Death of an Intern (42 page)

“Carr corroborated that, Laura,” Davis said. “We brought Manchester in last night. Grayson had him convinced Carr was involved. The Bannini accident was just that, though. He's sick over it. Manchester swore his only involvement was supplying the companionship and doing fundraising. We've suggested he clean up his act and concentrate on enjoying his grandchildren, or he might find himself coming under the severest investigative scrutiny known to man.”

Max grunted. “Yeah, you'll send Laura Wolfe after him.”

They all laughed, except Jerry, who cringed.

Acknowledgements
To My Many Right Arms and Hands

 

 

Many people have helped me with this, my first book (written first as a screenplay). Since my original self-publishing in 2004, I have been humbled by how much I did not know about book publishing and also by the good fortune that gave me my second and third chances. This iteration is without a doubt the best it has ever been, and I have many patient people to thank for that—from the get-go to the heave-ho.

Many cherished helping hands, such as my sister-in-law Charlene (Charlie) Griffiths, Robert (Monty) Macdonald, Diana Hamblen, my wife Barb, and the two week-long Novels in Progress workshops run by Green River Writers in Louisville, Kentucky, which I attended in March 2005 and again in 2006.

I have been equally fortunate in the development of The Hill People, my second Laura Wolfe novel, which pits Laura against United States senators and the powerful pharmaceutical lobby. Hill includes many favorites in Intern: Jerry, Max, Lassiter, and Mary, and introduces Master Tyler Jerome Fields, who is Laura and Jerry's baby. With a fresh face but familiar style, Hill will soon be available in its new outfit, better than ever.

All that being said, I look back to April 30, 2011, to an authors' event held in the Jacksonville (North Carolina) Mall, where I met Terri Leidich, president and founder of Boutique of Quality Books (BQB) out of Cumming, Georgia, and I am proud to say my publisher. After having self-published three novels, I was not looking forward to writing a fourth book and walking that nerve-racking gauntlet again.

In fact, I had already turned my creative efforts back to theatre—rewriting one of my full-length plays, Road Rage, produced in June 2011; acting in the film Life Fine Tuned; and acting in and directing stage productions.

Terri and I met privately a month after our first encounter back in Jacksonville for what turned out to be a three-hour meeting. She had read Death of an Intern and saw promise in me as a writer, but also saw that I was in need of a strong editor, to which I heartily agreed. So my little band of readers and I spruced up Intern's manuscript and sent it off to BQB. We subsequently did the same with The Hill People.

Intern was assigned to independent editor Janet Green, with whom I instantly bonded. I wanted—no, I demanded—that she be completely candid and tough. She has been that, not without wit, and we bonded quickly. She became wedded to my characters, and we have virtually moved through this book hand-in-hand, quipping and chirping all the way.

Terri and Lisa Schindler, BQB production manager, were with us every step of the way, creating a renaissance in me, a rekindling of my desire to want to write again. There is no single thank you to express my gratitude to my newfound team. I feel truly blessed.

 

~Keith~