Tag Archive for: Robert Dugoni

CREATING PLOTS FOR PAGE TURNERS, Presented by Robert Dugoni

REGISTRATION IS OPEN!

CREATING PLOTS FOR PAGE TURNERS

Presented by international bestselling author Robert Dugoni

Date: Saturday November 5, 2022

Time: 1:00 – 2:30 p.m. EST

Where: Writers’ Police Academy Online – https://writerspoliceacademy.online

This is a live and interactive online course

Reserve your spot today!

This unique live and interactive session is a rare opportunity to gain invaluable writing insight from Robert Dugoni, one of todayʼs top authors! Learn how to keep your readers hooked from the beginning to the end of your story.

Robert Dugoni is the critically acclaimed New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Postand #1 Amazon bestselling author of the Tracy Crosswhite police series set in Seattle, which has sold more than 8 million books worldwide. He is also the author of The Charles Jenkins espionage series, the David Sloane legal thriller series, and several stand-alone novels including The 7th Canon, Damage Control, and the literary novels, The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell – Suspense Magazine’s 2018 Book of the Year, for which Dugoni’s narration won an AudioFile Earphones Award and the critically acclaimed, The World Played Chess; as well as the nonfiction exposé The Cyanide Canary, a Washington Post Best Book of the Year.

Several of his novels have been optioned for movies and television series. Dugoni is the recipient of the Nancy Pearl Award for Fiction and a three-time winner of the Friends of Mystery Spotted Owl Award for best novel set in the Pacific Northwest. He has also been a finalist for many other awards including the International Thriller Award, the Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction, the Silver Falchion Award for mystery, and the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award.

Robert Dugoni’s books are sold in more than twenty-five countries and have been translated into more than thirty languages.

Latest release by Robert Dugoni 

The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell

“This is the bestselling Dugoni’s masterpiece, the book by which his work, and that of others, will be measured for years to come.” – Providence Journal

“Sam Hell is inspiring and aglow with the promise of redemption.” – Kirkus Reviews

“Dugoni has produced a novel that, if it doesn’t cross entirely over into John Irving territory, certainly nestles in close to the border. Told in two separate time lines (Sam as a boy, and Sam as a man) that eventually come together, and written in a gentle, introspective yet dramatic style that is very different from that of Dugoni’s crime fiction, this is an inspirational story of a man who spends a lifetime getting to know himself.” – Booklist

“Dugoni’s writing is compellingly quick, simple, and evocative; readers will immediately empathize with young Sam and will race to discover how his story ends. The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell is a heartwarming novel that celebrates overcoming the unfairnesses of life.” – Seattle Book Review

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Elaine Munsch: An Arresting Visit – The Writer’s Police Academy in Wisconsin

Author Elaine Munsch joins us today to share her experiences at the 2022 Writers’ Police Academy.

Welcome to The Graveyard Shift, Elaine. It’s always a pleasure to have a guest on the site.

I’ll now quickly exit and the floor is yours.

Author Elaine Munsch

Elaine Munsch

For years my friend Rick McMahan, now a retired ATF agent, has been encouraging me to attend the Writers’ Police Academy (WPA), a conference conceived by Lee Lofland to help writers get the details correct. This year the stars aligned themselves and my daughter and I journeyed to Wisconsin to attend this year’s get-together.

The first event was a firsthand exploration of various vehicles used in police/rescue work.

Anne E. Schwartz - "MONSTER, The True Story of the Jeffrey Dahmer Murders".

Anne E. Schwartz – author of “MONSTER, The True Story of the Jeffrey Dahmer Murders.”

That  evening we listened to Anne E. Schwartz, author of MONSTER, The True Story of the Jeffrey Dahmer Murders. Schwartz was the first reporter, really just a cub, at the home of Jeffrey Dahmer when the story began to break. She followed the story as the horrific details of what the police found in Dahmer’s apartment became public. Through the years she interviewed Dahmer, finally putting all she learned in a book.

The attendees stayed in Appleton and bussed to Green Bay. The first morning, very early, we arrived at NWTC (Northeast Wisconsin Technical College) for a simulation of an auto collision. We watched as the police arrived and arrested the drunk driver. EMS arrived to tend to the injured driver in the other car. The Fire Department had to extract the other passenger (a dummy), so the firemen cut off the car door. Finally, a helicopter circled the parking lot and landed so the severely injured passenger (dummy) could be taken to a nearby hospital.

