Kathryn Casey's Blog

Last week, all of a sudden, folks start texting, emailing, messaging me on social media, to tell me that I'm mentioned, along with my book DIE, MY LOVE, on the latest Aurora Teagarden episode on Hallmark: A Lesson in Murder. I'd heard this was, perhaps, in the works, but didn't know that it had actually happened. So, I subscribed, and about an hour into the episode, Aurora's professor gave her class an assignment: to read and diagnose the investigation in a book written by "one of the two queens of true crime." 

 

Well, I, of course, knew that the first "queen" would be Ann Rule. (We all know that, right?) But number two? It was me! Yup, me! I was kind of stunned. 

 

Wow. A queen of true crime, right up there with Ann Rule. This is cool, don't you think? I had a blast watching. The image above is a shot of the program I took on my cell phone of the actress who plays Aurora reading DIE, MY LOVE. In the show's plot, she uses my book to solve a murder.  

 

For those who haven't watched it, the series is really fun. It's based on the Aurora Teagarden series written by the wonderful Charlaine Harris. 

 

In truth, my books have been used fairly often on college campuses. I've had students contact me after EVIL BESIDE HER or DELIVER US is assigned in a segment on serial predators. A WARRANT TO KILL is often assigned to demonstrate abuse of power in criminology classes. And I've been on TV a bunch, participating in crime programs, doing interviews about sensational cases. In 2023, I was featured in a Netflix limited series on the Texas Killing Fields. But this was the first time any of my books had been used in the plot of a fictional TV series, and that made it seem rather special. Then, of course, being compared to Ann Rule? That was so great. I could hardly believe it! 

 

So I thought I'd drop a note just to say hello and let you know that if you're searching for something fun to watch tonight, maybe click onto the Hallmark Channel. You might hear a familiar name. 

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Yup. It's true. After decades of contemplating writing this book, ANGEL FALLS is here. I admit: I'm excited!

 

I get asked all the time: "How do you come up with your ideas?"

 

In this case, the answer is easy: ANGEL FALLS, was inspired by the life of Texan Ruth Robertson, a photojournalist who, in 1949, mounted the expedition that successfully measured Angel Falls, the world's tallest waterfall.

 

Despite Ruth's amazing achievement, her story had been lost to time. I happened upon it more than 20 years ago, and I knew that someday I had to remind the world about her. ANGEL FALLS is historical fiction, a blending of fact and imagination, but the plot line involving Ruth's life and the expedition is based on her mementos and writings. For research, I had access to Ruth's photographs and papers through the archive at the University of Texas – Austin's Harry Ransom Center.

 

Before Ruth's success, the waterfall was thought to be impossible to reach by land. Angel Falls is in a dense Venezuelan jungle, located inside of a deep mountain canyon. The native tribes in the area believed that particular mountain, Auyán-tepui, was haunted, and their cultures warned them to stay away. Four earlier expeditions – all mounted by men – had run out of supplies or found the jungle too formidable, and all had turned back. At least one member of a prior party vanished in the jungle, home to venomous insects, snakes, and dangerous animals.

 

The waterfall had only been seen by air until Robertson and her party cut through the jungle to reach it. An astounding sight, Angel Falls measures 3,212 feet from top to bottom, higher than two Empire State Buildings stacked one on top of the other. 

 

I am so thrilled about this book. I love Ruth's story. 

 

Here's the synopsis from the backcover: 

 

"A dynamic cast of characters, lush settings, and an engaging plot that is sure to excite Casey's legion of loyal fans."—New York Times bestselling author of Perennials, Julie Cantrell.

 

The jungle 1949: Everyone said it was impossible, dangerous, unwise. Three expeditions mounted by men had failed. How could one led by a woman succeed? "Don't be a fool. You'll die out there," a friend whispered to Ruth. But a siren haunted her dreams, calling to her. She had no choice but to follow it into the deepest, darkest jungle in the world, a decision that would change her life forever.

