FROM THE PSWA PRESIDENT

Greetings.

I hope this newsletter finds you all in good health and spirits, and I hope you all had the best holiday season, given the circumstances.

2020 is behind us, and 2021 has just begun. I’m sure we all hope it will be a better year than the previous one. Is there light at the end of the tunnel? I am confident there is, with the Covid vaccines now being administered. Time will tell.

So, what will that mean as far as our conference is concerned? At this point, it is anyone’s guess. I am hopeful, and somewhat confident, we will be able have the conference in July, without too many restrictions. My main concern is the safety of our members, and that will be the deciding factor. If things do improve, but not enough to safely have the conference in July, we can discuss moving the date to later in the year.

The Board’s annual meeting, usually set for February in Las Vegas, is not likely to happen. If the Orleans isn’t open, and it isn’t safe to travel or attend, we will not be having an in-person meeting. There are things that need to be discussed and decided, and we may fall back on Zoom meetings, or move the board meeting date to a later time. 

We have had two Zoom presentations that went off very well. Good topics, and well presented by Marcia Rosen and Dave Knop—thanks to both of you. The plan is to continue offering monthly events, presented by our members, so this is a good opportunity for you to be in the spotlight. If you would like to be a Zoom presenter, please let RJ Beam, our tech guru, know (rj@rescuehumor.com). If you have a PowerPoint presentation, it can be included. Please bear in mind the presentation is limited to 1 hour, including questions. If you are unfamiliar with Zoom, never fear. It is a simple and easy process to join and view. Just ask RJ, or me, how to do it. Look—if I can get my wife to successfully join a Zoom event, then anyone can learn how to join. Talk about technologically challenged! 

On a personal note, one good thing that has come out of the shelter-in-place order is that I have been able to do a LOT of writing. I have written a couple of short stories, completed book #7, entitled The List, and am 20,000 words into my 8th novel, as yet untitled. Both books are SFPD homicide Inspector Vince Torelli thrillers.

Two books are currently at the publisher being edited and getting cover art-The List, and An Echo of Lies. The latter is a supernatural thriller with a law enforcement theme, and was awarded third place in the non-published category in the PSWA 2020 writing competition. I hope to have both released sometime in 2021.

Remember, the PSWA writing competition is open for submissions as of January 1, 2021.  More information is from the Competition Coordinator, Barbara Hodges, is in this newsletter.

Lastly, I wish you all good health and happiness. Keep writing, and hope to see you all at our next Zoom event, and at the conference.

—John Schembra

President, PSWA

FROM THE VICE-PRESIDENT

WORDS

Introduction

As I continue to write and refine my style, I find my mind visualizing the words as I form a sentence.  I struggle not to use the same word twice on a page, to stay in the active voice, alter sentence length and so on.  My goal is that writing becomes second nature.  It takes work.

I am also finding that I visualize spoken words and unconsciously critique the speaker’s use of words and phrases.  My mind sees the spoken words on a page.  I find myself cringing at certain phrases used in abundance and not always in the correct form.  I evaluate discussions and media commentary for what would be suitable or unsuitable in written narrative.  Overuse and misuse of the King’s English has become my unintended pet peeve.

I’m not alone.  At beginning of the year, two young TV announcers/anchors presented their list of overused and abused words.  They put “literally” at the top of their list.  Unfortunately, many celebrities, including Hollywood A-listers and popular talk show hosts did not see the broadcast, or pay attention if they did.  At the top of my list for this Holiday season is, “moving forward.” It’s everywhere—sports, politics and the nightly news.  Some examples:

Commentator during the fourth game of the 2020 Stanley Cup Finals – “We will continue to monitor COVID test positive results moving forward.” Redundant?

Tom Bevan, opening of the 9/29/2020 Presidential Debate – “Forward-looking vision for the future.” What?

A prolific and widely-read romance author recently penned advice for fellow writers:

“I think the biggest mistake an author makes when writing a rough draft is stopping and rereading/editing their work. The key is to keep moving forward and get the whole story out.” Could forward be left out without losing the meaning?  I vote yes.

Second on my list is, “transparency” and its negative, “lack of transparency.” When did this one replace the more articulate, “lying by omission,” “not being truthful,” “hiding the facts, “without explanation?” Candidate Joe Biden used “transparency” more than once during the 9/2020 Presidential Debate.  Even my personal hero, Chris Wray, Director of the FBI, uses “transparency” in his public addresses.

Landing at third on my overuse list are adverbs—those ending in “-ly.” Usually (oops) they waste oxygen.  What morning talk show doesn’t broadcast “literally” during every airing?

New Words and Terms

And there is the use of new words, when the tried and true won’t do.  For 2020 we have “impactful.” And “content” to describe information.  “Break it down” for explaining things.  “Deeper look” has replaced closer look and scrutiny.  During a Las Vegas Springs Preserve TV ad this past summer, the narrator said, “during a rain event” to describe when it rains; and repeated it three times in one minute!  And there is “price point” to describe price; “skill set” to mean skills.  Is there no end?

Summing Up

Writing benefits from brevity; using less words to say more.   More often than not, it lends itself to a faster paced narrative.  As writers, we must embrace the use of a wide and varied vocabulary.  Word’s thesaurus feature is a good start.  I find reading the work of prominent authors especially useful, such as that of John McPhee.  As I took breaks in my book writing to read his tome, Coming into the Country (FSG, 1991), I kept a list of words he used that were unfamiliar to me.  The list grew to more than one hundred by the time I finished the book.  I kept a dictionary close at hand.

— R. Scott Decker, PSWA Vice President and author of Recounting the Anthrax Attacks.

FROM THE SECRETARY, MORE WRITING ADVICE

How has the pandemic affected your writing?  Has it diminished your creativity?  Has it stomped out your ideas for storylines? Has your writers’ group or critique group shut down? 

I have to be honest with you my writing has fallen by the wayside. I just can’t get motivated.  About two years ago, I was able to write and enter nine short stories/articles/poems in PSWA contests.  As of now, I only have one short story written and ready to enter in the upcoming competition.  I can’t think of anything else I want to write about. 

What I should be doing is looking at the pandemic as a resource for writing.  There are so many nonfiction stories about heroism and caring.  There’s the opportunity to take this pandemic and turn it into stories about heroes battling the forces of this evil virus.  There are novels as well waiting to be written.

We have some great technical writers in the PSWA. For them there are technical articles only a keystroke away.  Some technical articles I can think of right now is what is the proper protective equipment to wear when dealing with a COVID-19 victim?  How about an article on how to decontaminate rescue vehicles and equipment?  One could write human-interest articles about volunteer first responders who had to make choices whether to continue responding or withdrawing in order to safeguard their families.  I was surprised to find out 74% of the firefighters in this country are volunteers?

Branch out your writing abilities.  Expand your writing horizons.  You don’t have to only write about public safety.  I recently sold an article to Angels On Earth, a magazine from Guidepost publications.  I submitted the story as a lark and was surprised by their prompt interest and a contract for the sale of the article.  I was also surprised by how well Guideposts pays their contributors. 

An online publication, Grief Digest, has published six of my articles on the topic of grief.  Janet, the editor does beautiful art work to accompany your article, and gives you a glowing biography which other editors read.      

There are stories begging to be written.  All you have to do is look around and find a story that interests you. 

Do yourself and your readers a favor. Drag yourself off the couch.  Turn the television off.  Take your head out of the refrigerator, start doing some research and find something interesting to write about. Now get to work writing and I promise I will try to do the same.       

—Keith Bettinger

Secretary 

WRITING COMPETITION CHAIR

Happy New Year! 

What a crazy year 2020 has been.  Just think we are living right now in what will surely be history in the years to come. I did learn something about myself living with this pandemic. I always lamented I’d produce more writing if I had time.  Well, I had the time, plenty of it, but I sure did not produce more writing. In fact, I produced less. I missed my local writing groups. I  missed my writing conferences. For me, writing is not a solitary happening. Without my social network of fellow authors, my writing suffered.  I will be so happy when my weekly in-person meeting starts again. I am so looking forward to July and the PSWA conference. 

As you read this, it’s time to get your entries in for the 2021 PSWA Writing Competition. The information and form is on our website. 

A couple of changes this year I’m excited about.  

Number 1 is all the entries, except for published books, will be blind-judged.  All entries should not have your name on them.  Only the entry form will have your name.  If you send something that has already been published, make sure your name is not on it…whiteout works if nothing else. When I receive your entry, it will be assigned a number before it goes out to the judge. The judge will not know who you are, and you will not know who the judge is. 

The second change is our published fiction books will be judged by 4 judges this year.  Each judge will read your book and send me their scores. The winner will be chosen from there. 

I love our writing competition. PSWA members are talented writers. When you win or place in the writing competition you have been truly honored. So, get your entry to me.  You have until April 15th, 2021.  All the categories are listed on the writing competition page on the website.  

Last year’s Zoom presentation of the winners was fun, but I look forward to giving you your award in person this year. 

Stay safe and I’ll see you in July.

—Barbara M. Hodges

PSWA Writing Competition Chairperson

MY SIXTH GRADE EDUCATION

A lot of people ask me how I became a writer and my answer is always the same. It had a lot to do with my sixth grade education in creative writing. Way back in the day, when I was in grammar school, I was infused with those creative juices. I longed to write something exciting and entertaining, instead of the boring subjects like what I wanted to be when I grew up or what I’d done on my summer vacation. So I kept badgering the teacher, Miss Rehack, to let me write a short story. Now considering that the entire class was terrified of her—she towered over us all wearing black framed glasses with incredibly thick lenses and had a thick mass of hair that was blue in several places. But nonetheless, I kept up my badgering. (Well, perhaps whimpering would be the more appropriate verbiage in this case.)

“Please, Miss Rehack, could I maybe write a story sometime?”

Finally, one Friday afternoon, while we were busily engaged in our workbooks during our work-and-study time, Miss Rehack summoned me to her desk. The desk was a big, wooden monstrosity and I often wondered about the rumor of her stashing the bodies of recalcitrant students in one of the drawers. Trying to swallow the lump in my throat, I approached, wondering if I had done some transgression for which I was going to have to do the dreaded “stay after school and clean erasers” or some other penal task. Had I misbehaved in the lunchroom, or something?

“Yes, ma’am,” I said as I got to the desk.

Her lesson plan book was spread out on the top and I tried to steal a glance to see if any of my papers had angered her. She’d once ripped up one of my papers in front of the class because it was not only late, but “messy.” I’d be lying if I told you my knees weren’t shaking a bit.

“Michael,” she said. “I’m going to let you write your short story. Have it ready to read before the class on Monday.”

I was too stunned to speak.

She stared down at me, her obsidian eyes looking small and deadly through the thickness of the lenses.

As she told me to go back to my desk I felt the ecstasy of relief and anticipation. I was finally going to be able to write that story I’d always wanted to do.

I shared this good news with my best friend, Andy, as we walked home from school about an hour later.

“A story?” he said. “What you gonna write about?”

My mouth suddenly felt dry as it hung open. What was I going to write about?

The delight of getting the assignment suddenly evaporated as the reality of the situation hit me like a sucker punch. I had to come up with a story and have it finished by Monday to read in front of the class … Or else.

Visions of the ripped up paper flashed in my mind.

Oh, Lord, I thought. What have I gotten myself into?

Thoughts of going out to play on Friday afternoon after school were quickly dismissed as I grabbed my notebook and pen and sat at the kitchen table trying to come up with something to write about. I stared at the empty page until supper time with no ideas coming to me. Saturday was even bleaker. Where was that story that I’d been dying to write?

Finally, with desperation cackling over my shoulder, I came up with an idea on Sunday and frantically started writing. It was a mystery story. The hero was a tough private eye named Mike. (There were a lot of private eye shows on in those days.) The villain, I knew, had to be a sinister one, so I latched onto a crooked cop (Lt. Johnson) who had masterminded the crime. I remember little else except that the hero dispatched the bad guy at the end by shooting him with a SCUBA diving spear-gun. (James Bond would use one of those years later to dispatch a villain in one of the movies.)

Delighted, I finished printing the pages as neatly as I could, proud of my effort.

Monday morning came and went and after lunch Miss Rehack called on me and asked if I was ready to read my story. I replied that I was and moved to the front of the room. I gave the performance everything I had, putting in a whooshing sound effect when the bad lieutenant met his end. I admit that I probably went a bit overboard describing his gruesome death throes, but at the time I felt it was germane to the story. 

After I finished reading my fellow classmates sat in stunned silence for several seconds, and then a wave of giggling swept over the classroom. A couple of them snorted in derision. I glanced over at the big desk and saw Miss Rehack giving me one of those ominous come hither gestures. I walked over to her and she held out her hand. I gave her my story and she scrawled, D—POOR WORK in big red letters and handed it back to me.

“Michael,” she said, the beady eyes glaring at me through the prismatic lenses. “Don’t you ever try this again.

She handed me back my story and I crept back to my desk. One of the tough kids, Dirty Ernie Evanston, threw a pencil eraser at me and hit me in the head. I sat in shame for the rest of the day. On the way home after school Andy told me that he didn’t think the story was that bad.

“I liked your sound effects with the spear-gun,” he said. “And at least she didn’t rip this one up.”

His words offset my disappointment— someone had appreciated my work.

Naturally, I didn’t follow Miss Rehack’s admonishment and I kept writing, but it wasn’t easy. I suffered through about ten years of submissions and form rejections. I went to the book signings of other authors, listened to them, went to conferences, listened some more, and kept submitting. Finally, it paid off. I had an editor write some encouraging words on one of my self-addressed, stamped envelopes: Close, but no cigar. Too long. Try again.

I was ecstatic to get this feedback. A second person had appreciated my work. I immediately revised the story and sent it to another magazine. It became my first published work.

Now, I’ve got around a hundred short stories and articles and thirty-eight books to my credit, but I still look back on the incident with fondness and appreciation. As I struggled to break into print years later, I realized that my sixth grade education actually provided a foreshadowing of what was to come in my creative writing endeavors. I’d gotten my first assignment, my first deadline, and my first rejection all in the space of about three days.

So if you take anything from this sad little tale it’s that you should never give up.

—Michael A. Black

Program Chair

ADDING MY TWO CENTS TO NEVER GIVING UP

It’s a wonder I never gave up—not sure if it was stubbornness or not having good sense.

My first book to be published was an historical family saga accepted by a New York publisher. I had another similar novel I submitted to them next, but my editor had moved on and her replacement sent me a rejection.

Without going into detail, the next publisher who accepted one of my books died. Another publisher published the 2nd family saga and I received some royalties. The publisher got greedy, blew his profits in Vegas, didn’t pay royalties and ended up in jail. Another of my books was published, I received 50 copies and that publisher disappeared. 