All the participants stayed around to answer questions.

We then walked to our classrooms, part of the Public Safety Training Center. In registration we selected various classes of interest: Court Process, Arrest and Booking Process, Armed in America, Firearms, Use of Force Virtual Reality Simulator, Vehicle Extrication, and Tactical Operations – Forced Entry/Room Clearing.

My first class was Court Process where Judge Kevin Rathburn moved us through the A-Z’s of presenting courtroom testimony. I felt like I was back in college, furiously taking notes. At the end of the class, the Judge said he would send via email all the notes we would need.

Then onto Arrest and Booking Process, where the jailer provided a step-by-step guide from the intake at the Sally Port* until the suspect was either turned over for prosecution or released on bond. The minutia of each step examined and explained. The safety of the police, the suspect and the jailers is paramount.

*Per Wikipedia: A sally port is a secure, controlled entry way to an enclosure, e.g., a fortification or prison. The entrance is usually protected by some means, such as a fixed wall on the outside, parallel to the door, which must be circumvented to enter and prevents direct enemy fire from a distance. It may include two sets of doors that can be barred independently to further delay enemy penetration.

Rick McMahan, retired ATF special agent, now a detective with the Kentucky Attorney General's Office

Rick McMahan, retired ATF special agent, now a detective with the Kentucky Attorney General’s Office. Longtime WPA instructor.

My final ‘class’ of the day was Armed in America with Rick McMahan. With over four hundred million weapons in the hands of the American population, and the on-going conversation around gun violence, Rick walked us through the history of firearm legislation, as well as educating us on the different types of weapons out there.

My daughter chose more inter-active classes: Firearms and Forced Entry/Room Clearing. She learned the proper way to hold/fire a weapon and realized that holding a gun with arms extended gets harder the longer you have to maintain that position. Now that she knew how to hold a gun, she and another attendee got to experience how to ‘clear a building.’ Wearing protective gear, they peered around corners looking for the ‘bad guys.’ We’ve all watched this on any number of television shows but to do it yourself is another ballgame. “Look in the corners”.

It was an exhausting day for this old bookseller.

Saturday was another early day. I signed up for Body Cameras, K-9 Operations and finally, Defensive and Arrest Tactics.

The class on body cameras was enlightening and fascinating. The instructor explained what the camera can see and what the police officer sees. With adrenaline pumping, the officer will have tunnel vision rather than the wide-angle of the camera. He showed us various clips of events and then we were able to view what other cameras caught, discussing each video.

Everyone’s favorite class was the K-9 unit. After a classroom session discussing breed choices, training and uses for the canines, we went outside to meet the dogs. Turbo is a German Shepherd and Raven is a Belgium Malinois; those two breeds are the most popular because of their prey drive and their defense drive. The dogs showed their seek-and-find talents. Turbo got the final show: how he would control/contain the ‘bad guy.’

In my final class, the instructors demonstrated how an officer approaches a suspect, beginning with a non-aggressive encounter and working up to the very uncooperative person who ends up on the ground and in cuffs.

Again, my daughter chose the more interactive class: Emergency Vehicle Operations, in other words, she got to drive a police car in pursuit of a getaway car.

All of the instructors were police officers, now instructors at the college but still on the force.

Dr. Katherine Ramsland

Dr. Katherine Ramsland

The day ended with a presentation by Dr. Katherine Ramsland. Her expertise lies in the process of interviewing serial killers. She walked us through her relationship with the B.T.K. (Bind, Torture, Kill) killer.

Robert Dugoni, 2022 Guest of Honor

Robert Dugoni, 2022 Guest of Honor

The conference ended with a dinner and a wonderful speech by Robert Dugoni, best-selling author. He discussed trying to find the secret to writing. He started with Stephen King’s ‘telepathy,’ added that Diane Gabaldon’s telling of the ‘magic’ that helps her, and finally Charles Dickins, a.k.a. the man who created Christmas, talking about how he struggled for inspiration and then one night in walked Ebenezer Scrooge.