 

Houston 1993: A violent storm pummels the Gulf Coast. Fleeing from her abusive husband, Gabby Jordan becomes disoriented and lost. After a terrifying escape, she happens upon a convenience store bulletin board that leads her to the ramshackle, riverside house of a woman named Ruth. As Gabby's husband hunts her down, intent on revenge, Gabby and Ruth rely on their instincts and each other to fight for survival.  

 

Inspired by the true story of a woman explorer, Angel Falls is a poignant, inspirational tale of two women who join forces to fight a deadly enemy and, in the process, confront painful pasts to find peace with long-hidden secrets.

 

Hey y'all,

 

So this is exciting: my new book, ANGEL FALLS, is now up for preorder on Amazon.com. Right now, it's only available in ebook form. But it will debut on September 15th, and at that time it'll be available at all retailers, in print as well as ebook. The audio book will drop that same day on Audible.

 

Here's the story in a nutshell: 

 

"A dynamic cast of characters, lush settings, and an engaging plot that is sure to excite Casey's legion of loyal fans."—New York Times bestselling author of Perennials, Julie Cantrell.

 

The jungle 1949: Everyone said it was impossible, dangerous, unwise. Three expeditions mounted by men had failed. How could one led by a woman succeed? "Don't be a fool. You'll die out there," a friend whispered to Ruth. But a siren haunted her dreams, calling to her. She had no choice but to follow it into the deepest, darkest jungle in the world, a decision that would change her life forever.

 

Houston 1993: A violent storm pummels the Gulf Coast. Fleeing from her abusive husband, Gabby Jordan becomes disoriented and lost. After a terrifying escape, she happens upon a convenience store bulletin board that leads her to the ramshackle, riverside house of a woman named Ruth. As Gabby's husband hunts her down, intent on revenge, Gabby and Ruth rely on their instincts and each other to fight for survival.  

 

Inspired by the true story of a woman explorer, Angel Falls is a poignant, inspirational tale of two women who join forces to fight a deadly enemy and, in the process, confront painful pasts to find peace with long-hidden secrets.

 

WANT MORE INFO? Read the excerpt on my website. Just click on ANGEL FALLS in the left-hand column. 

 

I am so excited. I LOVE THIS BOOK! I can't wait for you to read it. 

 

Enjoy the summer, and, if you preorder now, ANGEL FALLS will magically appear on your Kindle after Labor Day! 

 

All the best,

 

Kathryn

We authors live for days like this: publication days! Our books hit store shelves, get shipped out in the mail, land on Kindles, iPads, smart phones, all manner of electronic devices. 

 

For me, this is my eighteenth such event, and it's the third time a new Clara Jefferies mystery has debuted. I couldn't be happier.

 

I have so much fun writing about Clara. She tugs at my heart, sends my pulse reeling. At times, I'm scolding her as I write: "Don't do that! You'll be sorry!"

 

So much fun. 

 

THE BLESSED BONES begins with Clara shuffling through the Tombs, the file cabinets full of old cases secreted away in Alber PD's hidden back room. She's reviewing which cases might still be salvageable after years, sometimes decades of neglect. It's there that she happens upon the photo of a little boy with a black eye. It brings to the surface old memories of a child she failed to save, and before long, despite the roadblocks, Clara is determined to find justice for the tyke. 

 

It's grand writing about a character like Clara, one whose heart pushes her forward, whose determination takes over when others would walk back, who has a low tolerance threshold for injustice and sees the victims for what they are: people who deserved better. The bad guys? When Clara's around, they need to worry. 

 

This particular book features the parallel story of Violet, a pregnant teenager being held captive. In the throes of labor, she thinks back to how her story unfolded. Is she alive and remembering? Or dead. Is it possible that she's the pregnant teenager found on the mountainside? If she is alive, can she be saved?

 

Clara's world has become so rich and so real to me. I cheer for her and Max, the chief deputy she's loved since they were teenagers. Their lives are complicated, perhaps too complicated to allow them to have the love and the lives they deserve. And Ardeth. Clara's mother. Will she ever truly open her eyes and her heart to her daughter? Despite all she's been through, Clara craves family. But in this world - one where rules define who counts and who doesn't - Clara is invisible, shunned even by those she loves, and she feels betrayed. 