My Rocky Bluff P.D. had a series of stumbling blocks. The first book, Final Respects, was published by someone I found in Writers Digest Market. When he contacted me he said he was only doing electronic books. I had no idea what he meant, but sure enough he published the book for people to read on their computers. (No such things as an e-reader at the time.) Two problems with this, it was far too difficult to purchase, and no one wanted to read a whole book on a computer screen 

Along came the Rocket E-Reader, great invention, though it was soon bought by another company whose reader wasn’t near as good. Another publisher picked up my series and hooray, he also published books in trade paperback. The only problem with this fellow was he never got around to paying royalties. I took back my rights, found another publisher who did two more of the books in this series—then she decided she didn’t really want to be a publisher. Next, I went with Oak Tree Press, the publisher put out several of the series and everything went well—until sadly, she passed away.

Next came Aakenbaaken and Kent, a great publisher, but by this time I had so many books in the series it was a bit overwhelming as they all needed to be republished which would take a lot of time.  One of my friends asked me why I didn’t self-publish. My answer, mainly because I didn’t know how to do it. She offered to help, together we re-edited all of them, her husband redid the covers and she did the actual publishing, and now the whole series is under my control.

And if you don’t think those stumbling blocks were enough to make me think twice about being a writer, much the same happened with my Deputy Tempe Crabtree series, yes, I know it’s hard to believe, but my first publisher who became a good friend, died unexpectedly. The second one gave up her business, the third was great and published many books over several years until the business failed. 

That series is now self-published too. 

Am I glad I stuck it out? Of course, though at times I felt discouraged, but I wanted to know what was happening with those characters I’d created and the only way to find out was write another book—and find another publisher—or doing it myself.

—Marilyn Meredith

Outgoing Newsletter Editor

PROMOTION HELP

Brother member George Cramer is working hard at promoting authors and their work, especially those who are part of PSWA. In the last few months, he has hosted seven members, including our president, John Schembra. Three members will be answering questions about writing, their background, and their books.

Our own Marilyn Meredith will be visited on January 4, 2021, followed on the 7th by Tim Dees and Dave Freedland on the 14th. Mark your calendar, stop by https://gdcramer.com and learn more about our sister and brother members.

If you are interested in one more way to promote your work, give George a holler at gdcramer@msn.com. 

RECRUITING

With all the calls for defunding the police or reducing our numbers, the question is who will replace us?  How long will it take for cities to come to their senses that they need the police? Suggestions have been made to using social workers as a replacement or having them work injunction with police officers. In most cities, social workers are overwhelmed with the work they have and these bureaucrats think they can handle integrating into police work on top of their regular workload? Or maybe they’re talking about hiring more social workers specifically to work with the police. How would the protocol go? Who would be the lead investigator, the officer or the social worker? Maybe the social worker would be the lead investigator and the officer would only be needed if an arrest was to take place. What if the subject resisted arrest, I’m sure the social workers would be prohibited from taking any physical action or could easily become a hostage.

Imagine how that job interview would go for a social worker hired specifically to work with police. Their job experience and academic credentials would be paramount, but what other questions would be pertinent? What is their attitude toward law enforcement? How do they feel about having a close association with law enforcement?  Applicants would be concerned about their own safety and what would be done to protect them. Will the recruitment involve both social worker supervisors as well as law enforcement officials? 

My department went through several transitions in reference to recruiting. They were required to give residents of the District of Columbia preference. At one time all applicants were required to live in the District of Columbia, but the cost of living in the city was too exorbitant. They were already giving preference to people from the military or people with a college degree. Recruitment officers went on recruiting trips to colleges, universities, and even went to Puerto Rico. They took applications from a number of Puerto Rican police officers. They subsequently hired several of those officers.  Unfortunately, they had some difficulty with tests at the academy and the tests had to be translated into Spanish.

Recruiting qualifications vary little with most of the large police departments. The Los Angeles Police Department has a very vigorous vetting process to become a police officer. They offer college courses in preparation for completing the hiring process, but they do not require a college degree or college hours or credits. Applicants are required to complete a Personal Qualification Essay, accessible at various official locations. You do not have to be a resident of Los Angeles. The Baltimore City Police do not require college, you can take a test on the National Testing Network which is available in 30 different states. The Miami Police Department applicants are required to take and pass the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Basic Abilities Test which is offered at various locations at the applicant’s expense. Miami doesn’t require a college degree. All of these departments have fitness requirements, conduct medical and psychological exams, do thorough background investigations and run each applicant through a polygraph examination.

Applicants for the New York City Police Department are required to have a high school diploma plus 60 college credits with a minimum 2.0 GPA. They’ll waive that requirement if the applicant has at least 2 years active duty with the military, but require applicants to live within the five boroughs or surrounding counties. Washington, D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department also require 60 semester hours of college, but will waive that if the applicants has at least 2 years active duty with the military or 3 years of law enforcement experience. In Chicago, an applicant is also required to have 60 semester hours of college. That can be waived if the applicant has 3 years of active duty with the military or 1 year with 30 semester hours of college. The applicant must also be a resident of Chicago at the time they are hired. Both Chicago and the LAPD will hire non-citizens who are permanent residents and in the process of obtaining citizenship. 

Giving applicants preference if they have military experience or law enforcement experience, a resident of the city they are applying to, seem standard, but requiring college, to me, is discriminatory. This isn’t about race, it’s about economics. Not everyone can afford to go to college. Police work involves dealing with people, having people skills. Sure the technology involved in police work has greatly improved. Learning the laws and how to enforce them comes after a person is hired. Gathering forensic evidence and crime scene preservation require additional training after becoming a police officer. I remember an officer who came to my district who was a Harvard graduate. He had a degree in sociology. His ultimate goal was to help people, like a lot of police officers. He’d been on the street for several months, when he came to me in the locker room. He was very frustrated. So many times he had offered to help people he encountered and so many times they refused his help and were indignant about him thinking they needed help. I told him it was great that he wanted to help people, but he was a police officer and that’s how they saw him. He needed to learn that arresting someone for committing a crime, which is our job, was a first step in helping them if they wanted it. The court system offers many programs aimed at helping people get away from a life of crime, but it requires their initiative.  Needless to say, having a college degree is important and helpful in advancing in the department. It just shouldn’t be a prerequisite to being hired as a police officer.    

Early in my career, I had the occasion to ride with a black officer who always raised questions about discrimination within the department. This particular night we had a female ride-along from the Pilot District Project, people within the community who monitored police activity. We got a run to investigate the trouble. It turned out to be a boyfriend girlfriend argument which resulted in the boyfriend kicking his 8 month pregnant girlfriend in the stomach. We transported the young woman to a hospital. The young woman repeatedly said she would make a complaint and come to court. I remained in the police car to advise our dispatcher where we were. My partner and the ride-along went in the hospital with the victim. Before I could tell the dispatcher our location, my partner and the ride-along returned to the police car. I asked my partner if I needed to get numbers for our report. My partner said it wasn’t necessary the victim declined to make a complaint, but what he said next disturbed me. He said, “You can’t help those people.” We continued on patrol and a short time later he went on a rant about discrimination in the department. I confronted him with his own statement, “You can’t help those people” and accused him of discrimination. He shut-up when the ride-along agreed with me.

There is a lot of talk about so-called institutional racism and police are indiscriminately being called racist, whether they are white or black officers. Racism has no place in law enforcement, but sometimes it rears its ugly head within our ranks. Can this be detected during the recruiting process? Hopefully through some testing processes, interviews or through the psychological evaluation, but as we know some people can hide it very well. Police academies do their best, through various learning scenarios, diversity training and field officer training to detect racist behavior. A racist police officer hurts every police officer he or she works with and should be reported. One officer’s behavior can result in other officers being injured. It could be days, weeks or even months after the person was subjected to a racial slur or treated with total disrespect. Think about how you felt after experiencing truly bad customer service or insulting behavior. You may not have felt like fighting that person, but if you went to the same establishment again, or were in a similar situation you likely had a chip on your shoulder. 

As you might gather the recruitment process is very important to the character of a police department and the safety of its officers and the citizens they serve and protect. The process should never be taken lightly. If a racist or corrupt person manages to evade the safe guards put in place and becomes a police officer it is up to his or her fellow officers to blow the whistle and stop the behavior.

—Joseph B. Haggerty Sr. 

Retired Vice Detective and Academy Instructor

Author of the novels: Shame: The Story of a Pimp and An Ocean in the Desert 

Award winning poet, writer and lecturer on the sexual exploitation of women and children in prostitution and pornography

MEETING THE CHALLENGE—HOW I WROTE FIVE NOVELS IN ONE YEAR

This has been a year of challenges. In January 2020 I signed a contract to write four novels in a new series, Trackdown, during the course of the year. Shortly after embarking on the first one in the four book series, an opportunity arose to do another western in the Gunslinger series. Since I’d already done two books in that one as A.W. Hart, who’s an Amazon bestselling author, and was familiar with the characters, I agreed. They needed this particular book in a bit of a hurry (April 15th), and my first one of the four Trackdown series novels was due on March 15th, I was a bit hesitant to take on more work. But I’d done two separate projects simultaneously in the past, so I signed another contract.

This brought my total up to five books in a year.

Writing two discrete projects in tandem isn’t easy, and downright impossible if you don’t have a solid story idea for each one. Fortunately, I did have an idea for the new western rolling around inside my head and I quickly wrote the outline. The idea I had was to combine the aspects of a traditional western with the elements of a horror story. Well, I guess it would be more like a monster story. I’d already started the first Trackdown novel, Devil’s Dance, and was underway with the writing. So I proceeded like I had before, working on both projects on alternating days. It helps if the two are in different genres like these two were. Gunslinger: Killer’s Ghost was set in the Old West, while Devil’s Dance was about modern day bounty hunters and set in the present.

The Gunslinger series features two teenage, fraternal twins, Abby and Connor Mack. They’re traveling in the company of gunslinger, River Hicks, who’s teaching them about survival and life. The relationship is far more complex than I could explain here, but suffice it to say, they’ve evolved into something of a family over the course of the series. This adventure finds Abby seriously ill with her brother and Hicks trying to find a doctor. They end up at a mining encampment on the outskirts of a town run by a powerful and ruthless man who has his own reasons for wanting to drive the miners out. Add to this the fear in the encampment that Abby might be the vector for an epidemic, a talented Mexican gunman whose skill with a weapon rivals that of River Hicks himself, and a mysterious, legendary monster capable of tearing a man limb from limb. Yeah, Gunslinger: Killer’s Ghost has it all. I consider it my best western so far. And it was a blast to write. (Did I mention that it has a dash of romance, too, with Connor experiencing his first love?) I think it’s A.W. Hart’s best book. 😉

I finished Devil’s Dance by the March 15th deadline and then Killer’s Ghost by the April 15th date. I felt a sense of accomplishment having done two novels at the same time, and also for having finished two of the five I had to complete in the year. The Trackdown series features ex-army ranger Steve Wolf, a half-Indian protagonist who gets framed for a war crime in Iraq that he didn’t commit, and ends up serving four years in Leavenworth. When he gets out, he’s picked up (literally and figuratively) by his friend and mentor, ex-green beret Jim McNamara. McNamara has a bail bond enforcement business in Phoenix that he runs with his daughter, Kasey, and he invites Wolf to become part of the team. In the first book they travel down to Cancun in search of a bounty and end up running afoul of the forces of a very rich and unscrupulous man who was responsible for framing Wolf back in Iraq. This story arc was intended to flow through all four books, but each one had to stand on its own as a complete novel. I had to come with the next entry in the series and got busy on the second one, Devil’s Fancy, which had a due date of June 15th.

In the first book I introduced a lot of supporting characters including a trio of fabulous female bounty hunters, one of whom becomes romantically involved with Wolf. I also brought back some of the villains who were in Devil’s Dance. This one began to take shape and I got busy writing, finishing it a few days ahead of schedule.

It was now mid-June and I still had two more books to go before year’s end. As much as I hate to admit it, the PSWA conference getting cancelled actually worked in my favor. So did the COVID lockdown, which I hated almost as much as losing the conference. Both gave me a bit more time to write, but let me say this. If the conference had not been cancelled, I would have gladly written the program. I’m totally confident I could have done it, along with my ongoing writing deadlines.

But anyway, the original template I designed for the four book series had changed a little bit, and I had to make a few adjustments. The underlying story arc remained the same, but I had to figure out how to keep things going while still making the main plot independent. My next deadline was September 15th. With Devil’s Brigade I explored the relationships between Wolf and McNamara’s daughter and grandson. I also added a mission to grab a wanted subject in an “autonomous zone,” where law and order were declared illegal, and an armed militia group, aptly calling themselves the Devil’s Brigade, that was intent on funding their paramilitary organization by knocking over armored cars.

Now it was four down and one to go.

I had until December 15th, three months, to finish the fifth book of the year and final book in my Trackdown series. It had been my intention all along to complete the story arc that I started, but I also had to decide if I should leave things open so that the series could continue. My original title for the fourth book in the Trackdown series underwent a couple changes, but I finally decided on Devil’s Advocate.

I looked at the opportunity to write five novels in a year’s time as a challenge, and I’m proud that I was able to do it. I must also admit that as the year drew to a close, I was feeling a bit burnt out and exhausted.

But that’s didn’t mean that wasn’t going to start a new book before the year was completely gone … It seems that somebody was asking what old A.W. Hart had going on with the Gunslinger series.

Write on. 😉

—Michael A. Black

Note: Gunslinger: Killer’s Ghost was released on June 15, 2020

Devil’s Dance was released on November 18, 2020

Devil’s Fancy was released on December 16t, 2020

Both are available through your bookstore or on Amazon.

Coming soon in 2021: Devil’s Brigade and Devil’s Advocate.

AN IMAGE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS OR…A NOVEL?

The Birth of The Mona Lisa Sisters

Ten years ago, I was managing Safety and Security for Palm, Inc. A few months later, Hewlett-Packard acquired Palm in what is often referred to as a disastrous acquisition. Not long after, H-P began the layoffs. I got a weekly list of those to be laid off the following week. When the notice came for my team, I gave them the week off to start on a job hunt. A few weeks later, I learned I would be terminated the following Monday. I cleaned out my office but hung around in case there were any problems.

Then began my introduction to how rampant age-discrimination had become. After three months, it was so obvious; I started a spreadsheet. I recorded 140 applications after that. Often, I could swear the hiring company had used my resume as the requirements for the position. My mistake was being honest. I included that I was a Vietnam War Veteran. Any H/R person in the world would spot that and know I was at least sixty years old. I got one interview. I walked in, business suit, tie, and white hair. The two people I talked with were wide-eyed twenty-somethings. They were polite in their T-Shirts, torn pants, and sandals . . .for about five minutes. Then, “Thank you for coming in, George. Have a good day.”

