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Burning Questions
Wondering what happened to your favorite author? Gosh, so are we. Ask away: Send your cards and letters to Burning Questions, 2143 Belcourt Avenue, Nashville, TN 37212. Or better yet, send us e-mail. When you write, please include your full name and the city and state where you live. Sadly, personal replies are not possible. And if your question is too hard, we'll simply put it in our big file labeled "We dunno."
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SUNNY DAYS AHEAD
Dear Burning Questions, Whatever happened to the Atlanta crime fiction writer Ruth Birmingham and her Sunny Childs PI series? In 1998 Berkley published Atlanta Graves, then Fulton County Blues (1999) Sweet Georgia (2000) and Blue Plate Special. (2001). Has she written any more books? Does she live in the Atlanta area? I thoroughly enjoyed these books and Sunny and her crazy Gunther. I would appreciate any information you can find.
A.P. Boyd
Under his own name, Sorrells has written the legal thrillers Power of Attorney, Will to Murder, Cry for Justice, and Proof of Intent, co-written with William J. Coughlin. Sorrells also plans to release a police procedural titled The Body Box under a new pseudonym, Lynn Abercrombie. Sorrells makes his home in Atlanta with his wife and son.
STATE OF THE UNION Dear Burning Questions, Can you tell me if Stephen Wright, the author of Going Native, has any book(s) coming out soon?
Chad Stemper
Stephen Wright's next book, The Amalgamation Polka, is scheduled for publication next February by Knopf. This Civil War novel tells the story of Liberty Fish—himself an amalgamation, the son of devoted abolitionists and grandson of even more dedicated slave owners. After his mother's death, Liberty sets out to unite the disparate parts of his family. His quest becomes a survey of the American experience, showing its most distinct components, from North to South, city to plantation and civilian to soldier. A graduate of the U.S. Army Intelligence School and a Vietnam veteran, Wright has published three novels, starting with Meditations in Green (1978). Knopf has high hopes that The Amalgamation Polka will take his career to the next level.
DEVIL'S IN THE DETAILS Dear Burning Questions, Please look into your magic eight-ball and tell me if Judith Merkle Riley is working on a new book. Her combination of humor, history and the supernatural is just my cup of tea. It's been a long time since the publication of Master of all Desires—can you offer me any hopeful information?
Lisa Bond
In addition to this new novel, you can look forward to the publication of The Water Devil, the third entry in the Margaret of Ashbury series. Previously published in Europe, where Riley has quite a following, the book will soon be available for the first time in America from Crown. Finally, Riley's agent, Jennifer Weltz, tells us that Riley's novel The Oracle Glass is being considered for a film adaptation. Optioned by Cine City Pictures, the project "is wending its way through the labyrinth of Hollywood—being read by actors and studios."
ON THE MEND Dear Burning Questions, I've recently heard that Rebecca Wells (author of the Ya-Ya books) is very ill. I hope it's just a nasty rumor, and that this lovely lady is really just fine. Do you know?
Kaye Barley
We went straight to the source for an answer. Reached at her home near Seattle, Wells had this to say about her illness: Dear Kaye,
LymeDiseaseAssociation.org is a great place to go for info. And of course, you're also always welcome at ya-ya.com! 84,000 Blessings,
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There's a reason there's never been a photo of Birmingham on the back of her books: she exists in name only. Ruth Birmingham is the pseudonym of Edgar Award-winning writer Walter Sorrells. Happily, Sorrells tells BQ that you'll soon be hearing more from "Ruth." Although Sunny Childs has "been on a bit of a hiatus," she'll be pounding the pavement again next year in Feet of Clay, in which she sets out to help her cousin film a documentary about a man on death row. The case is not as open-and-shut as it would seem, and Sunny ends up in a race to discover whether an innocent man is about to take his last walk.
How about information straight from the horse's mouth? Or, should we say "mouths," since we spoke with both Riley and her agent, who assured us that we'll be hearing much more from Riley in the future. A faculty member at Claremont McKenna College in California, Riley told us that "after a difficult period not connected with writing," she is back at work on a new book featuring a new heroine, which should be completed by late 2006 or early 2007.
Thank you for inquiring about my health. I wish it WERE a nasty rumor, but, alas and alack, I indeed do have advanced neurological Lyme disease. Had I lived and doctored in parts of the East Coast, I would have probably been diagnosed 12 years ago and been able to fight these Lyme buggers quickly and kick them out of my body. As it was, I was not diagnosed until December 2004. I was probably bitten by a tick 12 years ago and it has had fun in my body, but it's not fun for me. Now I am with a great Lyme-Literate Doctor and am being treated with mega-antibiotics. I have every reason to hope I'll get much better. Lyme is quickly spreading in all parts of our country. I hope you'll take some time to learn about it and educate your friends.