 

Yes! We authors live for publication days. Here's hoping you read THE BLESSED BONES, and that you share my enthusiasm. Thanks again for all the support. 

I have a new mystery series. Did you know?

 

Yup. In addition to Sarah Armstrong, I'd now like to introduce you to Clara Jefferies. The first book in this new series, THE FALLEN GIRLS, came out in June. And today the second book debuts, HER FINAL PRAYER.

 

A Dallas detective, Clara has an unusual past: she was born and raised, lived her first twenty-four years in the small town of Alber, Utah, a polygamous enclave in a mountain valley high in the Rockies. She fled Alber in fear for her life and spent ten years in Texas. In book one, THE FALLEN GIRLS, Clara is pulled back to Alber to try to find a missing sister. What Clara finds is a town in the midst of change as the feds have made arrests, including of the religion's prophet. Outsiders are moving in and barriers are falling. But rather than a welcomed homecoming, Clara has become a stranger, even to her own family.

 

So in book one, THE FALLEN GIRLS, Clara is pulled into a string of horrific crimes as she searches for her sister.

 

In book two, as I said out today – you may be able to tell that I'm pretty excited – Clara is called to the Johansson bison farm, outside of Alber, and what she finds there are some of the most gruesome murders she's ever encountered in her years in law enforcement.

 

From that heart-pounding start, Clara is propelled into an investigation where nothing is as it seems, and where she's forced to confront her own troubled past.

 

To set up the series, I'd like to tell you a bit about the inspiration for Alber, my fictional town.

 

It all began in 1988. At the time, I was a magazine writer, a contributing editor at Ladies' Home Journal. I'd written for them for about four years at that point, and a case caught my editor's attention. It was unfolding in Hildale, Utah, one of the fundamentalist Mormon towns in what's known as the Short Creek area. The court case involved a polygamous family. The husband, Vaughn Fischer, and his first wife, Sharane. The Fischers wanted to adopt the six children of Vaughn's third wife, Brenda Thornton, who'd died the previous summer. Brenda and Vaughn had only been married for two months at the time she died, and none of the children were his biological offspring. The adoption was being contested by Brenda's two sisters, Patricia and Janet. My editor at LHJ sent me to Utah to interview Vaughn Fischer and his family.

 

So that summer, I drove my rental car into the town of Hildale, Utah, just across the border from Colorado City, Arizona, two towns controlled by a fundamentalist Mormon group. From the beginning, it was eye-opening. I was there in the summer, and it was so hot. But the girls and women were all clad in prairie dresses, and the boys and men in long pants. Everyone had their arms covered, and the women even wore socks with their sandals.

 

The houses were huge! Some housed three, four, five or six wives and their children. The Jeff's mansion, the one near the center of town where Rulon Jeffs, the sect's prophet at the time, lived, had small cottages throughout the yard. Someone told me that he had dozens of wives and an unknown but large number of children. The town is dusty but the setting is beautiful, bordered by impressive red mountains. A complicating factor during my visit was that they didn't have street signs.

 

You see, the sect was very secretive – perhaps because polygamy was illegal – and they didn't actually want strangers like me driving through town. They also didn't have a restaurant or a hotel. The biggest problem was that no one would give me directions. I'd see women with children in fenced yards, but by the time I got to the gate, everyone had disappeared. Poof! They were gone.

 

In the end, I did find the Fischer house, and I ended up spending a week in the area. I interviewed folks like the Fischers who swore that they were happily polygamous and that it was the best way to live and bring up children; and I talked to those who'd been drawn into the sect only to later decide it wasn't all they'd expected  

 

One of my most vivid memories is of sitting in the Fischer's living room surrounded by what seemed like scores of children. I had on a short-sleeved dress. While we were talking, a group of the younger children surrounded me, and they began to run their hands over my arms. I couldn't understand why until one of their mothers said, "It's that they've never seen a woman's arms uncovered before."

 

As I got more into the interviews in Hildale, I discovered that there are things to consider when you live in a polygamous community. One is that boys and girls are born in fairly equal numbers. That presents a problem when one man can have dozens of wives. The main concern: there weren't enough women to go around. This was solved, unfortunately, by weeding out the boys who weren't wanted in the community, the ones who the sect's leaders would rather disappear. They were called the lost boys.

