Dear Burning Questions,

When is Brian Haig coming out with a new book?

Claude Morris
Jacksonville, Florida

Brian Haig brings Army lawyer Sean Drummond back for another international adventure in Man in the Middle, to be published in January by Warner Books. This time, the maverick investigator heads to Iraq as the probe of a defense official's death widens.

In an author's note, Haig says he "thought long and hard" about including an ongoing military conflict in one of his novels. Though the book "dances around some of the thornier issues regarding Iraq," Haig came to the conclusion that most Americans would benefit from reading a novel set in Iraq and learning more about the nation where so many of our service members are putting their lives at risk.

A West Point graduate and career Army officer, Haig left the military after 22 years of service and began writing full time. Since then he has published five novels of international intrigue. Haig is the son of former Secretary of State Alexander Haig.

BEST OF LUCK

Dear Burning Questions,

What ever happened to Penelope Williamson? I enjoyed most of her other books and am wondering when or if she'll write another one.

Levada Lee
Pontiac, Illinois

Williamson tells BQ she's "deep into the final chapters of a contemporary international thriller" that begins with the murder of an old homeless woman San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. The story's heroine, Zoë Dmitroff, receives a package containing a "cryptic letter, a riddle and an ancient, weirdly-shaped key" from her long-lost (and now deceased) grandmother. To ward off the bad guys now on her trail, "Zoë must unravel a conspiracy involving the death of Marilyn Monroe and the Kennedy assassination, and a mysterious Russian amulet whose origins—and power—reach back to the days of Ivan the Terrible."

Since this project differs from Williamson's previous works of historical romance, historical fantasy and mystery—such as her last book, 2003's Wages of Sin (Warner)—she's taking a different approach with its publication. "I've decided to write the book first, without a contract, and then acquire a home for it, something I haven't done since I sold my first book. My agent should be sending the manuscript out to the publishing houses sometime in January, so wish me luck!"

ON THE HORIZON

Sara Gruen had one of the biggest surprise hits of 2006 with her novel Water for Elephants, the imaginative story of a 1930s traveling circus. (Check bookpage.com for our July interview with Gruen.) That success has landed the Chicago-based author a lucrative contract with Spiegel & Grau, under which she'll receive a reported $5.2 million for two upcoming novels.

Just weeks after he was named a co-anchor of ABC's "World News Tonight," Bob Woodruff was severely injured while reporting from Iraq, leaving him with a traumatic brain injury. Random House has announced that it will publish a memoir co-authored by Woodruff and his wife Lee about their family's struggle to cope with the tragedy.

SUNS RISE

Dear Burning Questions,

I was deeply moved by Khaled Hosseini's first novel, The Kite Runner, and would like to find out when his next novel will appear. Do you have any information?

Richard A. Symes
Granville, New York

Executives at Penguin have finally satisfied Hosseini's curious fans with the announcement that his second novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns, will be published by the Riverhead imprint in May 2007. Penguin's official statement offers only a minimal description of the book ("a heart-wrenching chronicle of thirty years of Afghan history") but Hosseini himself has been a bit more forthcoming in recent interviews. While his best-selling debut, The Kite Runner, dealt largely with male characters, Hosseini says his new novel will focus on the friendship between two Afghani women. The author, who was born in Afghanistan and emigrated to the U.S. with his family in 1980, returned to his native country for a visit in 2003. Seeing the women of Kabul, many of them widows with several young children, Hosseini was inspired to write about the experiences of two women, one from the city and one from the country, whose lives intersect over three decades.

Hosseini was working as a doctor in San Francisco when The Kite Runner was published in 2003. Tapping into America's post-9/11 interest in Afghanistan and the Taliban, the novel leapt onto bestseller lists and has since sold more than four million copies.

WINNER'S CIRCLE

Change Your Home, Change Your Life Contest
Congratulations to Grand Prize Winner Linda Shepard, of Harrah, OK, who received a $2,500 Gift Card to Wal-Mart and a copy of Moll Anderson's home-decorating guide, Change Your Home, Change Your Life. Sponsored by Cool Springs Press, the contest appeared in the August issue of BookPage. These winners received a copy of the book: Stephanie Aragona, Utica, MI; Irma Doherty, San Carlos, CA; Verline Ferris, Hazel Park, MI; Joseph Garnter, Elizabethtown, KY; Alan Scott Hays, Katy, TX; Mona P. Mandel, West Hills, LA; Phyliss Miyauchi, South Glen Falls, NY; M.V. Nick, Tomahawk, WI; Adele Puff, Elizabeth, PA; Emily Stark, Grand Rapids, MI.

Wine, Food & Friends Contest
Congratulations to Grand Prize Winner Fran Schallhorn, of Elkhart, IN, who received a Williams-Sonoma Wine Lover's Picnic Basket and an autographed copy of Karen MacNeil's Wine, Food & Friends. Sponsored by Oxmoor House, the contest appeared in the September issue of BookPage. These winners received an autographed copy of the book: Sharon Baldwin, Howard City, MI; Brewer Staub Jr, Mechanicsburg, PA; Elizabeth Hix Allison, Gastonia, NC; Rita Singleton, Reno, NV; Kim Parrott, Metairie, LA.