The Oakland Press

Author’s first novel a ghost story full of romance, laughs

- By Debbie Leveski

As a child, Kathy Sauer was scared by the ghost stories her dad used to tell her, yet she became more comfortabl­ewith the idea of ghosts while watching the 1950s TV show“Topper” — based on the Cary Grantmovie of 1937 — in which a couple live in a home haunted by its deceased former occupants and their St. Bernard dog.

“I do believe in ghosts because it only makes sense — we are such incredible creatures, how could this be all there is?” Sauer says. “I’m also a coward, and enjoy the idea of ghosts rather than actually having them in my house.”

Sauer, who has worked in themedical field for years and has 20 years of experience as a profession­al writer, including freelancew­ork for The Oakland Press, recently published her first novel.

“Distant Heart Sounds,” written under the pen name Kate MacInnis, is the first of a three-part series about Morgan Cutler, a Metro-Detroit emergency nurse who has developed the power to communicat­e with folks on the other side. With her enhanced psychic ability, she begins seeing, smelling and hearing unusual activity in the emergency department, and at home.

“The world is so sad right now, we could all use a laugh,” Sauer says.

“This is a ghost story with a sense of humor. It is totally entertainm­ent, because we genuinely need a laugh nowadays.”

The book not only has a sense of humor, it includes a bit of romance, too. After a near-death experience, Cutler gets involved with a hunky doctor at the emergency center, who happens to have some psychic ability, too.

“I can’t sing, dance, play an instrument, or act,” Sauer says. “This is what I have— and I wrote a book that makes me smile.” She wants people who read her book to forget about the world for a few hours and smile too.

Sauer and her husband, Bill, the

 ?? PHOTO COURTESY KATHY SAUER ?? Writer Kathy Sauer works at her desk. Her first novel is “Distant Heart Sounds,” written under the pen name Kate MacInnis.
PHOTO COURTESY KATHY SAUER Writer Kathy Sauer works at her desk. Her first novel is “Distant Heart Sounds,” written under the pen name Kate MacInnis.

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