Early 2012, I saw that the local senior center was offering a writing class. I figured it might help with a new resume—wrong. It was a fiction writing class. I was learning creative writing, and I loved it. After a month or so, the instructor passed out random pictures to each student. The assignment: “Study the image, taken fifteen minutes, and describe the scene.”

I took one look at my picture, two girls looking up at the Mona Lisa, and ignored the assignment. In those fifteen minutes, I knew I would write a novel. I had notes on paper, the story in my mind, and the title. And it all came together to form the genesis for The Mona Lisa Sisters.

That began an eight-year journey.

I enrolled at Las Positas College and took writing classes. Unlike my earlier college years, it was no longer drudgery. I earned straight As. The assignments lead to multiple revisions of my novel.

In a class taught by Karin Spirn, I read about a fantastic instructor at UC Berkeley who did not have a doctorate. Instead, he held an MFA. In another class, I was introduced to the work of Native American poet Joy Harjo. She was recently appointed to a third term as the U.S. Poet Laureate. I began following her on social media. I saw that Harjo was a guest lecturer at the Institute of American Indian Arts, MFA Program. An enrolled descendant of the Karuk Tribe of California, I called IAIA and applied. Five days later, I received an acceptance notice for the Low-Residency MFA Program. IAIA, Santa Fe, New Mexico.

For the next two years, my manuscript was my thesis paper, The Mona Lisa Sisters. I rewrote, revised, and learned. My mentors were terrific and have, over time, become much more to me. One area that I got dinged on was when I brought my characters to the dinner table. The settings often lacked enough detail to draw the reader into the scene. Ismet “Izzy” Prcic, roared “People don’t go to dinner and leave. They eat. What the “F” are they eating—saying?”

Mona Lisa is set in the early 1890s. So, I had much research to do before bringing food to the table. I did it—overdid it—added several thousand words.  Izzy, “I don’t need to know every single effen thing they ate and how it was prepared.” I subtracted words to please him.

Each addition or subtraction required rewrites.

The program required a great deal more than working on my manuscript. I attended lectures, readings, workshops, and read and wrote critical reviews of over forty books. Two authors I had held extreme distaste for became favorites—Albert Camus and Joyce Carol Oates. Most of those forty books are full of underlining, highlighting, and writing in the margins. My mentors and I collaborated on the selection of books. Native Americans wrote at least half our choices. I was introduced to the work of such great authors as,

• Debra Magpie Earling (Bitterroot Salish) – Perma Red
• Louise Erdrich (Chippewa) – The Round House
• David Treuer (Ojibwe) – Little
• Leslie Marmon Silko (Laguna Pueblo) – Ceremony

I met many who shared their world and writing. I met Joy Harjo and chatted over cafeteria dinner. Tommy Orange, There There, was a contemporary, as was Angela Trudell Vasquez. Angie is the Poet Laureate of Madison, Wisconsin.

When I faced the challenge of my thesis/manuscript, one of the questions came from another, fantastic teacher and author, Pam Houston. Her first question had to do with the scenes set in . . .  the dining room. I shouldn’t have, but I laughed. I know Izzy put her up to it.

This year, I finished the twenty-third revision of The Mona Lisa Sisters. Agent queries had been returned with polite rejections.  I sat back, told the manuscript, “I’m starting to hate you. I’m finished.”

I reached out to Paula Chinick of Russian Hill Press and told her I was done and wanted her to publish the bloody thing. She agreed. I figured my work was done—wrong.

The cover design took months. Getting back-cover reviews became urgent. I was stuck until I recalled a talk where a young author mentioned he sent out requests to known authors and asked them to read and write reviews. “What have I got to lose?” I asked myself and sent out four requests. Three agreed to write reviews. I even had one person, out of the blue, offer to write one.

I used two. Ramona Ausubel wrote one. I love her novel No One is Here Except All of Us. The other, by playwright, editor, and UCLA instructor Victoria Zackheim. I also used a Kirkus review.

Violet (Vi) Moore came on board as the editor. She forced me to pick up the manuscript and read it line by line and make corrections before she would touch it. I’m glad she did. Over two months, we made more corrections and changes than I will ever admit.

Then the galleys came, and Paula made me do it all over again. The editor is usually done by then, but Vi called me and ordered me to reread it. I know we missed at least one typo. One of my readers sent me a note informing me of it.

Paula, Vi, and the cover design team were all very reasonable in the charges to bring the project to fruition.

Amazon released The Mona Lisa Sisters on August 14, 2020. A little over eight years after the instructor handed me a picture of two young girls looking at the Mona Lisa.

I met and have become friends with so many fine people as the result of my diving into the world of fiction writing. I have been and will ever be blessed for having started the journey when I couldn’t find a job.

Link to buy The Mona Lisa Sisters 

George Cramer

  MURDER AND MAYHEM IN A MODERN NOIR STYLE

  “The Senior Sleuths” Mysteries:

In my modern noir stories, the hard-boiled detectives are soft-boiled sleuths whose inner shell is softer and gentler, although their outer shell is still tough. Of course, it doesn’t matter—hard-boiled or soft-boiled—they can still be nearly beaten by the bad guys. But it is always the puzzle of the mystery and putting the pieces together to solve it that matters most.

Film noir movies are from the era of the great mystery writer’s books including those by Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, Ross Macdonald and others. Their writing and their black and white movies influenced my writing in recent years. I was always fascinated by how the characters acted and interacted. I especially loved strong women who influenced the actions and the outcomes. 

My all-time favorite was “The Thin Man,” where Nora Charles was certainly equal to Nick Charles, her charming husband. Smart, slender, attractive and rich, Nick adored her. Now what woman doesn’t want that? 

The plot of “The Thin Man” was enhanced by humor, with the couple’s dog, Asta, running amok at times and oddball characters from Nick Charles’ past popping in and out.  There was always a murder, or several of them, that had everyone, from police to Nick and Nora, in on the chase. In my series, “The Senior Sleuths,” Dick and Dora Zimmerman, Zero and others take on similar roles.

According to Eddie Muller, Noir Alley host on TCM, “Film noir peaked as a popular genre of film during the mid-1940’s into the 1950’s. These films gave rise to iconic antiheroes like detectives Sam Spade, Mike Hammer and Philip Marlowe. Though the stories change, the mood is the same in a film noir.” 

Typical film noir scenes use shadows, dark streets, neon signs, murderers and murders, plus ominous actions and characters. They take place in a city like New York, Los Angeles and Las Vegas.  Muller describes the characters: “The men and women of this sinister cinematic world are driven by greed, lust, jealousy, and revenge.”  So are my bad characters. 

I’m having a great time creating murder mysteries in a modern noir style. The once hard-boiled masculine detective now has a new, softer voice, and there are new heroes and antiheroes. My stories have soft-boiled sleuths. Of course, they still encounter murder and mayhem.

In my senior sleuths series I also wanted to address issue of being a senior and being active, adventurous, interesting people. Still in their early sixties, Dick and Dora Zimmerman’s not only have the time—but the money, the smarts and the chutzpah—to get involved even when they are warned by police and criminals to stay away. It seems murders fall in their laps, sometimes on them. 

Even when facing danger in the course of solving a murder, they mix wit and humor and are accompanied by a colorful cast of cohorts. They strive for justice, not an easy thing to accomplish when the bad guys are as determined to strive to do evil. 

“Reading Dead in Bed, the first twisty and fast-paced book in Rosen’s new mystery series, The Senior Sleuths, I found myself laughing and biting my nails at the same time. Sure, her characters Dick and Dora Zimmerman are no spring chickens, but they’re every bit as feisty and resourceful as her younger detectives in her Dying to be Beautiful series. What a ride!”  –Claudia Riess, Author, Art History Mystery Series

by M. Glenda Rosen (aka Marcia Rosen)

www.theseniorsleuths.com

Recently re-released, Book One: Dying To Be Beautiful: Without A Head, Level Best Books

MEMBER NEWS

Marilyn Meredith has a new Rocky Bluff P.D. mystery out called NOT AS WE KNEW IT written as F. M. Meredith. Despite hearing from readers and writers alike that no one wanted to read a book with Covid 19 in it, since this series is in more-or-less real time, she didn’t know how to avoid it—and ended up having fun while writing about how the officers and families were dealing with the crisis. The blurb goes like this 

The challenges come one after another for the Rocky Bluff P.D. to handle―from a missing woman to a fatal house fire. Detective Doug Milligan is faced with new and unusual problems to solve, some on the job and others related to his family. With the department shorthanded because of the Covid virus, Chief Chandra Taylor must make some hard decisions in order to protect the town of Rocky Bluff. 

Not As We Knew It is available on Amazon in paperback and for Kindle. 

Scott Decker was recently hosted by A&E’s highly successful History Channel podcast, “History This Week” (October 11, 2020).  Scott discussed his book, Recounting the Anthrax Attacks, post-9/11 events, and our war on terrorism. Link: https://bit.ly/37EZ8d9

Scott appeared on Vice TV’s popular new series, “While the Rest of Us Die,” which premiered on November 16, 2020.  Scott described how the 2001 anthrax attacks revealed inadequacies in Congressional planning for Continuity of Government.  Link: www.vicetv.com

Scott was a guest on fellow PSWA member, George Cramer’s well-received Blog for November 23, 2020.  Link: www.gdcramer.com

www.rscottdecker.com

​

David Knop’s latest book, Dead Horses, A Pete Romero mystery, is getting rave reviews, this is the latest:

“Excellent mystery. From the first page, this book hooked me in. Characters were real, interesting and believable. Felt like I was in Tribal Police Officer Romero’s head and life. Knop has a talent for putting me right in the middle of the story. Scenes were detailed and authentic. Enjoyed the Southwest and tribal descriptions, which I know well. Indian supernatural beliefs were a nice twist. Liked Romero and rooted for him to solve a tangled web of major corruption and somehow survive. I look forward to reading Knop’s other books.

It is available on Amazon

Kelli Peacock is proud to announce the publication of her third book: No Man’s Land.

The Crossing Series, set in a fictional town in West Texas, has its real-life problems – murder, mayhem and humor. Featured are Sheriff Chris Winters, a retired Navy Seal, now turned sheriff, and his strong-willed, former spy, wife Kali. Together along with the deputies, a mysterious medical examiner, and a loveable Episcopal Priest, they unravel the deepest secrets of the area. Each book builds on the curious history of the region and the memorable characters who call The Crossings home.

 No Man’s Land – 

All Sheriff Chris Winters of The Crossings wanted was to get through the last few months of his term without any more murders or mayhem. It was not to be.

Right up to the Sheriff’s back yard was an expanse of deserted land knowing locally as No Man’s Land. Nothing ever happened there, until everything happened there.

It started with a group of local teens getting high on Jimson Weed, an easy mystery compared to the mysterious lights, UFO sightings, missing children, drug cartels and surprise bodies. And did the teens forget to mention their gold digging? Oh, yeah, rumors of missing gold caches that lure more than one group back out to the increasingly dangerous No Man’s Land.

Now Chris must team with the Feds to save the teens all the while dealing with a shootout and hostage situation between the drug dealers and UFO hunters. 

Retirement can’t come soon enough.

Find Kelli on Amazon

The Canopy is more than the welcoming entry to the cop bar, it is the title to Albert Vande Steeg’s novel about what happens in a cop bar. The stories and events shared at The Canopy make for great reading. 

Interwoven in the action of Jack Hilberg and Ray Follett are the events that resulted in the death of Officer Ricardo Augustino. The aftermath of Ricky’s killing ripple through the Department and into the lives of Jack and Ray and their families. It is heart gripping and inspiring.

It is now on sale here

CONTENTS:

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

OUTGOING PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

INTRODUCING THE NEW VICE PRESIDENT

INTRODUCING THE NEW SECRETARY

INTRODUCING THE NEW TREASURER

THE NEW TECHNOLOGY CHAIR

REVVIN’ UP FOR A GREAT ONE

PSWA WRITING COMPETITION

HED: SO LONG FOR NOW

MY WASHINGTON NATIONALS

THE BULLDOG AND THE HELIX: BOOK REVIEW

PLASTIC SCAM

WHAT GOES WRONG WHEN WRITING ABOUT CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION

KNOW YOUR GUN

MEMBER NEWS

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Greetings PSWA members

It has been a stressful and busy time since the 2019 conference. As soon as the conference ended, four of our board members tendered their resignations, with much regret, for understandable personal reasons; Michelle Perin, President; Thonie Hevron, Member at Large; Tim Dees, Secretary and Alpha Geek Extraordinaire; and Mysti Berry, Treasurer and Web Master. At first, there was much angst among the remaining members. Taken by surprise, it appeared, at first blush, this was a devastating blow to our organization.

Shrugging off the shock, we rallied and, working together, ended up bringing new board members on to fill those vacancies. Though Thonie, Tim, Mysti, and Michelle will be sorely missed as board members, we were confident the newly approved crew would be able to quickly step into their rolls and duties. That became evident at our mid-year board meeting at the Orleans Hotel/Casino Feb. 5 and 6. All quickly and enthusiastically, jumped into their duties, proving our confidence in them was justified. 

The new board members are Gloria Casale, Secretary; Joe LeFevre, Web Master and Alpha Geek; Bob Calkins, Treasurer; Scott Decker, Vice President and Membership Chair; and Barbara Hodges as the Writing Contest Chair, taking over that role from our outgoing president, Michelle. One other change on the board is me (John Schembra) formerly the VP, now your President. Mike Black continues in his role as Conference Chair, and Marilyn Meredith is still the Newsletter Editor.

As the new board concentrates on planning and preparing our July conference, I encourage each of you to sign up and take advantage of the interesting, informative, and educational panels and keynote speakers. It’s also fun, the networking opportunities abound, whether it is with editors, or other talented member writers. After all, the board’s purpose is to provide the best possible conference to you, our members, and from the looks of it, and the hard work of Mike Black, it is well on its way to being one of the best ever. 

Don’t forget the Thursday pre-conference workshop. Every writer, regardless of how much they have written, or how many books they’ve had published, can benefit from the expertise of the instructors. Our pre-conference Writer’s Workshop starts things off on Thursday, July 16th at 9:00 AM. The Workshop offers writers a chance to get one-on-one feedback and instruction on advanced writing techniques from the instructors—Mike Black, Marilyn Meredith, and Susan Tuttle. Included with the workshop are some special benefits for the attendees. Please check it out at the PSWA webpage. 

I would like to gratefully thank Michelle, Tim, Mysti, and Thonie for their work on the board. Some of them spent 14 years, or more, as board members.

