Welcome! 

We are Michael Burns and Kate McGee, a brother-in-law/sister-in-law team writing mysteries about a brilliant linguist who solves murders using the language and linguistic clues unwittingly left behind by the murderers. Her Watson is a down-and-out, wisecracking ex-lawyer.

We have finished our debut novel, The Language of Murder (click here), and are entering the world of publishing, a fraught and scary place. To paraphrase an old one-liner: writing a book is easy; publishing it is hard. Various commentators have said this is the most challenging environment in recent times to get traditionally published (the most extensive and best-known publishing houses). Timing is everything. A writer must be represented by a literary agent to be traditionally published, and top agents receive dozens to hundreds of queries each week. Finding representation is a very high hurdle. 

There are other publishing options—self-publishing, hybrid publishing, and more—but each has its own pitfalls: so many choices and so many mistakes to make. And very soon, if not already, AI will add to the chaos.

This is going to get crazy. We might succeed, or we might crash and burn. But whatever the case, it should be entertaining! Want to come along for the ride? Get an inside peek at the world of publishing from the perspective of aspiring wannabes. Contact us here.