This was one of the best conferences I ever attended and I would highly recommend it to all writers whether they have police officers in their stories or not. Not only will you be able to correctly portray your LEO characters, but you will also come away with a better appreciation of the difficulties faced by our LEO’s every day on the streets.

Elaine Munsch, who writes under E.M. Munsch, is the author of the Dash Hammond series: THE PRICE OF BEING NEIGHBORLY, THE COST OF KINDNESS, THE EXPENSE OF FAMILY, A WEALTH OF WOMEN and A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TROUBLE, with more on the way.
She has been a bookseller since 1972, both in Cleveland and Louisville. Elaine moved to Kentucky to open the first Barnes & Noble here. Besides being a member of Sisters in Crime, she also ‘taught’ the mystery genre for the Veritas Society in Louisville, and she facilitates the Mystery Reading Group at the B&N where she’ still working part-time, having retired several times only to come back.
Elaine first published this recap of her Writers’ Police Academy experience in “Derby Rotten Scoundrels,” the blog site of SinC’s Louisville, Kentucky chapter. Both Elaine and her daughter attended the June WPA.
*Derby Rotten Scoundrels – Promote the advancement, recognition, and professional development of women crime writers in the Ohio River Valley region.
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Day One – 2022 Writers’ Police Academy at the Fox Cities Exhibition Center

Upon arrival at the Fox Cities Exhibition Center in Appleton, Wisconsin, one of three fabulous venues for the 2022 Writers’ Police Academy, Denene and I were immediately greeted by Mike Videc, the man in charge of the facility’s operations. Mike, from that moment forward, was my go-to person for everything. He made certain that ALL our needs were met. He and I exchanged early morning texts at 5 a.m. to discuss plans for the day—room setups, times to

Mike Videc, the nam in charge of the Fox Cities Exhibition Center in Appleton, WI

Mike Videc

switch on the menagerie of escalators and elevators, lighting, etc. We exchanged texts again late night ,after midnight, to see if scheduling had changed for the following day. He was on top of his job, and mine, every minute we were there. If we needed something, Mike handled it, and he did so with a smile on his face. His was the first face we saw when we arrived, and it was the last we saw as we departed Appleton.

Mike Videc is a fan of mystery novels. He’s particularly fond of Lee Child’s Jack Reacher books (a huge fan, actually). And, after helping with the event and meeting so many authors who were new to him, well, Mike is now working his way through numerous books he purchased at the Writers’ Police Academy bookstore. He also won several at the raffle. He thoroughly enjoyed meeting attendees of the event, and I’m extremely pleased to have a new and very good friend.

Many of you now have a new fan.

Speaking of Lee Child, here’s how you can join Lee on the set of the hit TV show REACHER!

Click here for details.

Our first official WPA business was a pre-conference meeting with hotel staff who, by the way, rolled out the red carpet to welcome the Writers’ Police Academy to the hotel. The pre-con meeting was attended by sales and event managers, reservations manager, setup managers and staff, hotel security chief, banquet managers, the chef, Mike Videc, and another Mike, the outstanding A/V tech who also made himself readily available from morning to night, and others. And, of course, Denene and I attended. We discussed every detail of the event and what we expected during our stay, and they took the time to explain their roles and how they’d fit into our plan. The meeting went well and those folks certainly didn’t disappoint. The executions of their plans were flawless. I don’t believe we’ve had a better hotel experience in all our years of producing and operating the Writers’ Police Academy.

So, day one of the WPA …

Thursday

Attendees who stayed at the event hotel, Hilton Appleton Paper Valley received a free buffet breakfast each day in a private Salon reserved for the WPA.

12 noon – 4 p.m. 

For four hours, attendees were treated to a large indoor display of various emergency vehicles—firetruck, ambulance, CSI, patrol car, SWAT drones, and more. Also available were tools and equipment used by different agencies, experts for Q&A and demos, K-9, SWAT, Suicide Awareness and Prevention experts, to name only a few. This was a phenomenal portion of the event.

Here’s a brief video I recorded while the various agencies were arriving to set up their equipment and displays.

 

The video and photos below feature a few of the indoor displays and demos.