I am issuing a call to all our members to get involved with the PSWA by volunteering to help with some of the duties of planning the conference and helping at the conference itself. We are actively seeking members to shadow and assist Mike Black with the conference development and planning, and to shadow Marilyn Meredith with the newsletter. Our view is to the future, seeking those who will succeed us as board members when our time is done. If you are willing to help, contact Mike Black at docatlas108@aol.com, Marilyn Meredith at mmeredith24@ocsnet.net, or me at toto@pacbell.net .

I encourage you to sign up now for the conference and pre-conference workshop. The fee goes up after Apr. 30, 2020.

As the new President, I can promise you that your board will continue working to make the PSWA, and the conference, better every year. After all, our job is to work for our member’s benefit, not ours. To quote our out-going president, Michelle, “The Public Safety Writers Association is all about writing and making friends, making friends and writing. I hope all of you continue to grow within this organization.” 

—John Schembra

Award winning author

PSWA President

OUT-GOING PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

At the end of 2005, I was a budding writer and stumbled upon the Public Safety Writers Association website. I joined and that summer I attended my first conference. The members immediately welcomed me, inspired me and even gave me the opportunity to write a paid monthly column for Officer.com. I’ve been writing two columns a month for them ever since. 

Marilyn Olsen, then President and Queen, asked me to help with the writing contest in 2007 which I gladly did. This brought me onto the Board where I sat as Writing Contest Chair until I took over as President several years ago. During this time, I helped wherever I could as the PSWA could not maintain its mission without the assistance of its volunteers. I learned so much including how to work cooperatively within a diverse organization and leadership skills. The PSWA has grown and evolved into a vibrant association and to continue that growth I helped bring on two new members of the Board last year and another two this year to replace outgoing members. I also decided to step down and let our VP John Schembra have a turn at the helm. 

I’m still going to be around and working on my WIPs. Thank you all for trusting me to help lead this organization for the last 13 years. It’s been an honor.

–Michelle J.G. Perin-Callahan, MS, QMHP, EMT
Visit me at www.thewritinghand.net or www.forgottenfirstresponders.com

INTRODUCING THE NEW VICE-PRESIDENT

Scott Decker joined the FBI as a Special Agent and was first assigned to the Boston Division’s Bank Robbery Task Force.  The cases he investigated are fictionalized in Ben Affleck’s blockbuster, The Town (Warner Bros Pictures, 2010).  He has co-produced a short movie, History of FBI Firearms, narrated by Golden Globe winner, Jon Hamm.  Scott has also appeared with Saundra Bullock in her action comedy, The Heat.

On September 12, 2001, Scott led a team of FBI Hazmat Officers to Manhattan where they established a command post at the edge of the Ground Zero destruction.  His first book, Recounting the Anthrax Attacks—Terror, the Amerithrax Task Force, and the Evolution of Forensics in the FBI (Rowman, 2018) chronicles the investigation of 2001’s deadly mailing of anthrax spores.  Recounting has won awards for narrative non-fiction, memoir and true crime.  

Scott contributes to Knife Magazine and Security Management magazine and is working on a second nonfiction book revolving around true crime and terrorism.  He lives in Las Vegas with his wife, Terry and a good-natured beagle mix and a possessive mini-pinscher, and the occasional guest coyote and red-tailed hawk.  Please visit: www.rscottdecker.com.

INTRODUCING THE NEW SECRETARY

Gloria Casale lives in New Mexico, where she writes mystery novels for lovers of spy thrillers. She is currently working on An Emergency Medicine Memoir. 

She earned her medical degree from the University of Kentucky and completed advanced training in anesthesiology, preventative medicine, and public health. She received training in bioterrorism and bioterrorism response at the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases and is a recognized expert in the international transport of disease. Gloria also served as a consultant to the Division of Transnational Threats at Sandia Laboratory. 

She also serves as the Vice President of Cloak and Dagger, the Albuquerque chapter of Sisters in Crime. 

—Gloria Casale, Treasurer

https://www.gloriacasalewrites.com/

INTRODUCING THE NEW TREASURER

Robert D. (Bob) Calkins comes to the PSWA Treasurer position with experience managing the finances of his volunteer Search and Rescue group- which is also the foundation of his writing.

Bob has been a volunteer search and rescue dog handler for nearly 20 years, responding to everything from routine missing person cases to homicides to the horrific 2014 mudslide in Oso, Washington in which 43 people were killed. His current partner Ruger, an eight-year-old Golden Retriever, is certified for forensic-level human remains detection and works both active and cold homicide cases.

Bob retired from the Washington State Patrol in 2015 having served as the agency’s lead public information officer. He was previously the public information officer for Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, having served in that role during the 9/11 attacks, the 6.8 Nisqually Earthquake and a major airline crash. 

—Robert Calkins

PSWA Treasurer

THE NEW TECHNOLOGY CHAIR

Hello, I am Joe LeFevre the new technology chair or Alpha Geek 2.0. Some of you may know me by my pen name, RJ Beam. I have been a member of the PSWA for five years, however, it has been a couple of years since being able to attend a conference. 

As the technology chair, I will keep our webpage up to date along with managing the email list-serve and social media. In addition, at the conference, I will be running the audio and visual systems.

My day job is working as an instructor at the Public Safety Training Center in Appleton, WI. Primarily I teach investigative skills along with conducting our officer fitness/wellness program. Prior to working in the academy, I was an officer and at one time was a volunteer firefighter. 

As a nonfiction writer, I have had articles published in multiple publications including Evidence Technology Magazine, PoliceOne.com, and Law Officer Magazine. In addition, I have been part of a research team that has published our findings in the Society of Automotive Engineers Journal. Under the name RJ Beam, I have three mystery novels out, with more on the way. 

On a personal note, I have a set of twins, ten-year-olds, a boy and a girl. They keep my wife and I busy taking them to karate lessons along with seasonal team sports. In my free time, I enjoy being active in the CrossFit community. 

—Joe Lefevre (aka R.J. Beam)

Alpha Geek 2.0 and PSWA Webmaster

REVVIN’ UP FOR A GREAT ONE

I’m always amazed by the commitment of those stalwart individuals who comprise the PSWA and especially our board members. Our recent board meeting covered a lot of grounds and was particularly challenging due to the significant changes to the organization that occurred in 2019. While change is inevitable in life, it’s also a major stressor, so getting through it unscathed is always a challenge. I can say that we weathered the tempest and came through stronger and more committed to moving the organization forward than ever.

We’ve made a few changes to the conference this year, trying out some new stuff that will hopefully keep the experience informative and fun, while also maintaining the high standard of excellence you’ve come to expect from the PSWA Conference. This year has been labeled “Fifteen Will Get You Plenty” since it’s out 15th year. Our First Lady of the PSWA, Marilyn Meredith, has attended every one of them and has once again going to reprise her role as one of the three instructors for our pre-conference workshop. This year Marilyn and I will be joined by Susan Tuttle as our newest workshop instructor. Those of you who attended our 2018 conference will recall the fabulous presentation Susan did on self-editing. The workshop not only offers an opportunity to exchange ideas about writing and discuss various techniques, but it’s also an opportunity to have up to 30 pages of your manuscript critiqued by one of the instructors in a one-on-one session. It’ a great chance to take your writing to the next level.

We’ve got a dynamite line-up or solo presenters.  Rannah Grey will be talking about her award-winning book, Familiar Evil, that was featured as the premier episode of a prime-time television show. She’ll cover the importance of framing a true crime story, promoting your book, submitting for awards, finding your audience through speaking opportunities and working with producers to stay true to your story. Don’t miss True Crime: From Publication to Premiere.

Successful author and publisher, Austin Camacho, will give you tips on improving your writing with his presentation, WRITE BETTER; DRAFT, REWRITE AND EDIT. Austin, who owns the prestigious Intrigue Press, has the unique perspective of being a writer, editor, and publisher and will show you how to improve your writing by focusing on several items an author should focus on as they write. But one thing that’s not obvious is that where a writer’s focus should be depends on what stage of the process he or she is in. Your process for writing a first draft is different from rewriting or editing a work. Austin will show you what you should focus on at each stage.

And, from the perspective of an author turned publisher, Mike Orenduff, will explain how a writer can go from unknown to best-seller. Mike’s highly regarded novels in his Pot Thief series has been the number one best seller on four occasions. The 8th book in the Pot Thief series, The Pot Thief Who Studied Edward Abbey, garnered a starred review from Publishers Weekly and sold over 10,000 copies before it even hit the streets. It’s not only an entertaining story, but it could work for you!

And rounding things out for the solo presentations is former FBI agent, Terry l. Kerns, who will be speaking about one of the most serious threats facing our nation today, the opioid crisis. Agent Kerns is the Opiate Coordinator with the Nevada Attorney General’s Office. She contributed to the Microbial Forensics textbook and has just been awarded a federal grant which will fund opioid risk training in the state of Nevada. This detailed overview of the current opioid crisis in America will explain how it has taken so many lives in our country in recent times.

We’re also working on a bunch of interesting and informative panels and a few other surprises that will keep you fascinated, as well as providing an occasional laugh or two. I hope to see you there.

—Michael A. Black

Program Chair

PSWA WRITING COMPETITION

I’m delighted to be the new chair for the PSWA Writing Competition. The writing competition is one I’ve had the pleasure in taking part in numerous times, and I’ve even won a second place for published book and honorable mention for an unpublished short story. 

I don’t take those wins lightly, even more so now that I know how PSWA winners are chosen. Ours is not a contest where if you enter and pay your $10.00 you will win. If the entries received aren’t determined to be the best in their categories, then they won’t win.  It’s that simple. 

All entries are carefully judged by award winning authors, and a big shout out to those judges. We couldn’t do this without you! 

Each year there is the possibility one or more of the categories will not have winners.

For your writing to be recognized as award winning by the PSWA judges is worthy of applause, which you will receive if you are chosen and are at our July conference’s award luncheon.

Becoming an award-winning author isn’t easy, but the PSWA Writing Competition is a great way to start.  Those gold stickers look great, no matter where you choose to place them. So, come on, send us your best writing.  There is a category for all. 

The cutoff date is April 15th.  Two weeks earlier than prior years.  We want our judges to have plenty of time to review your works. 

Check out the information on our website, fill out a downloadable form for each entry, and send the form along with your entry and your $10.00 entry fee for each to me, Public Safety Writers Association, 187 Alyssum Circle, Nipomo, CA 93444. 

Also send an e-copy of your entry to me at…bassetbarb@aol.com.  We want the e-copies too. Some of our judges prefer e-copies and some prefer reading your entries in print.  I want the copies as back-up, just in case something happens to the print copies.

I think that’s all for now.  I’ll be sending out reminders and we will have a countdown clock on our website.

Get those entries in and join us at the conference in July.  I’d love to personally hand you your winning certificate.   

—Barbara M. Hodges

PSWA Writing Competition Chair

HED: SO LONG FOR NOW

Your board of directors holds a brief meeting at the end of each conference to review the conference evaluations and discuss plans for the near future. At this most recent meeting at the end of the 2019 conference, I told the board, “I’m done.” I’m resigning from the board of directors, effective as soon as I can pass control of some elements to my successor(s). 

I’m not certain, but I think I’m the last “OG” (that’s street jargon for “original gangster,” one of the founding members of a criminal gang) remaining from what used to be the Police Writers Club. Not long after Roger Fulton created the PWC in the 1990s, he brought me on board as a consultant and web monkey to create and maintain a website and perform some other technical chores. When the PWC became the PSWA, I continued in that role, eventually being invited to join the board of directors as a member at large and the “Alpha Geek” technical person, and to manage the multimedia functions at the conference. I became the board’s secretary when Keith Bettinger resigned a few years ago. I eventually got out of my depth as a website designer/administrator. Those duties have been assumed by the inestimable Mysti Berry, whose geek chops are superior to my own. 

I am not leaving the board out of any conflict or dissatisfaction. I’m just tired of traveling. Some years back, when I was the editor-in-chief of Officer.com and later LawOfficer.com, I found myself on an airplane at least once a month. That was fine for a couple of years, when I was living in a place (Laurel, MD) where I had few local acquaintances and my apartment was not much more than a place to do my laundry and sleep occasionally. Eventually, the travel went from “Where do I get to go now?” to “Where do I have to go now?” I knew I had reached saturation level when I (1) realized that I struggled to remember my phone number, but could repeat my Delta SkyMiles account number without thinking, and (2) woke up and knew I was in a Marriott hotel room, but wasn’t sure which city I was in. 

My travel in recent years has been mostly to the annual conference and board meeting, but I’ve found I’ve been dreading those trips as they got closer. While I have great affection for my fellow board members and many of you in the PSWA as a whole, I’ve found I really prefer to hang out at home with my aging dog. We’ve been quietly canvassing for someone to step in for me for several years, but it became apparent that this wasn’t going to happen until I created a vacancy. 

I’m working on a document to serve as a guide for whomever assumes the various duties I performed on the board, to include running the sound and projection/computer gear at the conference, creating the conference name badges, and administering the listserv. I have some experience with this. I work part-time for a sole-practitioner psychiatrist, mostly with IT and other technical tasks. At the doctor’s request, I wrote and continue to update a document that covers how I do what I do. The title of this document is “If Tim Drops Dead,” which I have on good authority will happen someday. 

I plan to continue to be a member of the PSWA, and I hope that you’ll call on me at tim@timdees.com if I can ever be of service to you. 

–Tim Dees is a retired police officer and the former editor of two major law enforcement websites who writes and consults on technology applications in criminal justice. He can be reached at tim@timdees.com. 

MY WASHINGTON NATIONALS

It was September 23, 1957, and I was attending my first Major league Baseball game. My step-father took me.  The game was at Griffths Stadium in Northwest Washington, D.C. Griffths Stadium was used by Major League Baseball from 1911 until 1961.  It was Roy Sievers Night and Vice President Richard Nixon was there to present a plaque to him. Roy Sievers was the leading home run hitter for the Washington Senators. That year he surpassed Mickey Mantle and Ted Williams to win the home run crown with 42 homers. From that day forward I followed the ups and downs of the Washington Senators. Just as a side note Mickey Mantle once hit a home run out of Griffths Stadium that went 565 feet. Even though the Senators were cellar dwellers, in last place, they had two of the best homer hitters, Roy Sievers and Jim Lemon. Sievers was the first player in baseball history to have more home runs and runs batted in playing for a last place team. Unfortunately, love for the team and its players was dashed when in 1961, Calvin Griffith moved the team to Minnesota, and it became the Minnesota Twins. Fellow baseball lovers will remember Senator players like, Whitey Herzog, Harmon Killebrew, Chuck Stobbs, Eddie Yost, Pete Runnels or Clint Courtney, all who play during that time. It was said that the Washington team was “first in war, first in peace and last in the American League,” a little play on the words describing President George Washington after the American Revolution. 

