SEPTEMBER 1997

Thirteen letters to go!

Dear Burning Questions:
When can we expect the latest from alphabet mystery lady Sue Grafton?
Karin Johnson

BQ:
It started with "A is for Alibi" and she's up to "M is for Malice." The writer who knows what she's going to be doing for the next 13 to 15 years has worked her way to the letter N; we envy a person with a life plan. Sue Grafton's ageless sleuth Kinsey Milhone will next appear in May 1998 with "N is for..." Who knows? The publisher isn't telling, and they could probably use our input. Let us know what you think the title should be, and we'll let Henry Holt know.

the god of lower case letters

greetings:
i've just finished arundhati roy's "the god of small things."
please please tell me more about this wonderful writer. i understand that this book is her first, but surely she must have many more wonderful stories to weave in the near future. anything at all about roy would be appreciated.
donald holloway
washington, d.c.

BQ:
an award-winning indian actress, journalist and screenwriter, arundhati roy first made international headlines when her debut novel "the god of small things" was sold at auction in england to 13 countries. though roy has received worldwide praise, she is currently embroiled in censorship dispute and must return to india to defend her work against charges that it is "undermining public morality and should be banned" unless sections are removed.

roy, 37, grew up in kerala, the marxist-controlled state in southwest india where her novel is set. she's been through architecture school and written the screenplays for two highly regarded indian films, but "the god of small things" is her first novel. there are sure to be more to follow. (readers: which do you prefer? Upper-case or lower-case letters?)

Looking for Casey

Dear Burning Questions:
John Casey, a superb writer, won the National Book Award several years ago for "Spartina," which was to be the first in a trilogy. I would like to know the status of Part 2. I know he has been publishing short stories and has contributed to at least one book review to the "Los Angeles Times," but I've heard or read nothing about the arrival of the follow-up to "Spartina." Thank you for any light you can shed on this.
some anonymous soul

BQ:
Well, he hasn't been writing book reviews for us, we guarantee that.

Actually, John Casey is coming out with a new novel in spring '98 (probably March), about "the meltdown of a marriage against the backdrop of a gloriously awful congressional campaign." The editor says it's "wise, sad and richly comic." It doesn't have a title yet but we know the author's just putting the finishing touches on it now.

Sayeth Howard the Lion Heart: Vanquish those paper reference books!

Dear Burning Questions:
In Ann Shayne's article "Anxieties Solved" under the section titled Dillettantism II, she touts the "Reader's Catalog" and I wish to know if there is a CD-ROM version available. If not, WHY? This is probably the book I am looking for to help cross reference my library. But I need an electronic version. Henceforth, please inquire if a reference work is available in electronic form and if they say no, ask why.

For pleasure I read books; there is nothing like the feel of a comfortable chair and paper in the hands. But for work, rekeying information is absurd and wasteful.
H. Howard Plumley, Jr.

BQ:
Ah, Howard, crusader, we know all about absurd and wasteful here.

But Howard, forget CD-ROMs! They're the eight-track tapes of the 90s. The Web, the Web is the place to be, and the "Reader's Catalog" folks have figured this out. They're making the "Reader's Catalog" free to the customer at www.nybooks.com. The site will be up and running soon; it is already partially up. And think: no cheesy disc to keep track of.

You have been waiting for years

Dear Burning Questions:
Anne Tyler: anything new from this wonderful writer?
Roberta Gibson

BQ:
Anne Tyler's publisher, Alfred A. Knopf, says that her next novel, as yet untitled, is not scheduled until fall 1998 at the earliest.

Tyler is a wonderful writer who has managed to avoid doing any publicity for her books. What do you think would get her to emerge from her quiet Baltimore home?

You have been waiting for years, part 2

Dear Burning Questions:
Can you find out when Robert McCammon's next book is due out? Seems like I've been waiting for years...and years.
via the Internet

BQ:
Robert McCammon is the thinking person's horror writer. "Mine," "Stinger" and "Swan Song" are among his genre-busting novels which have attracted a fanatical following. According to McCammon's agent, the omnipotent Lynn Nesbit, he is definitely at work on a new book, but he hasn't turned in a manuscript yet. In other words, it'll be a year at least.

We're holding out for "Worst Enemies"

BQers:
When can we expect the next book from the authors of "Sisters" and "Mothers and Daughters"? Can you tell me when it's expected?
Jazzie

BQ:
Doubleday will be publishing another book by Carol Saline and Sharon Wolmuth, authors of "Sisters" and "Mothers and Daughters." "Best Friends" is the next cozy volume from this photographer/writer team. Pub date has not been set yet.

Obsessed killer time

Dear Burning:
Is Jonathan Kellerman publishing something new soon?
Sharon Hale

BQ:
In November, Kellerman, author of 12 novels of suspense, has a new novel coming out called "Survival of the Fittest."

In this follow-up to "The Clinic," psychologist Dr. Alex Delaware confronts an obsessed killer who takes as much pleasure in matching wits with the police as in robbing human life -- all in the name of science.

Saucy Fenwick!

Dear BQ:
I was wondering if we will be seeing anymore of the "Fenwick Travers" series by Raymond M. Saunders. Not too much is known of this series to my knowledge. Also, are there any other books by the same author available anywhere?
W. Boakes

BQ:
Fenwick Travers is everyone's favorite lovable charlatan, gluttonous blackguard and lecherous philanderer.

Presidio Press says that they really hope to see more of the Fenwick Travers series, but nothing is yet scheduled for publication. For those hoping to catch up, the three books so far: "Fenwick Travers and the Years of the Empire," "Fenwick Travers and the Panama Canal," and "Fenwick Travers and the Forbidden Kingdom." All three books in the series are currently in print from Lyford Books.

In September 1996, Presidio published Saunders' contemporary crime novel, "Blood Tells."

Wondering why your favorite writer doesn't call, doesn't write anymore? Want to send us e-mail no. 9,001 about Jean Auel? Inquire with us, and we'll try to find out what's up: Burning Questions, 2501 21st Ave. South, Suite 5, Nashville, TN 37212. Or better yet, e-mail us at Burning_Questions@bookpage.com.

Alas, we regret that personal replies are not possible.

©1997, ProMotion, inc.

---

www@bookpage.com