 

What I was told during my time in Hildale was that the boys the sect planned to keep were groomed to stay, and the others, beginning in their early teen years, were manipulated to leave. The deed was accomplished by pushing and pursuing the unwanted boys, making the town uncomfortable for them.

 

The other thing was that the girls weren't allowed to choose who they married, but rather assigned to husbands by their prophet's decrees (based on revelations from God).

 

So, that's the inspiration for the setting of my Clara Jefferies mystery series. I drew on those experiences to create the town of Alber and its rather unusual residents. I hope you enjoy the books as much as I'm enjoying writing them. I'm currently hard at work on book three, and I am loving every minute of it.

 

Oh, and if you read the books and love them, any of my books actually, I'd be delighted if you'd write a review where you purchased your book. It means a lot to have reader recommendations.

 

Thank you, and happy reading!

 

Kathryn

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Books take months to write and more months to hit the stores; so when one comes out, it's thrilling.

 

I'm especially excited about my current effort: THE FALLEN GIRLS. It's out today, and it's a particularly satisfying debut since it's the first in a new mystery series starring Police Chief Clara Jefferies. 

 

The story in a nutshell: A Dallas detective, Clara gets a call late one Saturday while she's at the office. It's from an old friend, Max Anderson, who she once felt very close to, and he's asking her to return to their hometown, Alber, Utah. At first, Clara refuses. That town, set high in a mountain valley, holds painful memories for Clara, and she recoils at the thought of returning there - for any reason.

 

Then Max explains; he's a cop now, too, chief deputy in the county sheriff's office, and the case he's working involves someone close to Clara, a member of her own family. A young girl is missing: Clara's twelve-year-old half-sister, Delilah.

 

"Delilah has disappeared," Max says. "At least we think she has. And your family isn't cooperating."

 

A frantic rush back to Alber, where Clara's past waits to confront her, and she's thrust into a murky investigation. Clara's mother tells her that Delilah is fine, and she orders Clara to leave. Why doesn't Clara believe her? No one produces Delilah, and Clara's sister Lily pushes their mother to open up and tell the truth: Delilah is in grave danger.

 

This book was so much fun to write!

 

I love Clara and Max, Clara's complicated family made up of three mothers and dozens of siblings. The town isn't happy that Clara, who fled the town to save her own life, has returned. They want her gone. And Clara's father has died, keeping her from confronting him about the horror her life was because he failed to stand up for her.

 

Filled with pulse-pounding action, The Fallen Girls will keep you up at night, waiting to turn the next page. I so hope you enjoy it, and that you look forward to book two in the series scheduled to debut this coming fall: 2020.

 

I hope you and yours are all safe and healthy. Thank you for reading the books. It means the world to me. And welcome Clara Jefferies. I'm delighted to introduce you to the world! 

 

 

Links to buy The Fallen Girls

 

Amazon: https://geni.us/B085H87WFBCover

Apple: https://buff.ly/332rWJG

Kobo: https://buff.ly/3cK2Ofa

Google: https://buff.ly/2IvzJpV

BN.com: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-...

 

Today's the day. More than three years in the making, IN PLAIN SIGHT hits brick-and-mortar and Internet booksellers. This is such a fascinating case, I'm struggling with where to begin.

 

Let's start where I did, when I first heard about the case. In January 2013, I was home working on my last book, POSSESSED, when my husband shouted at me to come to the living room. Something big had happened, and news reports were breaking into regular programming to announce that a block from the courthouse in the center of the small town of Kaufman, Texas, someone had gunned down  an assistant district attorney named Mark Hasse. It happened as the workday began, in broad daylight. "Who would do that?" my husband wondered out loud. "I mean, who'd shoot an assistant DA, especially in such a public place?"

 

"Wherever you are, we'll find you!" I heard Mark Hasse's boss, the Kaufman County DA, threaten the killer the following afternoon. Clearly angry, Mike McLelland had the demeanor of a man who wasn't making idle threats.  With every ounce of his being, he intended to corral the gunman and take him down.

