Locusts and Wild Honey

Despite the fact that readers thought  the newspaper article in my third book was genuine, rather than my concoction, once again I am using a fictional newspaper article in my new book, "Locusts and Wild Honey," except that this time, I have another chapter following the article, hoping that the story continuation will indicate that the newspaper article is my invention like every other word since Chapter 1 began.

It seems that folks are prepped to believe that anything that looks like a newspaper article must be true.  A former print journalist who read my last book, "Great Heats" which has a series of newspaper articles as the Epilogue, knew that they weren't written by a journalist and immediately chided me for it.  Most other readers who commented, though, thought that I had used the newspaper article as the inspiration for my book. 

At any rate, I am trying the newspaper device again.  My chapter begins:

NEWMAN

OBSERVER-REPORTER

Serving Newman and Environs since 1858

DEATH SURROUNDED

IN MYSTERY

Reported by

J. Adams, City Desk

July 22, 2012

An unusual set of circumstances has led to the death of ... 

[Forgive me -- I dare not go further]