Displays and demos at the 2022 Writers' Police Academy

Displays and demos

 

Displays and demos at the 2022 Writers' Police Academy

Displays and demos

 

Displays and demos at the 2022 Writers' Police academy

Displays and demos

 

2:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Registration/check-in

The check-in process was as smooth as a newborn baby’s bottom. Only one tiny mistake (mine). I misspelled someone’s last name on a name tag. But that was it. The only issue.

Also, Jason Weber, the public safety training director, was present to handout continuing education certificates to WPA attendees who’d signed up to receive those valuable credits. I must say, it’s a nice (free) bonus to receive con. ed. credit simply for attending the Writers’ Police Academy.

8:00 p.m.

MONSTER

After enjoying the cash bar and chatting with both old and new friends, a brief event orientation, and a first glimpse of the display of raffle and auction items (more about these exciting  items in the next post), WPA attendees were treated to a presentation by Anne E. Swartz, the former Milwaukee Journal newspaper reporter who broke the story of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer and wrote the book, “The Man Who Could Not Kill Enough: The Story of Milwaukee’s Jeffrey Dahmer.” Anne and the reporting team were nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.

Anne’s latest book about Dahmer, MONSTER, was also the title of her enthralling presentation.

Anne E. Schwartz presents "MONSTER"

Anne E. Schwartz

The evening wrapped up with Anne signing books for the crowd. Believe me, the line of people waiting to have their copies signed was quite long.

At the conclusion of Anne’s presentation, Mike Videc immediately went to work preparing the venue for the next day. When he was done he secured our things, locked the doors, cut the power to the escalators and elevators, and then switched off the lights before heading home. A few minutes later, just after midnight, he and I were chatting via texts to discuss plans and setups for the next evening.

I then had four hours to sleep, shower, dress, have a very quick breakfast, make sure the buses were on the way to the hotel to transport everyone to the public safety academy for the start of classes and hands-on sessions, contact Jason Weber at the academy to make certain they were ready with the live-action scenario that was to begin precisely at 8 a.m., herd everyone to the buses and check to be sure no one was left behind, and then drive to the public safety academy, a 25 minute trip. And … everything kicked off as planned and on time. Of course, at 5 a.m., Mike and I had already exchanged a couple of last minute “do you need anything, no, we’re good” texts.

Next up … Friday, the first day of sessions at the public safety academy.

Writers’ Police Academy Online’s Next Class

Behavioral Clues at Crime Scenes

June 25, 2022

11:00-12:30 p.m. EST

A fascinating live, online seminar taught by Dr. Katherine Ramsland. Session covers staging, profiling, character development, and more!

Dr. Katherine Ramsland teaches forensic psychology at DeSales University in Pennsylvania, where she is the Assistant Provost. She has appeared on more than 200 Dr. Katherine Ramslandcrime documentaries and magazine shows, is an executive producer of Murder House Flip, and has consulted for CSI, Bones, and The Alienist. The author of more than 1,500 articles and 69 books, including The Forensic Science of CSI, The Forensic Psychology of Criminal Minds, How to Catch a Killer, The Psychology of Death Investigations, and Confession of a Serial Killer: The Untold Story of Dennis Rader, The BTK Killer, she was co-executive producer for the Wolf Entertainment/A&E documentary based on the years she spent talking with Rader. Dr. Ramsland consults on death investigations, pens a blog for Psychology Today, and is writing a fiction series based on a female forensic psychologist.

Registration for this class is OPEN.

Click here to sign up.

 

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2022 Writers’ Police Academy Registration is OPEN … again!

After several days of downtime for an unexpected website redo, the 2022 Writers’ Police Academy registration is once again OPEN! We apologize for any inconvenience.

We invite you to join us for THE most exciting writer event of the year. And please, spread the word for us!

See you in June!

 

www.writerspoliceacademy.com

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Meet the 2022 Writers’ Police Academy Instructors

It is with great pleasure that I introduce you to an esteemed group of experts, the instructors and presenters of the 2022 Writers’ Police Academy.

