BY WENDI REARDON PRICE
Clarkston News Staff Writer
“Lighthearted” is the one word Kate MacInnis would describe her newest novel Distant Heart Sounds, which is available this month.
Distant Heart Sounds follows Morgan Cutler, a Detroit emergency center nurse. She believes she has seen just about everything in her 20-plus years on the job Then, a near death experience leaves her with psychic abilities and one day she feels someone she cannot see.
MacInnis, a Clarkston resident, said like a lot of people she has heard ghost stories since childhood.
“Most of them were pretty scary,” MacInnis added. “I’ve also seen pictures that couldn’t be explained, heard real-life experiences recounted and have witnesses some odd things that have happened as well. If you have a ghost story and share it with a co-worker or family, pretty soon there will be several people listening. Why not have fun with it?”
MacInnis found inspiration in reading.
“As a lifelong introvert, books have been the most important and constant things in my life besides family,” she said.
When she was in elementary school she discovered mysteries by Phyllis Whitney and short stories from Alfred Hitchcock. It led to reading Trixie Belden, The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew.
“I loved reading more than anything else,” she said. “In fourth grade, my music teacher asked the class to write about a famous composer. I did the assignment and ended the paper with a big, dramatic flourish. The teacher asked me to stand up as she read my work aloud to the entire class. I received a round of applause and was hooked. From that moment on, I knew that writing was for me.”
She went on to earn a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism at Oakland University and a Master’s Degree in American Culture at the University of Michigan-Flint.
She is a professional writer with more than 20 years. She has spent most of it in healthcare, particularly hospitals, which provided opportunities to hear stories from nurses, doctors, visitors and family members about unusual occurrences and miracles.
Distant Heart Sounds is the first book in the Nurse Morgan series.
“All of my ideas and notes would fill nearly 1,000 pages,” MacInnis said. “It made more sense to break into multiple books, two or three, or maybe more.”
She added she wanted the story and the characters to evolve.
“Book One starts out a little scary in the first chapter because, of course, the idea you’ve discovered ghosts in your house is unsettling,” MacInnis said. “But Morgan learns to understand and accept the various situations. I would like her to keep growing, learning, teaching, and reaching out to others with her gift (psychic ability). That’s a series of books.”
rt, published by Inkspell Publishing, is available in eBook, digital format, on August 25 and will be available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo and iTunes.
For more information, visit www.katemacinnis.com or email authorkatemacinnis@gmail.com.
Please enjoy this excerpt from Distant Heart Sounds:
The three of them looked at the beautiful woman with a hole in her chest. The entrance wound missed the heavy diamond necklace; her mouth was open, and she stared dully with lifeless, green eyes.
“This obviously was not a robbery. That necklace is worth more than my house.” Morgan looked at Chief Hill.
“Looks like a small-caliber wound at close range,” said Adam Thornton. “We’ll have her moved to the city morgue where they can confirm.” He pulled a notebook out of his pocket and scribbled.
“I know what happened,” Gloria said from behind Morgan, who jumped and turned to find herself face to face with the woman.
“I had brunch at the country club today with some of my friends. It was a charity event with all sorts of people there. The valet went to get my car, but he came back and said it had a flat tire, which he offered to fix once the rush was over. I didn’t believe him and crossed the parking lot to see for myself. When I got to my car, it did have a flat tire.
“I didn’t know what else to do, so I decided to go back to the valet and call for help.”
Morgan stared with her mouth open as she listened to the woman recount the experience. She turned back to the detectives and coughed.
“Morgan, are you okay?” Ed asked.
Gloria stopped and glared at Ed.
“Excuse me, officer, I was in the middle of my death story.”

To purchase:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08CCHCS2Y
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/distant-heart-sounds
BN: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/distant-heart-sounds-kate-macinnis/1137294670
iTunes: https://books.apple.com/us/book/id1522168402