What is Mutual Admiration from the Asylum Department? Good question. Jaki and Lynne met in a writers critique group and discovered a mutual taste for homicidal humor. We're happy to share our MAADness in the form of newsletters to anyone who sends their snail mail address to murraymade@aol.com.

ISSUE #3 - SUMMER 1997

CELEBRATING LIBRARIANS ISSUE WELCOMING LIBRARIANS TO SAN FRANCISCO!!! HOPE YOU ENJOY THE ALA CONVENTION.

INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST ON THE HOT SEAT: MAAD INTERVIEW WITH FELIX BYRNE

Kate Jasper can run but she can't hide. Every time she stumbles across a body, which happens with alarming frequency, investigative reporter Felix Byrne will track her down to get the inside info. We tried to turn the tables on him with an interview, but...

LM: We're speaking today with Felix Byrne, reporter for the Marin Mind and correspondent for the Philadelphia Globe, about his long time friendship with Kate Jasper, the sleuth of--

FB: Friendship? Friendship! Man, it's lucky that woman isn't under the lilies. Some presto-pronto friendship! When she finds a whiz-bang corpse, does she call her "friend," her "buddy," her "compadre," Felix Byrne, and give him the scoop? Nooooo... Holy Moly, that woman is not logged on, ya know what I mean? Like she's--

LM: Well, perhaps, if I may rephrase the question? How about your "relationship" with that famous Marin County sleuth, Kate--

FB: Don't tell me about relationships! Holy Socks, that woman is tighter with my sweetie, Barbara, than I am. Those two are always together, deep in doo-doo without a pooper scooper. They're tighter than a Republican budget, ya know what I mean? Tighter than a pair of jeans from the dryer. Tighter than--

LM: Uh, Mr. Byrne--

FB: And that poor geek she lives with, Mr. No Comment, Mr. Gargoyle Glare, Mr.--

LM: Actually, Mr. Byrne, we're more interested in Ms. Jasper's detection--

FB: Detection, hah! Stumbling's more like it. The President wouldn't be safe in the same room with her. Any president. The woman's the Tofu Typhoid Mary of Murder, Kate the Corpse Magnet, Death's Little Helper--

LM: But, Mr. Byrne, Kate Jasper has discovered the identity of numerous murderers--

FB: Discovered, diddly! She's just karmically impaired, ya know what I mean? In fact, I actually popped the poop on the last case myself, but do I get any credit? Do I? Huh, huh? Just 'cause Kate kicked the weapon outta the perp's hand. I coulda--

LM: Well, what can you tell us about Kate Jasper, Mr. Byrne?

FB: She's gonzo, a potato-brain, ya know what I mean? Actually, I'm the real scoop here. I'm writing my memoirs and--

[Time constraints forced us to end the interview without ever actually getting any information about Kate Jasper; however, we did escape without harm to life or clothing from the ferocious reporter who has been compared to "a pit bull of an interrogator. Once he had you by the throat he never let go." Murder Most Mellow, p. 79.]

LARGER THAN DEATH

By Lynne Murray

LARGER THAN DEATH -- What is it?

It's a murder mystery that introduces a life-sized heroine. But I'll let her speak for herself:

"My name is Josephine Fuller and I've never weighed less than 200 pounds in my adult life -- not counting the chip on my shoulder. People call me Donna Quixote because I make my living tilling windmills. How did I get started? I answered an ad in the San Francisco Chronicle."

Josie gets a job investigating candidates for the largesse of a wealthy woman but then her best friend and role model Nina West is slain in her Seattle apartment in a manner that points to Captain Ahab, a serial killer who targets larger women. Everyone loved Nina, but could she have made an enemy no one knew about? As Josie asks questions, she attracts the attention of the killer. Or is her life in more danger from one of Nina's friends with a hidden agenda?

LARGER THAN DEATH -- When will it be available?

September 1, 1997! Yay! I know, I've been a "promising novelist" for far too long. She keeps promising and promising, when will she finally show up with the books? September 1997, coming to a bookstore, web site or 800 number near you...

LARGER THAN DEATH -- Where does the book take place?

Josephine Fuller starts out on the doorstep of a mansion in San Francisco, travels around the country a bit and ends up in Seattle, with side trips to to Idaho and a ghost town in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains.

LARGER THAN DEATH -- Who says I want a copy?

Only you can answer that question. But if the hardback price ($23.00) is too steep, feel free to ask your local library to invest in a copy, then others can enjoy it as well.

LARGER THAN DEATH -- Why are you telling me all this?

I'm a story teller, I can't help myself.

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