Nicole Crocker

Detective Nichole Crocker

Nichole is presently assigned as a detective with the Oconto Police Department. She is also a Wisconsin Department of Justice certified instructor. Class – Emergency Vehicle Operations (EVOC)

Jason Feucht

Lt. Jason Feucht

Jason currently serves as a patrol lieutenant for the Fox Crossing Police Department. In his time at the police department Jason has also worked as a patrol officer, drug investigator, and detective. Class – Use of Force Virtual Reality Simulator

Nicole Fumelle

Nicole Fumelle, NWTC Adjunct Instructor

Nicole has 15 years experience in corrections, having worked at the Brown County Sheriff’s Office attaining the level of Corporal. Nicole also was responsible for training jail staff, and she’s worked as an adjunct instructor at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College. Class – Arrest and Booking Process

jerry johnson

Lt. Jerry Johnson (ret.)

Jerry is an adjunct instructor at NWTC and is certified by the Wisconsin Department of Justice to instruct Firearms, EVOC,  Vehicle Contacts, Officer Wellness, DAAT, Scenarios, and Tactical Response. Class – Emergency Vehicle Operations (EVOC)

Dave Jones

Dave Jones, Chief of Police (ret.)

Dave recently retired as the Chief of Police for the University of Wisconsin—Green Bay Police Department, an NCAA Division 1 State University. He oversaw all Police Operations and Emergency Management for its four campuses (Green Bay, Manitowoc, Marinette and Sheboygan). Class – Firearms

brian jordon

Patrol Sergeant Brian Jordan

Brian is a 25-year law enforcement veteran and currently a Patrol Sergeant, Field Training Officer and Training Unit member with the Green Bay Police Department. Class – Forced Entry/Room Clearing

Officer Ron King

Ron is a police officer for the Oneida Police Department and is presently assigned as a detective. He is a Wisconsin Department of Justice certified instructor in Vehicle Contacts, and Firearms. Class – Tribal Policing

k9 deputy turbo

Oconto County Sheriff’s Office K-9 Unit

All K-9s within the unit are dual purpose tracking and narcotics detection police service dogs, and each is trained in handler protection, obedience, criminal apprehension, and tracking including evidentiary scent work. Class – K-9 Operations

Kurt Kitzman

Lt. Kurt Litzman

Kurt is presently assigned as a patrol lieutenant with the Shawano County Sheriff’s Office. He is a Wisconsin Department of Justice certified instructor in Defensive and Arrest Tactics (DAAT), EVOC, and Firearms. Class – Emergency Vehicle Operations (EVOC)

Mike Knetzger

Patrol Sergeant Mike Knetzger

Mike Knetzger, a certified use of force analyst for the Force Science Research Center and recipient of the J. Edgar Hoover Memorial Award, is a 28-year law enforcement veteran and currently a patrol sergeant with the City of Green Bay. Class – Body Cameras

Jonathon Ladwig

Jonathon Ladwig – Fire Training Coordinator and Instructor

Jonathon is presently the Fire Training Coordinator and Instructor at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College.  Jonathon is also the fire chief for Little River Fire Department. Class – Vehicle Extrication

Jon Nejedlo

OfficerJon Nejedlo

Jon is a Police Officer for the City of Green Bay Police Department who’s served 19 years as a Patrol Officer. He is currently assigned to the Operations Department as the Range Master. Class – Forced Entry/Room Clearing

Matt Ninham

Matt Ninham -Criminal Justice Instructor

Matt is an Oneida Tribal Member and grew up on the Oneida Indian Reservation. He was an Oneida Police Officer for 16 years and retired in 2016. Matt is currently a full-time Criminal Justice Instructor at NWTC, and a part time officer with the Hortonville Police Department. Class – Vehicle Contacts

Kevin Rathburn

Municipal Judge Kevin Rathburn

Kevin became a full-time faculty member at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College in 2000 after serving as an adjunct instructor for nine years. Prior to that, he served for ten years as an Assistant District Attorney for Brown County in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Class – Court Process

Jeff Steeber

Jeff Steeber – Criminal Justice Instructor

Jeff is a full-time criminal justice instructor at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College (NWTC). Prior to employment at NWTC, Jeff spent 15 years as an officer for the Fox Valley Metro Police Department. Class – Defensive and Arrest Tactics