Griffths Stadium was a multi-sport and event facility. The Homestead Grays of the Negro Baseball League, who won 7 of 10 Negro National League Championships, also played there and actually drew more revenue for the Griffth family than the Senators. Josh Gibson, believed to be the most prolific home run hitter of the all-time with the Homestead Grays hit many homers out of Griffths Stadium. Unfortunately none were measured. The short lived Women’s Baseball league played there. The Washington Redskins first played there, as well as several college and high school football teams. In fact the highest scoring football game was played at Griffths Stadium, the Redskin defeat by the Chicago Bears 73-0. Joe Louis fought in Griffths Stadium and Billy Graham had several revivals there. They had dog racing in the stadium and wrestling matches. Duke Ellington and Langston Hughes as children actually sold hot dogs at the stadium.

In 1961, an expansion team was located at Griffths Stadium and continued to use the name Washington Senators. The last Senator game played at Griffths Stadium was played on September 21, 1961 to a crowd of 1498 fans. Their next season would be at RFK Stadium on East Capital Street in Northeast Washington. This team stayed at the bottom of their division for a number of years, but strangely enough whenever the New York Yankees came to town the Senators would beat them like they owned them. While I was in High School a couple of buddies and I went to a two-night doubleheader where the Senators were playing the Yankees. The first game the Senators beat them 8 to 1 and in the second game they beat them 13 to 2. This was the dynasty Yankees, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Roger Maris, Whitey Ford, Elston Howard, among others.

Frank Howard was the big home run hitter for the Senators then and when I said big I meant big. He was 6 foot 8 inches and 280 lbs, he hit 237 home runs for the Senators from 1965 until 1971. I remember taking my sons to a game at RFK and when Frank Howard was announced as coming to home plate to hit. My kids went wild. I said to them who is the best hitter on the Senator team? They yelled Frank Howard. Who is the best catcher on the team? Again they yelled Frank Howard. Who is the best pitcher on the team? They shouted Frank Howard again. Frank Howard was an outfielder, but they thought he was the best period. The Senators again left Washington in 1972 for better haunts and became the Texan Rangers. I was heartbroken and the kids weren’t too happy either.

In 2005, 33 years later, baseball returned to Washington, D.C. The Montreal Expos moved to our fair city and became the Washington Nationals. This time they would be a part of the National League in the Eastern Division. While Nationals Park was being build, the Nationals played at RFK stadium. As a police officer, I was deployed from the academy to the 5th Police District. RFK Stadium was in that district and I made sure I went there in uniform. The game was already over, but I walked around the ground level under the seats. I came to an opening that led into right field. I walked through the opening on to right field. I was a kid again, standing in right field. It was exhilarating, but short lived.  

From 2005 to 2010 the Washington Nationals finished either 4th or 5th in this 5 team division. In 2011, they finished 3rd.  From 2012 until 2019 they finished either 1st or 2nd in the division. In 2012 they won the division, but lost in the divisional series to the St. Louis Cardinals 3 games to 2. In 2014, they won the division, but lost in the divisional series to the San Francisco Giants 3 games to 1. In 2016, they won the division, but lost in the divisional series to the Los Angeles Dodgers 3 games to 2. In 2017, they lost in the divisional series to the Chicago Cubs 3 games to 2.

In 2019, they entered the playoffs as a wild card team, second in their Division, and had to play the Milwaukee Brewers one game to see who would play in the divisional series. They won and had to go to Los Angeles to play the Dodgers, who had won 106 games out the 162 games they played that year. Los Angeles had the home field advantage as the Nationals were the wild card team. They would play 2 games in L.A. and 2 games in D.C. and return to L.A. for the final game if necessary. It was necessary and to a stunned crowd the Nationals won and would advance to the National League Championship game against the St. Louis Cardinals. The Nationals won 4 straight games, 2 in St. Louis and 2 in D.C. As the National League Champions, they now had to play the American League Champions, the Houston Astros. Again, the Astros had home field advantage in this best of 4 out of a 7 game World Series, where they had won 60 out 81 home games in their 107-game winning season. The Nationals won the first 2 games in Houston, but upon returning the Washington lost the next 3 games. With their backs against the wall and down 3 games to 2, the Nationals again beat Houston in a come from behind fashion twice and became the World Series Champions. The last time a Washington team won the World Series was in 1924, but as you can see I followed these cellar dwellers from the late 50s, through the heartbreak of so many lost opportunities. I went to 6 games this season and watched many more on TV. This team never gave up and neither did I. They finally broke through the darkness to become the best team in Major League Baseball, my Washington Nationals. I can’t wait until next year.

I’ve always loved baseball. I was never good enough to make the schools’ teams, but I played boys club baseball for several years. I played in softball league at NASA, for an electronics company. I played softball when I was on the police department. In my 60s, I played hardball with a senior league for a couple of years. Just this year, at age 73, I played in a senior softball league. We ended up in 2nd place at the end of the season. Unfortunately, my knees are too bad to continue playing, but that is why the Nationals winning the World Series is such a big deal to me.  They have become my surrogate for playing baseball. My way to still enjoy the game I love.

—Joseph B. Haggerty, Sr.

THE BULLDOG AND THE HELIX

BOOK REVIEW

This is the true story of two separate murder investigations that were solved partly by good, old fashioned police work but significantly by the use of DNA evidence to prove the identity of the murderers. The two crimes happened in 1977 and 1996 in Port Alberni, British Columbia. Author and journalist Shayne Morrow traced the path of both investigations in great detail.

It’s not an uplifting book. The subject matter is too grim for that. But if you want to understand the intricate detail of how a real murder investigation unfolds with its many twists and turns this is a book for you. Author Morrow had access to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police investigators and developed a good understanding of how they solved these heinous crimes. 

The Bulldog, Corporal Dan Smith, never gave up on the investigations, pursuing the cold case 1977 murder investigation for years until the arrest of the killer. I could sense his determination and perseverance as I read the book.

DNA evidence was in its infancy during the first investigation. The investigators were learning about it as they went along, all with the view that this new way of identifying murder suspects had to meet the legal requirements of a trial by judge and jury, including cross-examination. The book tells that story, from the murder scenes to the eventual courtroom trial. It’s a great read.

—John Eldridge

Author of Second Careers for Street Cops

PLASTIC SCAM

Credit Card Fraud Tops Nevada’s Identity Theft Victims

Not to scare or deter you, but here is something to consider when you are attending the PSWA Conference in July. According to the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC’s 2018 stats), Nevada ranks # 5 behind Michigan, Florida, California and Maryland for identity theft (based on # of victims per 100,000 population). Forty percent of ID theft is through credit card fraud and misuse. And the top city in Nevada for this type of criminal activity? You guessed it . . . Las Vegas.

A few years ago, I was the victim of credit card identity theft. Fortunately, it was only for a small amount and my service company removed it. It only came to surface when my wife was examining the monthly billing statement and observed that we had been charged for a couple tickets: purchased on separate dates. She asked me if I had taken a couple Greyhound Bus trips from Texas to Nebraska. Seriously? 

(Sure Honey. I left for work this morning, flew to Texas and grabbed a seat on Greyhound, rode to Nebraska, then flew back to my job with Metro in time to drive home and have dinner with you that evening…and I did it twice on two different dates. Did you miss me?)

Apparently, someone had used our card number, maybe a waitress or some other server that had temporarily taken our card. After two consecutive monthly billing statements of seeing these fraudulent charges and completing some disclaimer forms, our card company removed them from our statement. Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah . . ..

The Scam —

Credit card companies do have personnel watching out for unusual or extravagant expenditures on your credit card. When “red flags” appear on your report, these security “watch dogs” will call you and verify that you have authorized the payment. I’ve personally had this happen several times, usually after returning home from a vacation where the credit card was prominently used. (I guess that I’m going to have to quit spending so lavishly on my wife.)

Really though, I do appreciate this effort being made by my credit card company in an attempt to catch any suspected misuse of my card. However, this common security practice has recently led identity thieves to “work” the system and deceive card holders by portraying themselves as card company security personnel.

A typical con game will go something like this:

Someone pretending to be from Visa or Master Card (typically) will telephone and say, “This is Carl Patterson [fictitious name] and I’m calling from the Security and Fraud Department at Visa. My badge number is 12460. Your card has been flagged for an unusual purchase pattern, and I’m calling to verify. This would be on your Visa card issued by Chase Bank. Did you purchase an Anti-Telemarketing Device for $497.99 from a marketing company based in Arizona?”

When you say “No,” the caller continues with, “Then we will be issuing a credit to your account. This is a company we have been watching and the charges range from $297 to $497, just under the $500 purchase pattern that flags most cards. Before your next statement, the credit will be sent to (gives you your address). Is that correct?”

You say, “Yes.” 

The caller continues, “I will be starting a fraud investigation. If you have any questions, you should call the 800-number listed on your card and ask for Security. You will need to refer to this Control #.” Then the caller gives you a 6-digit number.

“Do you need me to read it again?” The caller then says that he needs to verify you are in possession of your card. He tells you turn the card over and says, “There are seven numbers. The first four are 1234(whatever); the next three are the security numbers that verify you are in possession of the card. These are the numbers you use to make internet purchases to prove you have the card. Read me the three numbers.”

When you do, he says, “That is correct. I just needed to verify that the card has not been lost or stolen, and that you still have your card. Do you have any other questions? Don’t hesitate to call back if you do.”

All this sounds realistic and official, doesn’t it? Well, you were just scammed and unknowingly became the victim of credit card identity theft. It happened right after you gave the caller the numbers requested to verify the card was in your possession. You actually say very little, and they never ask for or tell you the whole card number.

Usually the unauthorized purchase(s) will be made within the next few minutes. You may not realize it though until you see your next billing statement, or when security personnel from the card company is alert enough to notice the high or unusual activity on your account.

What the scam wants is the three-digit number! And that once the charge goes through, they keep charging every few days. By the time you get your statement, you think the “promised credit” is coming, but it never does and then it’s harder to actually file a fraud report.

And don’t be surprised that should you receive a call like this and fall into their trap, that you will likely get another call a few days later from another credit card company, only this time the caller is identified by a different name, such as Jason Richardson [fictitious, of course] of Master Card. The interesting thing is that this new “security” person echoes nearly word-for-word the Visa scam dialogue. (It’s elementary, my dear Dr. Watson. I do believe these gentlemen are in cahoots with one another.)

Recommended Actions —

Should you get a call like this, get the person’s name and employee identification number, then tell him that you will call back and hang up. But do not call a number they refer you to. Call the customer service number on the back of your card. Once the company answers, they will be able to verify if there is an actual employee by that name/number. If not, then go ahead and inform them that you were just contacted in an apparent con attempt.

Don’t ever give out any portion of your card number. The real credit card companies want to reinforce that they will never ask for anything on the card (they already know). Be real careful giving any information out to an unsolicited caller. You can always call back the real company and, that way, be assured of whom you’re speaking with.

In the next newsletter, I plan on addressing Part-2 of scams with your checking account. I hope to see you in July at our conference.

Until then, Stay Safe!

—Ron Corbin

WHAT GOES WRONG WHEN WRITING ABOUT CRIME INVESTIGATIONS

We remember the things that bug us, and though novels/tv/movies get a lot of details right, panelists at this summer’s CrimeCONN conference had a long list of pet peeves. These included stories in which: surveillance is easy (and affordable); extradition happens almost overnight; judges make snap decisions about motions; and if it’s an organized crime case, there’s lots of electronic evidence. IRL, organized crime figures know what our politicians haven’t figured out: no emails, no texts, no Instagrams. 

And here’s one of my eye-rollers: DNA evidence that comes back in 24 hours. At the same time, panelists agreed that a story that strictly followed what happens in an investigation or in the courtroom would be unreadable (and cited in this article).

They said witness testimony is often presented as too black-or-white. Either a witness is a truth-teller or a liar, when, in real life, witnesses do a bit of both. What’s more, they may not be intentionally lying, they may misinterpret something, they may misremember or simply forget. 

For what goes wrong (and right) with movie spycraft, Wired provides this entertaining video with Jonna Mendez. It’s a follow-up to her previous film of CIA tips on developing an effective disguise.

—-Vicki Weisfeld

Twitter: @vsk8s

Website: Website: www.vweisfeld.com

KNOW YOUR GUN

Be instinctively familiar with what you carry.

Many of us are “gun nuts,” we enjoy shooting, and handguns have evolved so much in the past 50 years that virtually all manufacturers are creating truly fine working weapons. We often talk about our guns with our colleagues, both while we’re working and when we’re not. We boast about any newly acquired weapons and readily show them off to others.

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy examining and shooting different handguns from the big, bad .45s to the tiny derringers. They’re all fun to shoot. But when it comes to using the weapons on the job and/or off-duty it’s imperative that you know that gun inside and out. I’ve had the experience of working as a firearms instructor for close to two decades. What I’ve seen on the range from self-described firearms experts sometimes scares the dickens out of me. Guys talk about the benefits of a certain firearm and its capabilities and about how this particular gun is a game-changer on the street. Once I put them on the firing line, however, it often turned into a disaster that ranged from not being able to control the weapon with mostly inaccurate shots, to being puzzled about the actual operation of the weapon. To make matters worse, they insisted they would carry the new gun either on the job or off-duty.

Knowledge is a powerful thing—in anything we do. Whether that knowledge is about how we do our job, or the tools we use to do it. One of the most important tools is the sidearm we’re carrying. It has the power to help us end a life or save one. In a critical situation, there’s no time to think about which gun we’re carrying and how it operates. No time to remember how we’re carrying it if we’re off-duty—is it in a pocket, waist band or holster, right side or left? Is the gun I’m carrying today the one with the manual safety or not? There’s no time to think about these questions, only time to draw and address the situation. Once in your hand, that gun becomes an extension of you. The operation becomes instinctive, that is, you look through your weapon at what is unfolding in front of you. Any firing or other manipulations happen automatically. Malfunctions, reloads, or whatever, are rectified without any thought process. It all happens automatically because you’ve become so familiar with that gun that you can operate it under any and all conditions.

So how do we get to that level? How do we reach the point of having that weapon in hand and not even remembering how it got there? Practice, practice, practice. To think you can achieve any level of familiarity of confidence with a gun without having practiced until you’re almost bored is lunacy. Live fire, along with dry fire, are equally important. Live fire for the muscle memory of presenting the gun and the feel of the discharge and felt recoil . . . the sights, trigger squeeze, coming back on target after multiple shots, those must be repeated actions that become second nature. Dry fire helps us make the gun comfortable in our hands while we practice drawing, acquiring a sight picture, and working with the trigger.