 

For weeks after, I was mesmerized by the case. Every morning, Good Morning America had an update. In the evenings, the national news reports mused about the possible killers. Most of the media attention focused on the Aryan Brotherhood or the Mexican Cartel. Then the news reports faded, and we were left wondering: What happened?

 

Incredibly, two months later, on the day before Easter, it happened again. Suddenly a breaking news bulletin flashed across TV screens and Internet sites: KAUFMAN COUNTY DA AND WIFE FOUND MURDERED.

 

Mike McLelland, the big man in the black cowboy hat who'd threatened his friend's killer, had been slain in his suburban home, along with his wife, Cynthia. 

 

From that point on, the case became the top law enforcement priority across the nation. President Obama monitored the investigation's progress in the White House. Someone had murdered an innocent woman and two prosecutors, declaring war on law enforcement throughout the nation. Again, the rumors swirled, speculation mounted, TV pundits railed about the dangers of the Aryan Cartel. But no arrests were made. Who could be behind it? And why?

 

Then, finally, answers. A month after the McLellands died TV news helicopters hovered over a one-story brick home on the outskirts of Kaufman, while inside a crime scene unit conducted a search. When it ended, Eric Williams, a former justice of the peace, was brought down to the county jail for booking. Days later, his wife, Kim, joined him. 

 

Such unlikely suspects. They weren't at all what the experts predicted. It seemed those who were supposed to know had been wrong about everything except for one aspect of the killings: the motive. There the experts hit the proverbial nail on the head when they said the killings reeked of revenge. 

 

Sometimes a case pops up that piques my curiosity. I wonder why things happen, and why the people involved made the decisions they did. What led to the murders? Why would a former lawyer and justice of the peace, along with his wife, plot three such terrible crimes. I had to find out. I wanted to understand. 

 

The result is IN PLAIN SIGHT. And with this book, I got very lucky. The two people at the center of the killings had turned down all requests for interviews, until I asked. Then over a period of a year and a half, I spent nine hours in prisons interviewing Eric and Kim Williams. Their only interviews to date. 

 

In the end, that made such a difference. IN PLAIN SIGHT is a behind the scenes look at three of the most notorious murders of the century. 

For those of you who've missed the news, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has reversed David Temple's conviction. Temple is the Katy, Texas, husband in the book SHATTERED who in 2007 was convicted of murdering his pregnant wife, Belinda. David is now free awaiting a retrial.

I have no conflict with the court's decision. Everyone should have a fair trial, especially when facing a sentence of life. However, his attorneys are now asking to have Temple declared "actually innocent" without a new trial. That is something I hate to see for reasons I outlined below in an open letter to Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg.

I am asking those of you who agree with me to please voice your opinions to Ogg, asking her to recuse her office and refer the case to the AG's office. You can reach her through her county email account: ogg_kim@dao.hctx.net. Or voice a conflicting opinion, if you have one. This is the time to speak up, not after the decision is made.

Here's my letter


January 6, 2017

Dear Ms. Ogg

I am writing to you today out of deep concern for what is happening in the David Temple case. I am a Houston-based journalist and the author of fourteen books. One of my books, SHATTERED, is on this case. Compiling my research, I not only sat in the courtroom throughout the trial but interviewed many of those involved.

As you know, this is a particularly horrific murder. Belinda Temple, a beloved Katy High School teacher, was eight-months pregnant with a baby girl at the time of her killing. On January 11, 1999, someone put a 12-gauge shotgun up to the back of her head and pulled the trigger. Nearly eight years later, her husband, David, was convicted of the crime. This past November, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals set aside the verdict and ordered a new trial. At this time, Mr. Temple is out of prison and awaiting a retrial.

Ms Ogg, I have no problem with the CCA�s ruling on the Temple case. If David Temple didn�t get a fair trial, he absolutely deserves one. On the other hand, the victims, Belinda Temple and her unborn child, Erin, and the people of Harris County deserve a fair handling of the case. I�ve read that David�s defense team is pushing to have David declared an innocent man without a new trial. I find this troubling for multiple reasons:

� First: the appeal�s courts have repeatedly found against the defense team�s claims of �actual innocence� in David�s appeals. They never exonerated him.