Jeremy Stover

Jeremy Stover – Public Safety Officer

Jeremy is a public safety officer for Ashwaubenon Public Safety Department, where officers assume three roles during each 24-hour shift—EMT, law enforcement officer, and firefighter. Jeremy is certified in all three. Class – Firearms

Justin Uitenbroek

Justin Uitenbroek – Fire Science Instructor

is a full-time Fire Science Instructor at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College. Justin also works as a paramedic in Clintonville, Wi., and a firefighter for Fox Crossing, Wi. Class – Vehicle Extrication

Angel Van Noie

Angel Van Noie – Academy Instructor

Angel is 20-year veteran police officer of the Hobart-Lawrence Police Department. During that time, Angel worked patrol and served as a School Resource Officer in the West De Pere School District. Class – Defensive and Arrest Tactics

erik walters

Erik Walters – Public Safety Training Complex Specialist

Erik is the Public Safety Training Complex Specialist at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College.  In that role, Erik oversees all the public safety training facilities and equipment at 4 different locations. Class – Use of Force Virtual Reality Simulator

Marco Conelli

Marco Conelli – NYPD Detective (ret.)

A twenty year veteran detective of the NYPD, Marco Conelli’s diverse career is highlighted by his work as an undercover where he was plugged into many investigations for the Organized Crime Control Bureau. Class – Guilty Until Proven Innocent

lefevre

Joe LeFevre, PhD – Academy Instructor

Joe is a full-time police academy instructor in WI. His instructional focus is on investigations, forensic skills, and officer fitness/wellness. Prior to teaching Joe was a police officer, and had spent a few years involved with a volunteer fire department. Class –  These People Breaking Bad Were Not Walter White

rick mcmahan

Rick McMahan – Detective, Kentucky Attorney General’s Office

Rick spent over a quarter of a century as a Special Agent for the ATF. During his career, Rick investigated a wide range of crimes from violent militant extremists to outlaw motorcycle gangs to murder for hire plots. Currently, he serves as a Detective for the Kentucky Attorney General’s office. Class – Armed in America

Special Guest Presenters

Dr. Katherine Ramsland

Dr. Katherine Ramsland 

Special Presentation – Conversations with the B.T.K. Killer, Dennis Rader

Dr. Ramsland teaches forensic psychology at DeSales University in Pennsylvania, where she is the Assistant Provost. She has appeared on more than 200 crime documentaries and magazine shows, is an executive producer of Murder House Flip, and has consulted for CSI, Bones, and The Alienist. The author of more than 1,500 articles and 69 books, including The Forensic Science of CSI, The Forensic Psychology of Criminal Minds, How to Catch a Killer, The Psychology of Death Investigations, and Confession of a Serial Killer: The Untold Story of Dennis Rader, The BTK Killer, she was co-executive producer for the Wolf Entertainment/A&E documentary based on the years she spent talking with Rader. Dr. Ramsland consults on death investigations, pens a blog for Psychology Today, and is writing a fiction series based on a female forensic psychologist.

Steven Spingola – “The Spingola Files: An Evening with Steven Spingola”

Steven Spingola

Special Presentation – The Spingola Files: An Evening with Steven Spingola

Known to his colleagues as “the sleuth with the proof,” Spingola is an investigator for Cold Justice, a popular Oxygen Channel true crime program. During a 2014 episode in Vigo County, Indiana, Spingola and another investigator obtained a confession in a decades-old cold case. During an intense interrogation, suspect Clint Mackey broke down and stated, “I went back, grabbed the knife and killed her.

Steven Spingola is an investigator with a national reputation for excellence. He is a 2001 graduate of the FBI National Academy, and he holds two master’s degrees. Steven is a death investigation expert, a police-related shooting reconstruction specialist, and is formally trained as a criminal investigative analyst (profiling).

Prior to his retirement as a lieutenant of detectives with the Milwaukee Police Department (MPD), Spingola supervised all major categories of criminal investigations, including stints in the Homicide Unit, Vice Control Division, Sensitive Crimes Unit, and Violent Crimes Division. He further served as the lead investigator for the Critical Incident Unit, a group that probes police related shootings, use-of-force incidents, and other significant events. As a detective, Spingola spent several years conducting death investigations for a homicide unit with one of the highest clearance rates in the country.