On the firing line is when we learn whether our chosen method of carry will work. Warm weather versus cold, heavy clothing versus t-shirts, etc. If you don’t practice under the conditions with which you will be deploying your weapon, expect to be farther behind the reactionary curve. You don’t want to give a potential adversary any more advantage than you must. What are the possible problems that you may encounter? Think about them and eliminate them at practice, not when the incident unfolds. Does your gun have a hammer that might get hung up on clothing when you try to present? Are you wearing your gun in a different place each time you leave the house? Are you carrying different weapons? If so, are you instinctively familiar with each one?

Unfortunately, we can’t expect to reach the level of competency that enhances our capability with our weapon by simply attending our department’s mandatory range dates. Depending on funding, quals vary from once per year to quarterly. Being on the range is always a time when we discover our shortcomings and sometimes our strengths. But range time offered by our departments is never enough. If you truly want to be instinctively familiar with what you carry, spend time working with the gun in your hand. Know how it feels with a one or two-handed grip, the weight of the trigger pull, the transition trigger, double to single, any safeties, slide locks, mag exchanges, mag releases—every aspect of the gun must be imprinted indelibly in your mind so that when that critical incident begins, you’re in the game immediately!

—John M. Wills

Website: jwillsbooks.com

MEMBER NEWS

From Scott Decker: I have been invited to:

1) Be the Keynote Speaker for the “11th Annual Research Day and Poster Session,” sponsored by the Research Institute of St. Joseph’s Health, St. Joseph’s University Medical Center in Paterson, NJ, May 22, 2020,

2) Be a panelist on “It’s Not All Fiction: A Talk with True Crime Writers,” at the Left Coast Crime 2020, Murder’s a Beach, conference in San Diego, March 14, 2020,

3) Participate in the Henderson Libraries’ “7th Annual Local Author Showcase,” in Henderson, NV, March 28, 2020.

http://www.rscottdecker.com

—

Gloria Casale reports she will be a speaker at ‘Voices in Their Heads,’ the Croak and Dagger (Albuquerque’s Chapter of Sisters in Crime) Rhys Bowen Conference this March in Albuquerque;

She is also on the planning committee for the Left Coast Crime Conference to be held in Albuquerque 2021.

—

Bob Doerr is happy to announce that his new book, Honeymoons Can Kill was released in January and is now available. This is the eighth book in his Jim West mystery/thriller series and fifteenth book overall to be published. The story is set on a cruise ship that sets out from Galveston, TX, for a sail around the Gulf of Mexico with stops in Cozumel and Puerto Costa Maya. While still a stand -alone read, it is the first of his Jim West books that brings back characters from prior books.  Hoping to have a peaceful cruise with a new lady friend, Deputy Rose Luna from Greed Can Kill, his plans are cut short when murder raises its ugly head.  

—

Jackie Taylor Zortman is thrilled with this review for her latest novella, JAKE-Echoes of Silence.

5.0 out of 5 stars It moved me to tears!

Having enjoyed the first two novellas, I was excited for the third but had no idea it would be my favorite. Each story held surprises that gave me goosebumps, and the author skillfully built up my emotions with each tale. In Echoes of Silence, Jake is back in the town of Kimble, Colorado, where the scenery is gorgeous, mountains and women alike. While past mysteries are further explained, much to my satisfaction, new questions arise, making you keep flipping pages to find out if Jake can make it all work out. Along the way, we learn more about the rugged area and about the amazing world of wildfire fighting techniques. Things get complicated–the author weaves a compelling web. Near the end, I was moved to tears, then at the end, my mouth hung open…and that’s all I can reveal about that. Read the trilogy for yourself and enjoy the ride. —Review by ChillOnLake

(Available on Amazon.com)

—

The end of 2019 saw a hat trick of short stories by PSWA member Vicki Weisfeld. Her story “The Ghost Who Read the Newspaper” appeared in Seascape: Best New England Crime Stories. Stranded in a Connecticut country inn by a blizzard, two men encounter a notorious ghost. Who was he? Why is he haunting the Old Blackwood Inn? And what’s with that newspaper? 

In its December issue, Mystery Weekly published “The West Texas Rookie,” in which a young Japanese American newspaper reporter finds herself in the old-boy environs of the Sweetwater, Texas, Register. Consistently given bottom-of-the-barrel assignments–including covering the annual Nolan County Rattlesnake Roundup–she takes on the reporting of a big homicide case deemed unsolvable. 

“The Adventure at Sparremere Hall” appeared in Sherlock Holmes: Adventures in the Realms of Edgar Allan Poe. She says it was fun to channel Dr. John Watson in writing this one and put the Great Detective in Poe’s dark imagination! Ordering information is here

Website: www.vweisfeld.com

—

Ilene Schneider will be on a panel at LCC on Sunday, March 15, 10:15 AM, in Rio Vista A-H, on “Heaven Help Us: Religion and Spirituality in Mystery.”Her short story “Triangle” has been selected for inclusion in Jewish Noir 2, to be published in fall, 2020.Websites/Blog: https://rabbiauthor.com 

https://whyninecandles.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/rabbi.author

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

For those of you who know me well, you know that I am not a big fan of snow. I like to go visit it in the mountains, on my terms, and go back to my home in the Willamette Valley, a rain forest oasis sandwiched between the Coastals and the Cascades. It rains a lot but we see very little of the white stuff on the valley floor. That is until recent years when we seem to be seeing more and more of it during February. This year, early in the month the white stuff decided to come visit. Of course it happened on a week that I had to drive up north to go to a conference in Salem on Monday and Tuesday, then turn around and drive to and from Portland on Wednesday. Well, it was all going to be okay because I was heading to the beach Thursday through Saturday of that week…uh, huh. Guess what happened? It continued snowing and it crossed over those Coastals and met me at the beach. Driving home, I ended up with snow and sand in my shoes. For me, this was the final insult. Snow had made it personal and I cursed it. I believe it heard my curses and took a break–to gear up.

This last Thursday, after a two week reprieve back into just rainy weather, I headed to Ventura for the PSWA Board Meeting. We started on Friday going over last year’s to-do list to make sure we didn’t miss anything, swearing in our new Board Members (Mysti Berry-Treasurer, Thonie Hevron, Member-at-Large, Scott Decker, Member-at-Large), then doing tech talk. We reviewed the website and made sure we had all the technology we needed to make this year’s writing Conference go off without a hitch. We talked about the Newsletter and how it’s a great venue for your writer’s news and a place to show off your expertise. We finished the day by discussing the annual Writing Contest, including our new “New Voice” award which will be given to a member who enters the contest for their very first time. So, if you have never entered the contest before, regardless of whether you’re a new member or have been around ten years, you could be the inaugural “New Voice” winner this year.

On Saturday, we were back to work discussing the conference, from logistics to the panels to the amazing meals (Chocolate cake for dessert on Sunday? Yes, please!!). Then, we discussed membership and marketing. We want to keep seeing this organization grow and thrive which means each one of us should be sharing the PSWA and its benefits with everyone you know, including through social media. Please like our PSWA group page and follow our Twitter feed as well, then you can share all the great information we’ve posted. Our final topic of the day? We discussed doing another anthology. Like CopTales 2000 and Felons, Flames and Ambulance Rides, this will allow us to highlight our member’s work and the vast amount of talent we have in so many genres.

Sunday, our last day, we talked strategic planning. We discussed our organizational values and how we were meeting the goals of our mission statement:

To provide resources, services, and networking opportunities to writers of fiction and non-fiction in the law enforcement, fire service, and EMS genres. To mentor and educate new and experienced writers. To encourage the creation of memoirs, novels and other fiction and non-fiction literary works, and technical articles and books for public safety personnel. 

I tasked each member of the Board to think about everything in their area of responsibility in light of this statement. Then, I asked each person to come up with three ways they could personally benefit the membership. One of my ways, as President was to reach out to, encourage and support other members who write non-fiction trade articles as this is my area of expertise. I got my real start at my first PSWA conference when I pitched Tim Dees, then editor-in-chief of Officer.com and he agreed to look at my work and consider me as a columnist writing about 911 Dispatch. I’m now going on my thirteenth year writing this monthly column and have hundreds of other print and on-line features with my by-line. So, if you are interested in this area of writing, please reach out to me. I’m happy to pass the support I was given on to other members. I’m not alone in this either. All the members of the Board are dedicated to being mentors. Just ask

So, what does this have to do with snow? Well, I was due to fly home from LAX today but due to a magnificent snow storm which knocked out power for thousands, incited the City of Eugene to declare a state of emergency and caused our neighbor’s pine tree to crush my cousin’s car, my flight was cancelled. But, like that old hippie song says, every gray cloud has a silver lining (Wait, that’s backwards but you get my point), I’m now sitting here typing this President’s letter from Phoenix where I got an impromptu visit with my husband due to the only flight to Eugene being out of Phoenix tomorrow evening. So, I suppose I should thank the snow. Even so, it needs to make itself scarce when I finally make it home. So, wherever you are, whatever the weather, whether you like it sunny, hot or icy, cold, I hope that you are writing. I hope that you will enter the contest (especially you newbies) and will sign up for the conference in Las Vegas in July. (BTW, Vegas just got snow too, but I’m hopeful it won’t happen again during our time there.) I should probably abstain from cursing the snow if I want to make sure this doesn’t happen.

—Michelle J.G. Perin-Callahan, MS, QMHP, EMT
President, PSWA

WHAT’S IN A TITLE?

I love titles. When you think about it, it’s one of the most important aspects of a writing project, be it a short story, a novella, a novel, or a nonfiction work. Choosing the right title can often mean the difference between a sale and a rejection, or a work that sells well and one that tanks. I’d be the first to admit that the title is usually what attracts me to a book. Sure, the cover art is important, but if it doesn’t have a good title, I won’t pick it up.

When I do my Executioner series, I write the book with a working title that’s always subject to change. In fact, I have to submit a list of alternate titles that the editors review. Some titles that I thought were dynamite, like Dragon Ships, got dropped. (That one became Death Match, which was then changed to Missile Intercept.) One of my all time favorite working titles was Diamonds Aren’t Forever, which had the bad guy Russians trying to take over the world diamond market. My buddy, Raymond Benson, who wrote the James Bond novels, told me “They’ll never okay that one. It’s too close to the Bond title. Ultimately, he was right and they went with Uncut Terror, but they did use Diamonds Aren’t Forever on the back cover above the teaser.

I plan on having a panel on choosing the right title at this year’s PSWA conference, which is going under the moniker of the Fabulous Fourteen, due to this being our 14^th conference. Speaking of which, the early bird discount expired December 31^st, but there are still other discounts available.

We’ve extended a couple of great offers this year, including a special discount if you convince two new people to register for the conference. There’s also a “no cancelation” rate. Check them out on the website. It goes without saying that the conference is our main event each year, and I personally think it’s the preeminent event of its type. The price is very affordable, and the hotel rates are extremely reasonable. Make sure you take advantage of the conference rate offered by the Orleans Hotel. The code is posted on the website. I’ve usually found the best way is to call the hotel directly and mention you’re attending the PSWA Conference. The staff is very helpful. The conference is shaping up to be another great one, so make sure you sign up today.

We’ve got some dynamite solo presenters lined up. Retired Deputy Chief Dave Freedland of the Irvine, California PD, will talk about real life SWAT tactics and the various call-outs he was on during his police career. Our PSWA Vice President and retired copper, John Schembra, will give you the low-down on police pursuits and high-speed chases. Author and publisher, Mike Orenduff, author of the highly praised Pot Thief series, will talk about going from an unknown to a best seller. And highly successful short story and screenwriter, Mysti Berry, will show us how to turn real life into fiction by asking the dramatic questions to focus your story.

If those aren’t enough to whet your appetite, I’ve got a bevy of interesting panels one a variety of subjects. Speaking of panels, I’m still taking suggested topics so send any you have to me at DocAtlas108@aol.com. We’ll also have our PSWA bookstore to sell your books and a variety of excellent meals, which are included in the conference. We’re also offering our pre-conference writer’s workshop, where you can get one-on-one feedback and writing instruction from four professionally published writers Mysti Berry, Marilyn Meredith, Mar Preston, and me. Since there’s been so much interest about possibly doing another PSWA anthology, we’re highlighting writing short stories at this year’s workshop, but the writing principles can be applied to any type of writing. You can also have up to 25 pages of your manuscript critiqued by one of the workshop instructors at the workshop. (It’s required that you send it in advance.)

And don’t forget the PSWA Writing Contest, where you can enter both published and non-published works in a variety of categories. Look for an exciting new announcement about the contest in this newsletter.

We’re also planning to have our old time radio play, some publishers on hand, and there will of course be lots fun and stimulating conversation. There’s no better place to rub elbows with the actual experts who’ve walked the walk and know what’s real and what’s not.

Don’t hesitate. Sign up today. You won’t regret it.

—Michael A. Black
Program Chair

New releases by Michael A. Black:

Dying Art (an Executioner novel under the name Don Pendleton)
Marty Quade, Private Detective, featuring Black’s short story, “Dead Man’s Hand”
“Carnivores and Herbivores,” a short story in the June/July issue of Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine
Stealth Assassin (an Executioner novel under the name Don Pendleton coming in June 2019)
Legends of the West: A Bass Reeves Novel (Coming in October 2019)

RESURRECTION ON THE CUTTING ROOM FLOOR

The first draft of one of my novels was 135,000 words—1.5 times what was remotely salable. Since I didn’t plan on writing solely for myself, I couldn’t risk being thrown in the circular file before my doorstop even reach an editor’s desk! So I began to cut. In the many subsequent drafts and rewrites, I’ve always had one eye on shrinkability. When my editor—the stellar Barb Goffman—suggested I beef the novel up in some areas, I knew we weren’t just talking addition, we were talking subtraction too.

A number of characters were easy to jettison altogether, but a few that had to be trimmed still spoke to me. The three most promising I’ve turned into published short stories, something J. Todd Scott may have done with a character from High White Sun (a short story in, I believe, Mystery Tribune).

One character I didn’t want to lose is a murdered Roman priest who thinks his classic migraines are communications from God. Although his death remains in the novel, his backstory is repurposed in “The Penitent,” published last year in Bouchercon’s Passport to Murder.

A mafia fence launched his career by masterminding the 1990 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum heist in Boston, a resume-enhancing crime unrelated to events in the novel. That story became “Above Suspicion,” appearing in the current issue (#26) of Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine.

Another priest, Anglican flavor this time, intervenes in an assault on my protagonist, no doubt saving her life. While this priest has only a minor role in the novel, his giddy nonstop talking charmed my beta- (or perhaps I should say gamma-) readers, and I worked him into a story—“What Saved Them”—published in the U.S. 1 Summer Fiction issue.

The transformation from novel excerpt to complete short story turned out not to be as easy as I expected, and each presented its own challenges. If you’re ever tempted to resurrect one of the darlings you’ve just killed, here’s what I learned.