� The courts have ruled that there was legally sufficient evidence to convict David.

� The courts haven�t cited any substantial new evidence in the case that clears David.

� None of the evidence used in David Temple�s murder trial has been ruled inadmissible, which means all the evidence jurors considered in his murder trial � that used to convict him - remains available to prosecutors for use in a new trial.

� In fact, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals� decision was very limited. It decreed that David deserved a new trial principally because his defense team wasn�t given information early enough to use it to its best advantage during his trial.

Obviously, this is an important matter. With his freedom on the line, David Temple deserved every break the law afforded him. But the ruling awarded a new trial, not that he be declared innocent.

Another reason I�m reaching out to you is that I find it disheartening when evidence becomes muddled, as it appears it has in this case, where much of what has been claimed to �prove� David Temple�s innocence doesn�t match the trial record or evidence.

For instance, I have heard some associated with the defense suggest that there is no evidence David ever owned a 12-gauge shotgun. In fact, a friend of David�s younger brother testified at the trial that David owned a 12-gauge. On the stand, Clint Stockdick, who hunted with the Temple brothers, went so far as to describe the make of the shotgun. David�s 12-gauge shotgun was never produced for testing, and he has consistently denied ever owning one.

It has been said that David Temple didn�t have anything in the house that suggested he still owned a shotgun at the time of Belinda�s murder. But at his trial, multiple witnesses testified to seeing shotgun shells in his garage.

Most troubling, there�s been much said about a 3:30 PM cell phone call Belinda made to David on the afternoon of her murder. The location the call was made from is important because it would indicate where Belinda was at that time. That could impact the timeline of how the events unfolded that day.

In their appeal, Temple�s defense attorneys pointed to two tape-recorded interviews that they said indicated the call was made from the Katy High School campus. If that were true, it would place Belinda Temple on the school campus at 3:30, and that would push back the timeline. One of David�s attorneys has said that this particular evidence proves Temple�s innocence.

When I heard this, I felt compelled to investigate the claims. If there is any evidence suggesting David couldn�t have murdered Belinda, I want to do what I can to help. I would never want an innocent man to serve time in prison. This evidence didn�t fit what I learned while researching the book, but I wanted to give it a fair assessment.

So, I listened to the two tape recorded interviews.

The first one was of a woman named Courtney Ferguson. Like Kevin Patrick Yeary, a justice on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals who wrote in an opinion that he listened to the tape, I heard nothing in Ferguson�s statement about Belinda making a phone call from the Katy High School Campus at 3:30 that afternoon.

The second interview cited was with Margaret Christen, an assistant principal. She testified at the trial and didn�t say anything about that 3:30 call. In her tape-recorded interview with detectives, however, Christen did make an ambiguous statement about a phone call. So I followed up, found Christen and interviewed her. On the phone, Margaret Christen denied knowing anything about the 3:30 phone call. She said the phone call she referred to in her taped interview was the one she testified to at trial, one Belinda made earlier that day.

So prime evidence of an alternate timeline the defense points to as proof of David Temple�s innocence doesn�t appear to hold true.

In Thursday�s (January 5, 2017) Houston Chronicle, David�s lead appeal attorney, Stan Schneider, didn�t call for an investigation into any other suspects in Belinda�s murder. Instead he said: �Unfortunately, the way this prosecution went down, I don�t think anyone could ever really be prosecuted.� As far as I know, David Temple also hasn�t publicly asked police to look for the murderer who put a shotgun to the back of his heavily pregnant wife�s head and pulled the trigger.

So that�s it. Apparently without any evidence confirming his innocence - remember the appeals courts didn�t cite anything �particularly momentous� � David Temple�s defense team wants him declared innocent. And Belinda and her unborn daughter, Erin, are to be forgotten.

Complicating this situation further, Ms. Ogg, questions are being raised about the ability of your office to be impartial in this case. Some wonder if too many in your office have ties to the Temple defense for there to be confidence in a decision.

