Dear Burning,
The God of Small Things was such a rich, sumptuous book. I loved it. What else does Arundhati Roy have in the works?

Maud Rose
via the Internet

When asked that very question, Roy, whose 1997 release God of Small Things hit bestseller lists and won the Booker Prize, said that she would write again only if truly inspired.

Well, the muse has been in touch, because this very month Random House will publish Roy's first book of nonfiction, The Cost of Living, as a Modern Library Paperback Original. Here, Roy addresses the future of her homeland, India, and examines the impact of the detonation of India's first nuclear bomb and the massive dam projects currently in progress in that country.

We're on fire

Dear Burning Page,
. . . Could you find out for me if Kay Hooper has another book in the works? I enjoy her very much.

I would also like to know about a new author I recently discovered named Jennifer Blake. She writes about the Benedicts, and I have read Kane and also Luke and would like to know if she has a book about Roan she plans on writing. . . .

Helen M. O'Connell
Rochester, New York

Burning Page . . . hmmm . . . has a nice ring to it . . .

Kay Hooper's publicist at Bantam tells us that Hooper has a new novel coming out in 2000, probably late in the year. If that's too long a wait, you can find one of Hooper's stories in the October mass market release Yours to Keep (Bantam), a collection of millennium short stories.

The answer to your second question is an emphatic yes! Jennifer Blake's book about Roan, cleverly titled Roan, will be released from Mira Books in July 2000.

Into The Forest

Dear Burning Questions,
I am a big fan of Edward Rutherfurd (author of Sarum, etc.) Is he working on another book? And when can we expect it to be available?

Lorraine Mannix
via the Internet

Crown is scheduled to publish Edward Rutherfurd's next novel, The Forest, in April 2000. Rutherfurd's new novel will trace six turbulent centuries in the life of the quintessential English heartland: the New Forest that lies along the island's southern coast.

War, what is it good for?

Dear Burning Questions,
I enjoyed Caleb Carr's The Alienist and Angel of Darkness. I was under the impression a new book was to be out last January, but no word! Any news your way?

Pam Brock
via the Internet

Carr hasn't hung up his fiction hat forever, but for now he's focusing on nonfiction, specifically the Modern Library War series, launched in May 1999. Carr, as guest editor, has written introductions for both of the upcoming additions to the series, the fifth and sixth volumes. The Rough Riders (Theodore Roosevelt) and The Book of War (Carl von Clausewitz/Sun Tzu) are due out this month.

A BQ of a different sort

Dear Burning Questions,
I am looking for the gray jacket worn in Runaway Bride. It zips all the way down with a collar. I have been looking everywhere. Can you help?

It sure does sound cute, if a bit '80s. "Not our aisle" -- books are our business -- but we do encourage one and all to write us about anything and everything bookish. We're here to help. Really.

Allow us to recommend . . .

In the small publisher/obscure Southern writer category, we've recently discovered a real gem on our bookshelves. If you're interested in southern short stories, you'll want to read on.

The Collected Stories of Caroline Gordon from J. S. Sanders & Co. is an admirable collection you won't want to miss. Though Gordon may not be as well known as many of her contemporaries, she helped shape several generations of Southern writing. Flannery O'Connor and Katherine Anne Porter often sought Gordon's literary advice. But more than a critic, Gordon was a superb storyteller. Gordon wrote charming tales about outdoor life involving Aleck Maury, a character based directly on her own father. Yet hunting and fishing are not the only focus of this recently reissued book. Suspenseful stories like "The Captive" show Gordon dabbling in history, while others like "The Petrified Woman" show a more grotesque side to her imagination. So if you're looking for some masterful writing, Caroline Gordon is a name to remember.