Four Tips for Authors

1. If the characters involved in the short story remain in your novel (that is, if you haven’t gotten rid of them altogether), you need an eagle eye for continuity. You can’t have your character driving a Porsche in the story and relying on Uber in the story. More important, they cannot do anything in the story that would affect the action of the novel.

2. Originally, I’d engaged in vigorous head-hopping in the scene where the priest dies. I found I could park the novel’s point of view in the head of the assassin, yet write the short story from the priest’s perspective. Same events, two points of view. That was fun.

3. The story of the fence had a strong core from the get-go because of the extensive detail about the ISG theft. I wrote new backstory—waybackstory—about the character’s childhood in Fez. And of course more extensive setup and denouement.

4. OK, it’s fun, but is it a story? The Anglican priest was a character. His story had to be developed from scratch using the dialog I’d salvaged. But who was he? How would he behave? What changed for him? The rescue of the woman would plausibly have a long-term impact on him and it became a source of reflection, laying the groundwork for his subsequent actions.

Because you don’t have a blank page when you deal with bits excised from other works, there are many more than the customary limits on your degrees of authorial freedom. Whether the resurrected short stories prove useful in marketing or whether they are just good stories in their own right, you can feel good about creative recycling!

Originally published on www.vweisfeld.com January 16, 2019.

—Vicki Weisfeld
Twitter: @vsk8s
Website: www.vweisfeld.com

DANGEROUS WOMEN

Last fall I made a presentation on holsters for the NorCal Chapter of Sisters in Crime.  I offered ways the writers’ characters, both male and female, might carry a gun. We covered holsters from A to S (ankle & appendix to small-of-the-back & shoulder), listing the pros and cons for each type. The many holsters and plastic training guns I brought with me were used in a hands-on show-and-tell.

Following are some less conventional holsters intended for women.  A quick internet search will show the many brands and styles available.​

—Jim Guigli

NOBODY WANTS TO TALK ABOUT IT…

“Don’t go gettin’ yourself killed cause six months from now nobody will remember your name.”

That was one of the things my field trainer told me when I joined him for my first shift in a police car. It was 1975 and I was fresh out of the police academy, free at last from classroom theory and eager to try the real thing. Ten minutes later we took our first call. One drunk had thrown another drunk through a storefront window. Welcome to night shift in Vancouver.

He was a good field trainer with 20 years experience. I learned a lot from him. But in those days we didn’t talk about the effect police work was going to have on us. We talked a lot about officer safety but not about mental health safety, protecting our psychological well-being as well as our physical selves. The term Post Traumatic Stress Disorder wasn’t even in our vocabulary.

But it sure is now. PTSD is a live issue for today’s first responders. It’s something to think about as we develop our first responder writing characters. My protagonist could have PTSD. That would add another dimension to the character I’m creating in my story.

For me, PTSD evolved over time. Back in the police academy we were taught never to react emotionally at the scene of an incident, no matter how awful it was. It was explained to us that if our emotions took over we couldn’t be of any use to anyone else. Tamp your emotions down, deal with the call you’re on, write your report, and take the next call.

On a busy night we raced from call to call to call. There was no time to talk about our experiences or properly debrief. In fact, nobody really talked about any kind of a psychological debriefing. It was more “suck it up and get on with the job.” The dispatchers were stacking calls and we were dealing with them as fast as we could.

The trouble was, it all built up inside us and caused problems later in life.

For those who have PTSD writing helps process those memories that have been suppressed. It can be an important part of dealing with PTSD as long as we really let our emotions flow to the page and don’t write like it’s a police report. That’s not as easy as it sounds as we’ve been trained and conditioned for years to write in an unemotional way about incidents we attended.

There’s lots to write about. The suicides, murders, and motor vehicle accidents, all part of the human drama patrol officers face every shift.

After I’d had my fill of patrol work I moved on to the excitement and challenge of specialty squads like the Strike Force, a surveillance team. Then an undercover assignment far from mainstream policing, out of sight for six months, working among the criminal element.

Does it all sound scary and stressful? Sometimes it was but it was also satisfying and I enjoyed most of it. I just wasn’t prepared for what came later, after I retired.

Nightmares.

All those sights, the stress, and the fear I’d tamped down started coming out as night terrors. My day time brain thought the gruesome sights and fear inducing incidents were over but my night time brain had other ideas.

Avoidance is common to PTSD. We tend to avoid talking about it. We think others might have PTSD but not us. We also don’t feel entitled to have PTSD. I was a first responder but my reasoning led me to think others, such as soldiers who have been in combat, are entitled to have it but not me. I seriously did not want to admit I had PTSD even when I checked a lot of the boxes on the symptoms checklist.

I’ve got some retired first responder pals, mostly police but some firefighters too. Picture us sitting around a table in a coffee shop, which happens frequently. They’re a great bunch and have lived interesting lives. We’ve got a million stories but you can bet we’re not talking about PTSD. Any discussion of our working life is likely to be about the big cases, the exciting times, the drama. And of course office politics. Not PTSD.

Nobody wants to talk about it. Too sensitive a topic, too revealing for a bunch of tough first responders, too touchy-feely.

This morning my wife and I were at Starbucks, a favorite spot for our city Fire Department members to take a break. There were four of them sitting there enjoying their morning coffee while a big red fire truck was parked nearby. My wife, who has lived with my nightmares for years, said quietly to me: “I feel like telling those firefighters ‘you guys are going to be so f*^~ed up when you get to the end of your careers.’” It might seem like a cynical comment but those words come from the insight of a weary spouse who has seen the effects of a first responder’s work life.

Now we’re all different so I’m not saying all first responders end up with PTSD but I believe a lot do. I need to say too that I can only tell you about my own personal experience with PTSD and what I’ve learned from knowing other first responders well. I’m not a psychologist and have no training in that field.

Thank goodness first responder organizations deal with this trauma better now than they did years ago. There are more resources available to get help from and some police leaders are talking more openly about mental health issues. I know of police departments that have annual compulsory debriefings with a psychologist.

What would I tell our current police officers about PTSD? Based on my experience there is one piece of advice I’d give a young police officer today. Deal with the awful stuff as you go along. Don’t save it up. Talk about it. Write about it, even if nobody sees your writing. Seek treatment from a professional who is trained and experienced dealing with PTSD. Don’t suffer alone.

—John Eldridge
Retired Police Officer
Author of Second Careers for Street Cops

HOW TO SAFELY USE A GUN FOR SELF DEFENSE

If you are a CCW (Carry Concealed Weapon) holder, then this discourse will be fairly common and basic information. However, I would imagine there are some PSWA members who don’t like guns, are afraid to use them, and/or have never fired a gun. Thus, my focus of discussion will not be pro or con on the “hot topic” of gun control in America. Rather, if you are a homeowner and choose to have a gun in the house for protection, my intention is to address some personal safety guidelines.

One of the primary reasons we CCW holders carry a gun when we’re out is to be safe, prepared, and protected in any situation. But with the increasing number of burglary, robbery and home intrusion cases, more homeowners are making the decision to have a gun in the house to fortify the defense and security of their homes and for protection of self and loved ones.

Here’s some quick facts that might (or might not) surprise you:

• 2,000,000 home burglaries are reported each year in the United States.
• Nearly 66 percent of all burglaries are residential (home) break-ins.
• 85% of break-ins are from non-professionals that are usually more desperate and dangerous.
• The DOJ reported the use of weapons in a majority of robberies: 41% of robberies involved firearms and 7.8% included knives or other cutting devices. 

Personally, I believe that owning a gun is one of the best home defense strategies that homeowners can employ. Maybe this is due to my background in law enforcement and the military. However, protecting the home and loved ones requires more than just purchasing the right type of guns and ammo.

Regardless of your expertise, often additional skills are needed in order to properly (and safely) use a handgun for self-defense. Like I said before, some of this may be fundamental to those reading this with a lot of experience, but it’s always good to have a refresher.

1. Keep your finger off the trigger.

If you are encountered suddenly by someone forcibly entering your home, your adrenalin is going to “rocket sky-high”. Even professionals who handle weapons regularly keep their finger off the trigger until the moment they need to fire. This practice has prevented many accidental discharges and injuries. When fingers are kept off the trigger, the person is given enough time to think his (or her) actions through. This will prevent you from acting based on emotions like fear.

This practice is especially important when other people are in the house. It may be counter-intuitive, but practice keeping your finger off the trigger until you’re sure that the gun is directed at the intruder (and not at grandma or junior).

2. Equip the handgun with a light.

The majority of the home defense handguns available today have the capability designed to accept different types of accessories such as lights, red dot sights, or lasers. There are a couple different thoughts on this.

Some safety professionals recommend putting a light on the gun explaining that it can help you see where you’re going and even blind the intruder for a moment while you fix your position. It also helps ensure that your “intruder” is an adversary and not your teenage daughter sneaking in her boyfriend after curfew.

Personally, I don’t like this “gun light” idea. You know your house better than the intruder and can likely navigate around furniture at night without turning on room lights. This gives you a distinct “home-field advantage.” Using a light attached to the gun serves only to give away your exact position to the intruder. If you want to make sure the intruder is someone not belonging in your house, the flip-on a room light to quickly identify your intended target before assessing the need to fire your gun.

3. Keep hollow point rounds and low grain ammo in mind.

When high powered or full jacket rounds are used the bullet has a big risk in going beyond the target, through the walls, and into a room possibly injuring a family member. Some rounds can even go through outer walls and into neighboring residences. In order to avoid this, the bullet can be slowed down by using a lower grain round.

With this thought in mind, some homeowners prefer shotguns over handguns. They are a little more awkward in handling, but you don’t have to be as accurate and the rounds are less wall-penetrating.

4. Look at what is BEHIND the target.

In addition to ensuring that rounds will not go where they shouldn’t, the people holding the gun must also first determine if there is something or someone behind the target and to identify who or what it is. Bullets have a tendency to go beyond their target regardless of caliber. By knowing what may be behind the target, the risk of hurting an innocent person is reduced. Additionally, a frangible hollow point round can be used to ensure that the bullet stops in the target… not somewhere behind it.

Honestly though, this is probably the least of all considerations you will have when faced with the decision to fire a weapon at an intruder. In times of fear, you are probably going to have “tunnel vision” and only see the intruder and any weapon (or object) in hiss hand that is threatening to you.

A word of caution… it has been proven to every law enforcement agency that a “rival or foe” with a screwdriver, hammer, or knife can cover a distance of approximately 21-feet before the average person can get off a shot from a gun. Most rooms are less than that distance. Don’t hesitate when coming face-to-face with the “bad guy”. Those who hesitate lose.

The Bottom Line

Using a handgun for home defense requires more than basic handgun knowledge. It’s a big responsibility and it requires you to develop situational awareness in order to ensure that no innocent people will be hurt. 

This is most especially true when handguns are being used for self-defense. Firing a gun inside the home entails bigger risk and will therefore, require a bigger responsibility to the user.

Liability can be reduced by frequently practice firing your weapon. Practice under low-light conditions. Practice shooting with both hands. And don’t forget to keep your weapons out of reach, or stored in a child-proof area.

Stay Safe,

—Ron Corbin
phdav8r@yahoo.com 

CHALLENGE COINS

Are you looking for a unique way for people and customers to remember your business or organization? Challenge coins may be the answer you’re seeking. With a history that reportedly dates back to The Roman Empire, challenge coins are presented with pride and often treasured by recipients. History indicates the coins’ modern day popularity probably began during World War I, when a flying squadron commanded by a wealthy lieutenant ordered medallions for his unit. Other reports claim the coins became popular during World War II. Regardless, there’s no denying the interest of this cherished piece of metal.

What is a challenge coin? It’s a small coin or medallion that identifies an organization, unit, company, or agency. Those who carry such a coin use it as proof of membership in that company or unit, particularly if challenged by someone. These handouts have also proven to boost morale and enhance loyalty and fidelity. Most people who’ve been issued or given a coin carry it in their pocket, although some wear it around their neck. Either way, the coin is carried each day in the event someone challenges that person’s inclusion in a particular unit or company.

To get a current perspective on challenge coins, I went to the source, a local veteran owned business, Coins for Anything, Inc., located in Spotsylvania, Virginia. Owned by two Marine Corps veterans, Jeff Morin and Chris Frederick, they’ve been in business for fifteen years. Jeff started the company while still in the Corps. He’d buy challenge coins on the internet and then resell them at a profit. When a potential customer requested a “Mother of a Marine” coin, Jeff was unable to find one. He decided then to design and produce this special coin himself, giving birth to his successful business.

Although the genesis of the challenge coin was strictly military and symbolized bonds cemented during battles, the coins produced and traded today also represent first responders, companies, and special events and occasions. Milestones reached in business such as extraordinary sales or productions, are perfect to memorialize with a special coin. Athletic events such as the Marine Corps Marathon and Army Ten Miler hand out special coins in a keepsake box for all finishers.

I asked Jeff and Chris about a typical order, if there is such a thing. They told me orders can range from one coin to 80,000. Orders generally take three weeks to produce and customers work online with staff to finalize artwork and view a final proof before placing the order. The coins’ basic metal is brass, but can be covered in silver or other coatings. The most popular coin is antique brass. There are three sizes: 1.5”;1.75”; and 2”. The most popular size is 1.75”. Coins don’t necessarily have to be round, although that shape comprises most of their business. Odd shapes such as a skull or badge are no problem to produce, and they can also create lapel pins, cufflink sets, and belt buckles. Production will normally take three weeks to complete. Coins can be made in 2D and 3D which allows for a deeper relief and more intricate details.

The popularity of these special handouts has skyrocketed. Whereas the military formerly used the coins to promote their branch and units, outside entities have embraced the theme of creating their own challenge coins. Some of the groups that have created their own coins are: National Association of Buffalo Soldiers and Troopers Motorcycle Club; Harley Owners Group; International Genetically Engineered Machine competition; ABC News; and the movie, Iron Man 2. One of the rarest coins today is the Bull Dog coin. It was presented to B-52 tail gunners only. Unfortunately, that position was phased out in 1991 which made the Bull Dog coin a collector’s dream.

A late entry into the challenge coin arena is the Canadian Armed Forces. The Canadian Airborne Regiment adopted their coin after returning from Cyprus in 1974. And the concept has also found favor with police, security, and fire departments in Canada. Many of their coins feature a patron saint and are used to promote team building and a sense of brotherhood.

Challenge coins aren’t just for so-called ordinary folks. President Clinton was given a number of coins from U.S. servicemen. He proudly displayed them in the Oval Office, and the collection now rests on display in the Clinton Library. President George W. Bush received a challenge coin from a Marine in 2007 during a visit to Iraq. Since the 1990s, presidents have issued their own challenge coins. President Trump’s coin includes his campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again.”

