Intercepted text messages between Mike Kinnear, business manager of Ann Kinnear Sensing, and his sister Ann, on whose spirit-sensing abilities the business is based.

Mike: Have you started working on your talk for GothamCon yet?

Ann: Groan

Mike: I’ll take that to mean no

Ann: You’re better at PowerPoint, can’t you put together a draft?

Mike: The organizers said no slides

Ann: No slides? What are the attendees supposed to look at?

Mike: You

. . .

Mike: Hello?

Ann: I hate public speaking

Mike: You haven’t done any public speaking since high school

Ann: Because I hate it. Can you write up some notes?

Mike: I could but I won’t. I know the mechanics of what you do, but the attendees aren’t going to want to hear a second-hand perspective about communicating with dead people

Ann: At least you convinced them not to video me talking with Jock Quine

Mike: You’re welcome

Ann: Thank you : )

Mike: Any word from Princeton PD about what you found out from Jock about his murder?

Ann: Joe Booth’s still trying to figure out how to tell them Jock heard the killer call his accomplice “Poindexter”

Mike: It’s a good clue—or would be if Jock knew anyone named “Poindexter”

Ann: It’s also a nickname for someone who’s bookish

Mike: Quine’s an author—probably everyone he knows is bookish

Ann: Exactly. Plus, how are we supposed to explain to Princeton PD how we know about the “Poindexter” reference, especially since Jock was already dead when he heard it

Mike: Awkward

Ann: Yeah, cops never like to take evidence from a dead guy

Mike: Joe does

Ann: Joe’s special

Mike: How special? : )

. . .

Mike: Gone radio silent again?

Ann: I wish Joe was in charge of the investigation

Mike: Princeton PD probably wouldn’t appreciate a Philly cop trying to take over

Ann: True

Mike: Are you leaving for Ocean City tomorrow?

Ann: Yup

Mike: Don’t forget to specify *Maryland* in the destination on your GPS—otherwise you’ll end up at the Jersey Shore

Ann: Even I would notice there was a problem when I crossed the Walt Whitman

Mike: The number of the OC condo starts with 14 but I’ll bet you it’s on the 13th floor

Ann: People are so superstitious

Mike: Maybe you can work on the talk while you’re in OC waiting for Marilee Forsythe to show up

Ann: You did explain to Darren that I can only help if she’s dead, right?

Mike: Yes. I’ll bet she has copies of her cozies in the condo. You should read them—maybe you’ll find a hint about where to look for her

Ann: I’ll be sure to check all the bakeries in the area

Mike: And flower shops

Ann: Knitting store

Mike: Cat shelters

Ann: Can you look for more gigs that involve me hanging out at an ocean-front condo and fewer that involve me being in front of an audience?

Mike: As your business manager, I’ll keep looking for both

Ann: Great

Mike: Scott and I are grabbing lunch at Kennett Bistro—want to come?

Ann: Of course

Mike: We can stop at the winery on the way back and pick up some Sapele

Ann: You finished the case you bought??

Mike: It’s good stuff. You just don’t appreciate it because Del gives it to you for free

Ann: It’s getting sort of embarrassing—I hope he doesn’t have to keep doing that

Mike: You saved his life. Providing free wine is the least he can do

Ann: I saved *your* life and you won’t even put together a draft of my talk for me

Mike: That’s business

Ann: That’s bull

Mike: We’ll swing by in an hour and pick you up for lunch

Ann: Only if I’m not heads-down trying to write this stupid talk

Mike: What’s the topic again?

Ann: “Making the Supernatural Super in Your Novel”

Mike: Right up your alley

Ann: Actually, I’m thinking of a little twist on the topic

Mike: See, you’re a pro at this stuff. What’s the twist?

Ann: You’ll have to come to GothamCon to find out >: )

 

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Be With The Dead, An Ann Kinnear Mystery Book #6
Genre: Suspense
Release: January 2023
Format: Print, Digital
Purchase Link

Ann Kinnear has been invited to the Gotham Crime Fiction Conference to give a talk on “Making the Supernatural Super in Your Novel.” She isn’t enthusiastic about adding public speaking to the offerings of Ann Kinnear Sensing, but at least it’s unlikely to land her in the hospital.

Ann’s conference liaison, editor Darren Van Osten, is contending with problems of his own. His favorite—and only—client, bestselling thriller author Jock Quine, was killed during a burglary at his Princeton mansion, and now Darren is trying to coach Jock’s bookish son Alec to pick up the authorial torch from his larger-than-life father. When Alec catches Ann trying to contact Jock’s spirit at Darren’s behest, he proves not too bookish to level some threats. Darren’s best hope of staying solvent is to capitalize on his most mysterious client, Lara Seaford, whose debut novel is sweeping the thriller awards.

Meanwhile, cozy mystery author Marilee Forsythe is demanding that her son and daughter-in-law, Jeremy and Jeanette, repay a loan so she can buy out her cozy contract and switch to her true calling: writing thriller novels. An attack on Marilee leaves her unable to leave her Ocean City, Maryland condo. Only Jeanette’s fear that Marilee will demand immediate repayment of the loan–a demand that she and Jeremy could only meet by selling their naturopathic pharmacy–keeps Jeanette from delivering a far-from-cozy rebuke to her unpleasant and demanding mother-in-law.

As Ann’s involvement in Jeanette and Darren’s dilemmas deepens, she begins to suspect that there is more in common between the two cases than mere authorial posturing … and that the stakes are life and death.

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Meet the author
Matty Dalrymple is the author of the Lizzy Ballard Thrillers, beginning with Rock Paper Scissors; the Ann Kinnear Suspense Novels, beginning with The Sense of Death; and the Ann Kinnear Suspense Shorts, including Close These Eyes. She is a member of International Thriller Writers and Sisters in Crime. Matty also podcasts, writes, speaks, and consults on the writing craft and the publishing voyage as The Indy Author. She has written books on the business of short fiction and podcasting for authors, and her articles have appeared in Writer’s Digest magazine. She is a member of the Alliance of Independent Authors.

All comments are welcomed.