Thoroughly 10 - What Are You Wearing to Die? (25 page)

One year we arrived at a family reunion to find a huge white bear on the back doorstep of our hotel. It turned out to be not an escaped polar bear but a taxidermist’s form. That weekend we were invited to visit the exhibitors hall and competition exhibit of the North Carolina Taxidermists Association. After that, I knew that a taxidermist would have to figure in one of MacLauren Yarbrough’s mysteries.

To get acquainted with the hands-on mechanics of taxidermy, I visited Artistry in Nature Taxidermy in Dallas, Georgia, where owner Mickey Wright and taxidermists Steve Blackstone and Chris Agan introduced me to their world. What I got right is due to their diligence in teaching. What I missed was my own fault.

Helen Machida and Shafer Gray helped me create an accurate text message, since I am as ignorant of the world of text messaging as MacLauren was. It is good to have knowledgeable friends from a younger generation.

Throughout this series, I have relied on Judge Mildred Ann Palmer as my inspiration for Mac. Anytime I need to remember how Mac sounds or help with a detail, she has been a phone call away. Thanks, Judge Palmer! I am also indebted to my editor, Ellen Edwards, who does such a good job of honing these books and helping me shape them. She is not only an invaluable editor, but a friend as well. I am grateful for my agent, Nancy Yost, who keeps the contracts coming and encourages me when I falter, and for Bob, who puts up with a wife who gets engrossed in a world that isn’t there. Most of all, I’m grateful to you, the readers who have made this series not only possible but fun. Thanks to you all!