis
Grass Valley, California

Iron Orchid, the fourth book in Woods' Orchid Beach series, will be published by Putnam on October 11. After a series of attacks in which terrorists with diplomatic immunity are the victims rather than the perpetrators, Chief of Police Holly Barker is given the opportunity to become a member of an elite intelligence team whose mission is to hunt down terrorists on American soil. Two characters from Woods' previous books will make appearances: Lance Cabot from The Short Forever and Teddy Fay from Capital Crimes.

BEGGING FOR MORE

Dear Burning Questions,
I am hoping you can tell me anything you can find out about Susan Palwick. Ms. Palwick is the author of one of the most powerful books I have ever read, Flying in Place. This book, a unique and poignant take on a difficult subject, was written in 1992, and I have neither seen anything else written by, nor heard anything about, Ms. Palwick since. If she never writes anything else again this one work will still stand as an incredible experience deserving of a wide audience and acclaim, but I am curious to find out anything at all about her.

Robert Bermudez
Farmingdale, New York

You aren't alone in your admiration for Flying in Place, which the author describes as "a feminist ghost story about child abuse." The book won a Crawford Award for Best First Fantasy Novel when it was published in 1992.

Now an associate professor of English at the University of Nevada, Reno, Palwick tells BQ she has been busy in the years since the book's release, contributing short stories to several science fiction anthologies and working on two novels, as well as "a number of other time-consuming and distracting things," including getting married, earning a Ph.D. in English literature and learning to drive.

But here's the most exciting news: Palwick's long-awaited second novel is finally being published this month. The Necessary Beggar (Tor) is set in a near-future, war-torn America in which a young man and his family are banished to a refugee camp in another dimension.

'TIS COMING SOON

Dear Burning Questions,
Will Frank McCourt ever write another book? Do you have any updated information?

Paula Wren
Rochester, New York

McCourt fans have waited a long time for another book, six years in fact, so you'll be as thrilled as we are to hear that Teacher Man, the third installment of McCourt's memoirs, is due out November 15 from Scribner.

McCourt claimed a place in readers' hearts with the much-loved memoirs Angela's Ashes (1996), the story of his impoverished childhood in Ireland, and 'Tis (1999), which recounted his immigration to America. In the prologue to his upcoming book, McCourt tells readers that his earlier writing left a bit of unfinished business. "In 'Tis I wrote about my life in America and how I became a teacher. After it was published I had the nagging feeling I'd given teaching short shrift."

He corrects that oversight in Teacher Man by focusing on his 27 years in New York City public high schools, where the teaching of English, grammar and writing was enlivened with plenty of Irish storytelling and an occasional flying sandwich.

McCourt, now 75, describes himself as "a geriatric novelty with an Irish accent." He won the Pulitzer Prize for Angela's Ashes, which was later made into a film.

Tango contest

The chance to win a one-of-a-kind keepsake from Robert James Waller, author of The Bridges of Madison County, drew entries from hundreds of BookPage readers in 42 states. Sponsored by Crown Publishing, the contest in our July issue coincided with the publication of Waller's new novel, High Plains Tango. The lucky grand prize winner is Angie Butler of Stannardsville, Virginia, who will receive a signed, limited edition photograph by Waller, along with a signed copy of his novel, High Plains Tango. Congratulations also go to the winners of a Shaye Areheart gift basket:
Joyce McGee, Baldwin, Maryland
Kimberley Beegan, North Olmstead, Ohio
Paul C. Diehm, Lancaster, Ohio
Diane Beatty, Rockmart, Georgia
Warren Bernoff, Gardnerville, Nevada

And the 10 winners of a signed copy of High Plains Tango:
Terri George, Thomaston, Georgia
Shirley Christine, New Port Richey, Florida
Laura Cerino, Trumbull, Connecticut
Kim Keiss, Wellington, Colorado
Sandra Spencer, Lake City, Michigan
Anthea Morgan, Highland, Indiana
Francine Doner, Vorhees, New Jersey
Barbara LeCroy, Hattiesburg, Mississippi
Laurie Ziada, Frankfort, Illinois
Jeanne Clements, Lakeside, Arizona