Are you considering launching a new product? A challenge coin is a great way to give it a polished look and increase its value without increasing the price. How about recognizing employees or students for their superb accomplishments? Giving them a special coin is a way that ensures they’ll always remember. Are you thinking of participating in a job fair or trade show? Handing out challenge coins at the event is a great way to improve your brand recognition.

Putting your unit or business on a coin or other shape ensures that person will likely remember you and your company. Unlike business cards that get lost or tossed, challenge coins manage to stand the test of time. Think about the possibilities next time you’re hoping to capture and keep someone’s attention.

—John M. Wills
Award-winning Author/Freelance Writer
Public Safety Writers Assoc member
www.Jwillsbooks.com

BACKSTORY? HOW MUCH, HOW LITTLE, WHEN….AND MORE

A story is written in two parts: backstory and front story. Front story covers events happening in the present and accelerating to that thrilling conclusion. Backstory reflects past events and all the influences that ripple outward from them. Backstory will deepen your readers’ enjoyment of your characters and plot and enrich a story that they remember. But feather it in as a seamless part of the story, not something parachuting in from outside, like the deus ex machina in Greek tragedies.

Deux ex machina means a plot device in which an unsolvable dilemma is miraculously resolved by the unexpected intervention of some new event, character, or a previously unknown ability on the part of a character, or even an object. A letter arrives from a rich uncle who leaves the hero enough money to save his hardware store. Or the revelation that the hero is an expert marksman who shoots the gun out of the hand of the villain fleeing before him. (Very improbable I’ve learned at PSWA).

Backstory deepens an appreciation of the context of your characters and setting. Once readers understand characters’ struggles, they care about what happens to them. They’ve seen cause and now effect. This happens because of that.

But backstory isn’t now. By definition, it drops back into then. Done ineptly, it slows the unfolding of the front story, and may even leach the emotional power out of the action unfolding on the page in the story’s present.

Backstory yanks the story into the past, away from the readers’ engagement in the world you’re building paragraph by paragraph, page by page. Whatever technique you use, dropping in a chunk of backstory to explain everything that happened in the past stops the story’s forward momentum, and jars readers. What you’re aiming for is that wonderful experience of looking up from the pages of a book where you’d been racing along on the back of a horse chasing a poacher through the Badlands to find yourself lying on the couch in your living room.

Do you explain about the killer’s being locked in the closet as a child? There are many ways to slide in this fact at exactly the right time, at exactly the right place.  A passing reference to the back story may be all you need.

How much backstory? Imagine your hero telling his life story to an attractive woman he’s met on Match.com. He’s going to tell just enough to intrigue, yes? In fiction, he might let slip a nuance that foreshadows what is to come, or show us by inference what his driving needs are. You want to make the reader curious enough to want to know the past, and to find out by turning the pages.

—Mar Preston
For More: https://www.amazon.com/Writing-Backstory-Mystery-Fiction-First-ebook/dp/B072R3PWV1/

SUSPENSION OF DISBELIEF

“Willing suspension of disbelief” is a term coined in 1817 by the poet and aesthetic philosopher Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who suggested that if a writer could infuse a “human interest and a semblance of truth” into a fantastic tale, the reader would suspend judgment concerning the implausibility of the narrative.

Every fiction writer must wrestle with this at some time. The worlds we create are products of our imagination with a little fact thrown in.

The main facet of suspension of disbelief: Could this happen, really?

Something that I see in my genre (police procedural/thriller/mystery) so often is multiple officer involved shootings (OIS’s) several times a shift or day or week. Officers never seem to go on Administrative Leave ever. As many of you know, Administrative Leave is a temporary leave from a job or assignment, with pay and benefits intact. Officers are routinely placed on administrative leave after a shooting incident while an investigation is conducted (sometimes by an outside agency for impartiality), without implying fault on the part of the officer. This is the norm in modern police work. To show characters going from one shoot ‘em up to another defies belief.

Cops and fire fighters are readers and know when something just ain’t right. My husband, the retired firefighter, cries foul when a vehicle is involved in a crash and explodes (this doesn’t include when the plot specifies an incendiary device was aboard). What typically happens is this: cars don’t explode on impact. If they catch fire, it’s often due to fuel leaking to an ignition source (such as an overheated catalytic converter). But when you include a feasible ignition source in that Impala that collides with a tree—then you have the “well, it could happen” moment. 

Another part of suspension of disbelief involves the premise of my first novel. By Force or Fear’s protagonist is a female detective being stalked by a cunning judge. Her superiors didn’t believe her when she reported him. In this day of #MeToo, I seriously doubt any responsible administrator would discount the report. But it could happen, right? Create the right motive for the Administrator to hide the report and that’s suspension of disbelief.

The key to making the preposterous believable is to sow seeds of reasonability into the story (foreshadowing) ahead of time or during the event. For instance, an observer of the car crash might see the fallen tiki torch next to the tree or the officer may be the last officer (think a department-wide epidemic with no mutual aid officers available within the day—hey, it’s a stretch but it could happen, right?). Sometimes a scientific explanation after the event can work but that can be dicey. Balance this with authenticity.

The trick to all of this is to make your devices (and plot twists) believable. Do your research, online and on the ground. Talk to police officers, fire fighters, professors, whoever you need to get the scoop. After talking to these folks, you may find that the truth is less believable than fiction!

For any genre, fiction or non-fiction, the Public Safety Writers Association is one of the most phenomenal resources at a writer’s fingertips. Jump on the listserve and ask your question. You’ll be amazed at how many replies you get!

–Thonie Hevron

Award winning author of By Force or Fear;  Intent to Hold, With Malice Aforethought.Website: Thonie Hevron blog: Just the Facts, Ma’am

NAILING NAIL GUNS

In Good People (2013 — spoiler alert), the latest of a half-dozen films I’ve seen that feature a nail gun used as a weapon, they get it half right.  In this film the everyday hero is played by James Franco, who is renovating an old house when he crosses some murderous criminals.  He hides in the house’s basement while he listens to a bad guy walk the wooden floor above his head.  When the man stops right above him, Franco pushes his nail gun up against a floor board, pulls the trigger, and drives a nail up through the wood into the bottom of the man’s foot.

That was done right because, unless safety parts are removed, all nail guns, whether powered by air, electricity, or chemical charge, must be pressed against something solid before they can be fired.  There is a piece at the tip, the nose contact, that is part of the safety system.  And James Franco did press the nose contact to the floor board before he pulled the trigger.

But Franco’s second use of the nail gun reverts to the familiar action-film fantasy of using a nail gun to shoot a nail through the air like a bullet.  This time he looks up through a knothole in the floor board and shoots a nail through the hole up into the forehead of another bad guy. The shame here is that he could have pressed the nose contact against the edge of the floor board hole and still fired through the hole, but he didn’t.  Just pulling the trigger is supposed to fire the nail gun.  The rest of this action-film fantasy is that you could precisely hit something that is six feet away.  Nail guns resemble guns in that they have triggers, but they don’t have sights for aiming, and the flight path of nails over distance is uncertain.  But, in action films, hey, it could happen.

If you want to use a nail gun in your story, remember that, without modification, nail guns must be pressed against something solid before they will fire.  Two standard types of nail gun firing sequences are:

1. The full sequential-trip trigger, which requires nose contact before the trigger is pulled.  This is the safest system.
2. The dual-action contact-trip trigger requires both nose contact and trigger pull, but in any order.  If the trigger is pulled and held, the gun will fire upon each contact. But recoil may cause several nails to be fired before the trigger can be released (bump-fire).  This system trades safety for work speed.

So, how do you allow your protag/antag to shoot nails through the air yet be technically correct?  The nose contact can be pulled back by hand.  This will simulate the required contact with a solid surface and allow pulling the trigger to fire nails through the air.  It’s a tad risky because the fingers pulling back the nose piece are very near the hole from which the nail will emerge.

The photos above are of a “pin gun,” which shoots headless metal pins, but the operation is the same as that of larger nail guns.  The left photo shows the nose contact in the normal extended position.  The right photo shows the nose contact manually held back so that the gun can be fired by just pulling the trigger.   

Nail guns shoot fasteners that range in size from tiny 23 gauge (.025”diameter) x 1/2” long headless pins used to temporarily hold together pieces of wood together during gluing, up to 3-1/2” x 15 gauge (.13” diameter) headed construction nails used to join large pieces of lumber.

Consult the internet and visit a Home Depot store.  Then pick your poison.

Wikipedia’s section on nail guns has a nice nail gun safety video showing these different safety systems in action.  ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nail_gun )

—Jim Guigli

MEMBER NEWS

Sarah Cortez

“More than twenty years ago, I left a flourishing corporate career to strap on a gun, wear a badge, and police the streets.  Transitioning from Italian high heels and a gleaming high-rise to the interior of a low-bid, threadbare Crown Victoria was exactly what I wanted—and had eagerly anticipated.  The price was high—a radical pay cut, a divorce, loss of social status—but not unexpected.  It is the best thing I’ve ever done.” —Sarah Cortez

Joining the ranks of the Thin Blue Line was a decision that author-cop and Rice graduate Sarah Cortez has never regretted. Now, after 24 years of experience in both state and county agencies, she brings every reader inside the police car with her and into havoc of street policing.

Quotes from law enforcement professionals about Tired, Hungry, Standing in One Spot for Twelve Hours:  Essential Cop Essays

Cortez’s writing will resonate with law enforcement professionals—from the adrenaline-inspiring memories of the police academy to the everyday chaotic scenes of crime-fighting.  The best features of her writing are her authentic voice, her passion about the “calling” of police work, and the concise language she utilizes—as only a gifted writer can. This book is a good reminder to all of us of why we wanted to be police officers in the first place. –Lieutenant Betsy Randolph, Oklahoma Highway Patrol

www.sarahcortezcop.com
www.poetacortez.com

M. Glenda Rosen

Book Two of The Senior Sleuths Mysteries

“Thanks to my father, writing mysteries is in my DNA!

My father was a gangster. Really!”

Like Nick and Nora Charles from The Thin Man series, Dick and Dora Zimmerman from The Senior Sleuths solve crimes, especially murders. Along with Zero the Bookie (fashioned after the author’s father) and a fascinating cast of other characters (such as Frankie Socks fresh out of the Witness Protection Program), the Zimmerman’s ignore being told to stay away!

As the story begins, the Las Vegas Sheriff is not happy to have Dick and Dora back in his town, especially since they had arrived on a plane with a dead body. Zero had brought along Cloud, a woman he recently met on an online gambling site. Dora soon discovers what she’s really after.

In Book 2, Dead In Seat 4-A, readers are swept along with Dick and his friends in their frantic pursuit of his wife, Dora, who has been kidnapped along with Cloud, and taken to The Mob Museum. Can anyone save them from the bad guys?

The story includes a poisoned flask, a mysterious key and enough dangerous characters to keep the reader guessing who is really behind the murders. The action takes place in casinos, bars, the condo complex where Dick and Dora live, the airport, the famous Vegas Strip (the scene of car chases), the underbelly of Las Vegas and, in The Mob Museum.

M. Glenda Rosen frequently speaks about writing mysteries and growing up as “the gangster’s daughter.”  Numerous articles by her have been published in Mystery Scene Magazine, Sisters In Crime newsletters, and mystery blogs.  She has previously published four books in her first mystery series, Dying to Be Beautiful. She is also author of The Woman’s Business Therapist, and the award-winning My Memoir Workbook. She is a member of Sisters in Crime, Board Member, Woman’s National Book Association, Central Coast Writers, Public Safety Writers Association and The Mob Museum.

Level Best Books has also re-released Book One: Dead In Bed, with a new cover and special Ebook price for February 2019. Published in 2018, it received honorable mention, Public Safety Writer’s Association, 2018, and Las Vegas Writers Festival, 2018. Book Three: Dead In THAT Beach House, is to be published in 2020. Level Best will also publish a special 2019 holiday book by the author and her son, The Gourmet Gangster: Mysteries and Menus, by the family.

For more information about M. Glenda Rosen and her work, please visit her website, www.theseniorsleuths.com, or her publisher’s website, www.levelbestbooks.com.

Lynn Hesse

Lynn’s booksigning for Another Kind of Hero and Well of Range in Paloma Landing Retirement in New Mexico was attended by about 40 people. Many books were purchased.

More BIG NEWS: the anthology Me Too: Crimes Against Women, Retribution, and Healing will be published by Level Best and launched at Mysterious Bookshop in New York City on Sept. 24, 2019. My short story “Jewel’s Hell” will be in the anthology along with stories by authors like Julia Pomeroy, Elizabeth Zelvin, and Eve Fisher. https://bit.ly/2Di5iAP

Gregory Lee Renz

Gregory is happy to report that his new book, Beneath the Flames, is being published by Henschel Haus Publishing in July.

About the book:

Beneath the Flames is an intimate combination of love, race, and life as an urban firefighter.

A fire in a neighboring farmhouse has young farmer and volunteer firefighter, Mitch Garner, blaming himself for the tragic outcome. He loses all hope of forgiving himself. His only hope for redemption is to leave Jennie, the girl he’s loved since high school, and journey from Wisconsin’s lush farmland to the decaying inner city of Milwaukee to prove himself as a professional firefighter.

Mitch is assigned to the busiest firehouse in the heart of one of the most blighted areas of Milwaukee, the Core, where he’s viciously hazed by senior firefighters. He struggles to hold it together at horrific scenes of violence and can’t do anything right at fires. Within weeks, he’s ready to give up and quit. His salvation comes in the form of a brash adolescent girl, Jasmine Richardson. Mitch is assigned to tutor her little sister through a department mentoring program. Despite Jasmine’s contempt toward Mitch, her courage and devotion to her little sister inspire Mitch to stay and dedicate himself to helping her and the neighboring children overcome the hopelessness of growing up in crushing poverty.

Trouble on the farm has Mitch torn between returning home to Jennie and staying in Milwaukee where he’ll be forced to risk his life to protect Jasmine from the leader of the One-Niner street gang.

Dave Freedland

Dave is announcing the publishing of his 2^nd novel, “The Pepper Tree.” The story takes an actual California landmark known only to law enforcement, which earned a reputation as a site chosen by infamous serial killers to leave their victims. Protagonist, Lieutenant Scott Hunter must lead a team of detectives to identify and capture a perpetrator who’s targeting young women, and has selected this landmark to showcase his victims. The book is published by Aakenbaaken & Kent.

Deputy Chief of Police (Retired), Irvine Police Department
www.davefreedland.com

Mysti Berry

Mysti is speaking on a panel at Left Coast Crime in late March. She’ll share what she knows about thrillers. If you see her there, come on up and say hello.