For all you hard-boiled and horror readers! Shannon Lawrence and the Colorado chapter of Horror Writers of American sponsor an up-close- and- personal tour guided by with Colorado’s El Paso County Coroner and Medical Examiner, Dr. Leon Kelly. Tour scheduled for TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2023 AT 7 PM.
Voters selected Dr. Kelly in 2022 to serve once again as coroner of El Paso County. El Paso County has the only on-site Forensic Toxicology lab in Colorado. Two on-site forensic toxicologists routinely perform toxicology studies for many other Colorado Counties. Six full time deputy coroners, a histologist and one office administrator also staff the office.
Dr. Kelly is a nationally respected board-certified forensic pathologist. He’s served as coroner the last four years and as deputy coroner for years before that. Beyond his involvement in suspicious deaths, Dr. Kelly has led efforts to combat teen and veteran suicide, the opioid crisis, and now a fentanyl epidemic.
He has generously agreed to do a Q&A and a tour of the Coroner’s Office. No charge to attend. Bring your writing implements to take notes and plenty of questions! Now’s your chance! Sign up now.
Mark your calendars! San Diego Partners in Crime will be welcoming David Putnam on Saturday, January 14 at 5:00 pm ET. David will talk about how his career in law enforcement influenced his writing. His latest is A Fearsome Midnight Black. The new “Dave Beckett” book joins a laudatory body of 16 preceding works in the Crime Thriller, Police Procedural categories!
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Dave Beckett is a wide-eyed young man when he joins the police department in a small town in Southern California. His naivete allows him to believe in his world, a vision where the cops are the good guys championing the rights of the wronged. He learns quickly that crime is not black and white, and the bad guys aren’t always the ones committing the crimes. This is the story of a victim turned predator, a young man who grows up too fast and becomes an apt pupil in the pursuit of criminals on both sides of the fence.
REVIEWER RAVES:
“A cop’s life, whether a rookie or a seasoned detective, is jammed with encounters that are often routine, sometimes disturbing, and all too often life-threateningly dangerous, a grind that takes its toll on personal relationships. A FEARSOME MIDNIGHT BLACK pulls back the curtain and takes the reader into that world with in-your-face clarity.”
DP LYLE Award-winning author of the Jake Longly and Cain/Harper Thriller Series
“When writing about police procedures and cases, Putnam knows his stuff. Based on his own true experiences, he brings his characters to life. Real and raw, there’s no way the reader can’t be drawn in quickly and held tightly until the very end.”
Member of Amazon’s Vine Voice (Vine Voice is an invitation only program that gives Amazon reviewers advance access to not-yet-released products for the purpose of writing reviews.)
ABOUT DAVID PUTNAM:
During his career in law enforcement, author David Putnam has done it all: from narcotics, violent crimes and hostage rescue to SWAT, criminal intel and internal affairs. A real-life Five-O! David was recruited to Hawaii’s “Five-O” – like task force as a Special Agent for their Attorney General’s investigation of smuggling and white-collar crimes.
His Bruno Johnson Crime Series launched in 2014 and consists of 7 books up to 2020. Johnson is modeled after a real-life friend of the author who worked with him in a Los Angeles patrol unit. The Sinister is the ninth novel in this best-selling series.
David is also notable for his multiple police awards and commendations for heroism. Putnam lives in the Los Angeles area with his wife, Mary.
David Putnam is the author you’ll want to hear from. Ask questions. Don’t miss your chance – Register for David’s Presentation.
Having spent 30 years in Public Safety divisions of major telecom carriers, I’ve had the opportunity to direct and manage development of a number of property crime prevention applications. Today I’m cutting through speculative ideas about the nature of home break-ins to give you current facts not only about trends, but about how you can make your home resistant to burglary.
Let’s start with what we know about who is likely to break into your home:
85% of burglaries are committed by amateurs, often done by someone who is desperate.
50% of burglars live less than two miles away from the home they want to steal from.
Thieves are mostly male and typically under the age of 25.
Thieves are not planners. Only 12% of all burglaries are plotted in advance.
And who are thieves most likely to target:
Social media posters: 41% of victimized homeowners aged 18 to 34 years posted photos and updates on social media while they were on vacation.
Students are often targeted for their collections of electronic equipment.
Renters are 50% more likely to be burglarized.
The elderly are also a frequent target.
What are the properties thieves consider as easy marks:
Suburban homes have a 50% higher chance of being burglarized.
If your house has already been hit, 51% of burglarized homes are targeted again within 6 weeks.
Rental properties have a more than 50% chance of break in.
Homes without security systems have a 300% greater chance of being burgled.
Given the stats, it is clear that investing in home security is a wise decision. Tim Howell of Secure View, LLC has provided some key points to consider when choosing a security system.
For the Do-It-Yourselfer
Pro:
I can install it myself
It can be less expensive
A low or no monthly cost
Con:
You are then responsible for installing the equipment.
