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Deborah Aull
About the author: Rich “Mac” McDonough is a Cincinnati resident and has been the owner of the Shamus Private Detective Agency for over thirty years. He loves his work and says he has no plans to ev...view moreAbout the author: Rich “Mac” McDonough is a Cincinnati resident and has been the owner of the Shamus Private Detective Agency for over thirty years. He loves his work and says he has no plans to ever retire. Mac can be reached at (513) 793-6838, P.O. Box 43371, Cincinnati, Ohio 45243, or by e-mail MACS@Cinci.rr.com
About the author and editor: Deborah Aull is a freelance editor and writer residing in Independence, Kentucky. She was born in 1964 and grew up in Northern KY. She works for an attorney in Cincinnati, Ohio. When she was asked how she got the cool job of writing about Princess Diana she shared her story:
"Is there anything that you have never done but would like to do? And, if so, what would it be?" This was the whimsical question that my part-time boss, an attorney, asked me one day. My response came easily. I told him that I would, one, like to write a book and, two, work in a library; even if it was shelving books!
In an interesting twist a few months later my boss came to me and asked: "Do you still want to write a book? I have a client who is looking for someone to do just that. It has to be someone that he can trust 100% with confidential information." He went on to say, "I suggested you, he'll be calling you. His name is Mac."
I laughed thinking he was teasing me. He wasn't. Sure enough, Rich "Mac" McDonough called to set up a face to face meeting with me. Turns out he is a prominent private investigator of many years in Cincinnati OH. I didn't want to meet at his office because I would have felt intimidated. A restaurant would be too noisy. We arranged to meet at the Kenton County Library in Covington, KY. I was curious as to what type of book he had in mind. Mac began to tell me a fascinating story about a case he had worked on with Princess Diana of Wales. The one-time future Queen of England! I told Mac that I thought I could handle it even though I had absolutely no experience as a book writer. We worked out some details and he hired me on the spot. Right then and there I had to sign a 'confidentiality agreement' which Mac readily had in his briefcase. As I walked to my car I couldn't help but wonder just exactly how much in over my head I had gotten! But I was excited. I was excited about the story and thrilled that I was about to do something that I always wanted to do: write a book. Oh, and I couldn't tell a soul!
This book was basically written 'over the phone.' Over the next few months Mac phoned each day with a day to day account of his case with Princess Di. And I took notes, notes and more notes. At the end of the day I would organize my thoughts and call him with additional questions. Mac would laugh because I would ask things such as, what she was wearing? What she was eating and drinking? What about her personality? Was she funny or serious? Did she act like, well, a princess? Was she down to earth? Mac's focus was more on talking about 'the case' but I wanted personal information because I wanted to feel as if I knew her, too. Funny, a girl from Independence KY writing about a real princess as if we were close friends.
Even I didn't know how the case was going to end but I couldn't wait to find out! It was all very action-packed and suspenseful! And that poor kidnapped boy! And I wondered about his frantic mother who was Princess Di's childhood friend. The book didn't have a title, yet. We kicked some ideas around but nothing 'stuck.' One day the name of book popped into my head! I called Mac and told him I had the title: A CINCINNATI PRIVATE EYE PROTECTING PRINCESS DI: A Fascinview less
Books by Deborah Aull
A Cincinnati Private Eye Protecting Princess Di: A Fascinating Footnote in History