Dear Burning Questions,

I am trying to find out about Kathleen E. Woodiwiss. Is she writing anything new?

Pat Legory
Spokane, Washington

Way back in 1972, Woodiwiss set the publishing world on fire with The Flame and the Flower. After being rejected by no less than eight publishers, the novel was picked up by Avon and became a huge bestseller—and started a subgenre, the historical romance, that continues to produce bestsellers today. Woodiwiss isn't quite as prolific as some of her fellow historical romance writers: After 35 years in publishing, she's only released 13 novels (the most recent was 2003's The Reluctant Suitor). But number 14, Everlasting, is coming this October from William Morrow.

Everlasting is set in medieval England, where the beautiful Abrielle is unhappy with her stepfather's plan to marry her to a brutish, wealthy squire. A handsome second suitor from Scotland presents himself, but money talks, and Abrielle's stepfather rejects his suit. Will these star-crossed lovers find their happy ending?

NEW FRONTIER

Dear Burning Questions,

I recently discovered and love Jonis Agee's novels such as Sweet Eyes. Will she be writing more books?

Laurie Bodiford
Modesto, California

A Nebraska author known for chronicling small-town life in the Midwest, Agee returns this summer with her first novel since The Weight of Dreams (1999). In The River Wife, to be published in July by Random House, Agee weaves together the stories of five women whose lives have been touched by the mysterious Jacques Ducharme, a fur trapper in the Missouri Bootheel country. From the New Madrid earthquake of 1911 through the Great Depression, Agee paints a vivid picture of the women who live their lives along the banks of the Mississippi.

WAIT FOR IT

Dear Burning Questions,

After visiting Miami a few years ago, I started reading the mysteries of Carolina García-Aguilera. I loved her character, Lupe Solano, and was fascinated by the glimpse into the lives of Cuban exiles. I haven't seen a new mystery from Ms. García-Aguilera in some years. Can I can look forward to another mystery featuring Lupe Solano and her family?

Jay Baker
Cherry Valley, Illinois

Among the many accolades García-Aguilera has received for her work is the coveted "Tip of the Ice Pick" designation from BookPage mystery columnist Bruce Tierney for Havana Heat (Morrow), the fifth Lupe Solano novel. At press time, García-Aguilera was finishing a new non-Solano novel set in mid-1960s New York City and Paris. "It's a love story between a student in a New England all girls' boarding school and an older man, a lawyer at a corporate firm," García-Aguilera says, adding that she has enjoyed researching "the music, art, fashion of the period."

During her break from the Solano series, García-Aguilera has also been writing magazines pieces and treatments for television and films, as well as publishing short stories in Miami Noir and Havana Noir. Now, with her current stand-alone practically finished, she plans to "sleep for a few days, get a manicure and pedicure, take the dogs to the vet for check ups, clean out the closets." After that, it's back to working on the next book in the Lupe Solano series—the seventh.

Listen Up

Dear Burning Questions,

I have a 35-mile commute to work each day so I spend the hour-plus time listening to recorded books. My favorite narrator is Kate Reading but I can't find out much about her. I'd love to know a little about her career and to let her know how much I enjoy her readings. I first heard her read Dead Man's Island by Carolyn G. Hart —she makes the stories come alive like no other narrator I've listened to. Can you help?

Michael Hayter
Meadowview, Virginia

BQ caught up with award-winning audio narrator Kate Reading in Louisville, where she was appearing in the Humana Festival of New American Plays. A talented actress, Reading got her start as a narrator 15 years ago in the Library of Congress Talking Books program. Later branching out into commercial audios, she has gone on to narrate more than 300 audiobooks, including works by Patricia Cornwell, Nick Hornby and Anne Rice.

Reading says her training in the craft of narration came largely from friend and mentor Grover Gardner, himself a much-admired audio reader. "When I'm narrating a book, I'm in service to the author," she says. "My goal is to embody the author's voice. I admire writers so much because they are the originator and I am just the facilitator." She often talks to authors about pronunciation, accent and other details.

Raised in England by American parents, Reading maintains a mellifluous British accent, though she has lived in the U.S. since attending the University of Virginia. Her husband, Michael Kramer, also does audio narration, and the two have collaborated on Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series. They live in Hyattsville, Maryland, with their two children.