For instance, two of your recently hired staffers, chief of intake, John Denholm, and your top investigator, Steve Clappart, have given interviews to the press backing Temple. Both worked to have him freed. Joanne Musick, who oversees your sex crimes unit, headed the county�s criminal lawyer�s association when it ran a blog declaring David Temple an innocent man. The head of your grand jury unit, Jim Leitner, also pushed to get David Temple out of prison. You personally included David Temple�s trial attorney, Dick DeGuerin, in the list of those you thanked on the day you were sworn in.

Unfortunately under these circumstances, however your office handles this case, questions will linger. Whatever is decided, if the decisions are made by you or others in your office, they�ll fall under suspicion of possible bias and improprieties. The result either way is that this case will cast a long shadow over your nascent administration. This should be a particularly uncomfortable situation for a district attorney who ran on a platform of transparency.

The good news is that there�s an easy solution: the David Temple case needs a fresh set of eyes. It shouldn�t be decided by people linked to his defense team or who have already expressed viewpoints on his guilt or innocence, but by impartial, uninvolved prosecutors. For that reason, I urge you to turn the David Temple case over to the Texas State Attorney General�s office. There it can be reviewed and decisions can made without any appearance of conflicts of interest. Through the AG�s office, a decision can be made regarding a second trial, one in which twelve new jurors will have the opportunity to assess the evidence and rule on David Temple�s innocence or guilt.

Ms. Ogg, take the high road. Walk away from this case. It can�t help your new administration, only harm it. There is intense public interest in this case, and the people of Harris County need to know it is being handled based solely on the evidence.

Sincerely,

Kathryn Casey

Pub days are amazing! After years of work, I get to see the finished product hit brick-and-mortar stores and online sellers, and it finally all seems worth it. Another book, this one my thirteenth!

What a case it is: A brilliant scientist, Stefan Andersson initially fell head-over heels for the beautiful yet troubled Ana Trujillo. Like so many of us who feel that strong pull, that attraction, at first he had no insight into who Trujillo truly was. Slowly he began to realize. When he tried to end it, she wouldn't let go. In the end, his kindness killed him.

POSSESSED is a book that took me behind the scenes into a world of witchcraft, of science and sex, drugs and demons. I was warned along the way not to write it, for surely the spirits would retaliate. "You don't know what door you're opening," one woman said.

Yet, the door I opened was actually one into two lives, a view into what went so terribly wrong in a posh Houston high-rise apartment in June 2013. Into the heart of a man who once he loved, never turned away, even though he feared for his life. Into the soul of a woman who threw her life away for a good time, only to find she was alone, with no one willing to take her in except a man she'd abused, one who'd once loved her.

Who knows what draws the human heart? What waits there when we bond with another person? How easily our lives change and how quickly we lose control?

POSSESSED opens that door and we walk through, into two lives as they spin out of control and end in a devastating tragedy.  Read More 

Pub days are amazing! After years of work, I get to see the finished product hit brick-and-mortar stores and online sellers, and it finally all seems worth it. Another book, this one my thirteenth!

What a case it is: A brilliant scientist, Stefan Andersson initially fell head-over heels for the beautiful yet troubled Ana Trujillo. Like so many of us who feel that strong pull, that attraction, at first he had no insight into who Trujillo truly was. Slowly he began to realize. When he tried to end it, she wouldn't let go. In the end, his kindness killed him.

POSSESSED is a book that took me behind the scenes into a world of witchcraft, of science and sex, drugs and demons. I was warned along the way not to write it, for surely the spirits would retaliate. "You don't know what door you're opening," one woman said.

Yet, the door I opened was actually one into two lives, a view into what went so terribly wrong in a posh Houston high-rise apartment in June 2013. Into the heart of a man who once he loved, never turned away, even though he feared for his life. Into the soul of a woman who threw her life away for a good time, only to find she was alone, with no one willing to take her in except a man she'd abused, one who'd once loved her.

Who knows what draws the human heart? What waits there when we bond with another person? How easily our lives change and how quickly we lose control?

POSSESSED opens that door and we walk through, into two lives as they spin out of control and end in a devastating tragedy.