Questions from Fans

Is the series REALLY finished?

In my March 26, 2012 ECfans Update I stated that the Earth's Children series was completed, and with that, I would be abandoning the email list, because the purpose of it was to keep interested fans updated on news of the next book.

Following that last newsletter, I have received quite a few emails about the possibility of Jean writing another book, based on these and similar statements from a November 2010 interview: "To be honest, I don't feel like I'm through," the author, 74, told The Associated Press during a recent telephone interview. "I still have some material and I'm going to keep on writing. It's what I do."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/03/cave-bear-jean-auel_n_778306.html

In this USA Today article from September 2010: "Busy putting the final touches on Painted Caves, Auel says future books might continue the story of Ayla, even though this is it for the Earth's Children series."

"Who knows?" Auel says. "I'm leaving all avenues open."

http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/news/2010-09-13-auel13_ST_N.htm

And, of course in the actual press release announcing the publication date: "...today Crown and the Jean Naggar Literary Agency announced that the sixth and final book of Jean M. Auel's record-breaking, bestselling Earth’s Children series will be published on March 29, 2011."

http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/book-news/deals/article/43338-new-jean-m-auel.html

The press release for The Land of Painted Caves made it quite clear that the series was ended. It is entirely possible that Jean could end up publishing an additional volume about Ayla. She mentioned that she has extra material and would like to write more. If she does, it will not technically be a part of the Earth's Children series. It would be a wonderful addition, however. With any luck, we'll be seeing it. I have no news either way, so we can all be surprised together, if it happens.

How do you pronounce Jean's last name?

This one is in the AuelFaq - and has been since the very beginning. It was what spurred me on to writing to Jean back before the internet! Her mailing address was included in an announcement for the publication of... The Mammoth Hunters or The Plains of Passage. I can't remember which.

Anyway, I wrote to ask her, because I got tired of going into bookstores and spelling her last name, so as not to butcher it with bad pronunciation, hoping someone would tell me the correct way to say it!

She wrote back that it is pronounced OWL, like the bird.

In one interview, she made the statement that she writes all night, so one could easily say she was a night owl. ;-) Or I guess a Night Auel!

Is Jean Sick or Dead?

Ok. This isn't so much a question as an observation. In looking through the website statistics for the month of April, there are quite a few web searches that land people at ECfans.com that show a good number of people are wondering about Jean's health status - or total lack of it.

It was so interesting, that I decided to copy the entire list into a table so you can look at it, yourself. :-)

Last I heard, she was still alive and well, enjoying her family!