You well be responsible for the maintenance
You are responsible when upgrades are needed
Your personal information may be released
System may not be secure as you think
No Warranty
Professionally Installed:
Pro:
Expert in the field of Security
Professional security company assists with maintenance and troubleshooting
Your personal information is secure
System is specific to you and secure
1-year warranty on most systems
Con:
Can be more expensive because of higher quality and security?
Low to medium fee for monitoring?
DYI or Professional installation, know the answer to these:
What happens to my personal information when I register into the app of my new system?
How secure or private is the system and my information about the system, i.e., location, type, monitoring info etc.?
What is the warranty?
What is the monthly charge and what does it cover?
Who do I call when I need service on the system?
Whatever your choice of system types, now is the time to think about your home security.
The FBI gives us four good reasons why:
There are 2.5 million burglaries annually in the United States.
A home burglary occurs every 15 seconds in our country.
The average burglary loss is valued at $2,661.
Police solve only 13% of reported burglary cases.
Thanks to Tim Howell of Secure View, LLC for his contribution to this material. Tim has been a home security company owner for 30+ years. If you wish to know more about his company or how he can help protect your home, his contact number is (720) 708-7506.
The San Diego chapter of Sisters in Crime welcomes New York Times bestselling author Kate Carlisle on November 12 – Hey! That’s my birthday. What a great way to celebrate. You’re in for a treat if you sign up to hear about Kate’s adventures.
Kate is a native Californian who worked in television production for quite a few years before turning to writing. She leveraged her lifelong fascination with the art and craft of bookbinding into The Bibliophile Mysteries. Her protagonist is Brooklyn Wainwright, whose bookbinding and restoration skills unearth some very old secrets, treachery and murder. She’s written more than twenty books and still found time to launch the Fixer-Upper mystery series. A few of her works have been adapted for television.
Join the SinC chat with Kate about her books. Besides her writing she’ll have some great anecdotes about how she once traveled the world as a Dating Game chaperone and performed strange acts of silliness on The Gong Show.
Remember this date: Nov 12, 2022 02:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada). Register in advance for this meeting: https://bit.ly/3NyJJzi
The Hardy Boysseries on Hulu has been cancelled after three seasons. Amazing since The Hardy Boys has been one of the longest-running series in any format. This franchise started with the novel “The Tower Treasure” in 1927!
When the series began, books were attributed to an author named Franklin W. Dixon but were actually written by a group known as The Stratemeyer Syndicate. The Syndicate was founded by children’s book entrepreneur, Edward Stratemeyer. Statemeyer was colossally prolific, having created more than 1,300 books and selling over 500 million copies. He created YA characters and book series including: The Rover Boys, The Bobbsey Twins, Tom Swift, The Hardy Boys, and Nancy Drew.
Adaptations of the series books to film began in 1956 when “The Hardy Boys: The Mystery of the Applegate Treasure” was aired as part of “The Mickey Mouse Club.” Another series ran from 1969-1971, which was an animated version where the boys were members of a rock band. From 1977-1979 “The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries” appeared, teaming The Hardy Boys with Nancy Drew, another Stratemeyer-created character. Previously there was also a 1995 television series that lasted only 13 episodes.
Launched in 2020, the Hulu adaptation of “The Hardy Boys” was, according to Variety, a production based entirely in Canada with only Canadian actors. Since then, the series has scored two Canadian Screen Awards, a Directors Guild of Canada Award, and a Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Young Adult Series. The final season will consist of eight episodes, an hour in length each, and will have Bailee Madison of “Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin” joining the cast.
Sadly after three seasons on the streaming service, Hulu has chosen to cancel the show following its third season. It seems that lack of awareness about the show may have contributed to its early cancellation.
Down for now, don’t count The Hardy Boys out. They’ve been a reappearing act for 95 years!
Each year the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers (RMFW) present a Writer of the Year (WOTY) award. Here are 2022’s three finalists.
Amy Rivers is an award-winning novelist and writer of short stories and personal essays, as well as the Director of Northern Colorado Writers. She was recently named 2021 Indie Author of the Year by the Indie Author Project. She holds degrees in psychology and political science, two topics she loves to write about.
Karla M. Jay is the award-winning author of When We Were Brave, It Happened in Silence, and The Puppet Maker’s Daughter. She has wanted to write books since she was seven. Originally from the east coast, she makes her home in Salt Lake City. Over the years she has written in several different genres, ranging from humor to noir.
Pamela Nowak joined RMFW in 1993. She’s been contest chair, president, chaired five conferences, was 2010 WOTY, honored with the Jasmine Award and named an Honored Guiding Member. Pam currently presents workshops, judges contest, and critiques.
Valerie Webster and Driven: A Rita Mars Thriller in the spotlight via Author of the Day interview.
Make your next book club event an author event with a writer who’s lived the cases, developed the crime fighting technologies. Contact Valerie Webster today.