Steve has authored several books: Best of the Spingola Files, Volumes 1 & 2; Predators of the Parkway: A Former Homicide Detective Explores the Colonial Parkway Murders, and Staggered Paths: Strange Deaths in the Badger State.

2022 Guest of Honor, Robert Dugoni

robert dugoni

Robert Dugoni is the critically acclaimed New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Postand #1 Amazon bestselling author of the Tracy Crosswhite police series set in Seattle, which has sold more than 8 million books worldwide. He is also the author of The Charles Jenkins espionage series, the David Sloane legal thriller series, and  several stand-alone novels including The 7th Canon, Damage Control, and the literary novels, The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell – Suspense Magazine’s 2018 Book of the Year, for which Dugoni’s narration won an AudioFile Earphones Award and the critically acclaimed, The World Played Chess; as well as the nonfiction exposé The Cyanide Canary, a Washington Post Best Book of the Year. Several of his novels have been optioned for movies and television series. Dugoni is the recipient of the Nancy Pearl Award for Fiction and a three-time winner of the Friends of Mystery Spotted Owl Award for best novel set in the Pacific Northwest. He has also been a finalist for many other awards including the International Thriller Award, the Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction, the Silver Falchion Award for mystery, and the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award.

Robert Dugoni’s books are sold in more than twenty-five countries and have been translated into more than thirty languages.

 

www.writerspoliceacademy.com

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Shopping at a SuperMax Prison: USP Florence ADMAX

With grocery list in hand and coupons arranged by order of item location in store aisles, it’s time to go Shopping at a Federal SuperMax Prison: USP Florence ADMAX.

As you pass by the deli counter you  remember back to just a few weeks ago, in December, when you’d often see Theodore John Kaczynski, aka the Unabomber (inmate register number 04475-046), waiting for the clerk to wrap packages of pre-cooked bacon and cheddar squares. But the COs rolled-up old Ted near the end of 2021 and shipped him to the U.S. Bureau of Prison’s Federal Medical Center in Butner, N.C.

Roll up –  Order by a corrections officer for a prisoner to move out of an area. Also, when a prisoner is transferred to another location, they’re often told to place their belongings in the center of their bed and roll the mattress around them. The bundle is is easier to carry than individual items.

“Jenkins, let’s go. Roll ’em up!”

The feds have been tight-lipped about why they shipped Ted to Butner, but it can only mean that he’s seriously ill. I mean, they just don’t take hardcore lifers from the SuperMax in Colorado, the “Alcatraz of the Rockies,” and send them elsewhere unless, well, it simply can’t be good news for Kaczynski. Butner is where Bernie Madoff served time and where he died.

Butner’s had a few other notable inmates, such as John Hinkley, Jr. the guy who shot President Ronald Reagan, and Joe “Tiger King” Exotic, whose real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage. Exotic was transferred to the Butner medical facility after a cancer diagnosis.

So no, you probably won’t be seeing Ted at the SuperMax deli counter again.

After your moment of woolgathering passes, you decide to grab some pepperoni slices and jalapeño refried beans, because you and the fellas are planning a “spread” for Sunday’s game. Then you head over to the aisle marked “Soups” where you pick up ten packages of Ramen Maruchan Hot-n-Spicy. You already have a bag of Doritos. That’s it. Your portion of the spread is done.

The next aisle is where you spot Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the surviving Boston Marathon Bomber (95079-038) who, along with his brother, killed three people and injured approximately 280 others. The pair also shot and killed MIT Police Officer Sean Collier during an attempt to steal his gun. You make eye contact with him, but keep moving.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev stares into security camera of federal courthouse / United States Marshals Service

While perusing the CHIPS aisle you stop to chat with Michael Swango, aka Dr. Death (08352-424). He, too, is planning a meal for game day, but I imagine he won’t see a single guest. Who’d want to eat anything prepared by this guy? After all, he killed five dozen of his patients, friends, and colleagues by poisoning. Nope. Not a bite of anything he fixes, Not even a single Pepe’s Pork Rind.

You’re about to say so long to Swango when up walks Robert Hanssen (48551-083), a guy no one wants to talk to. In fact, everyone snaps their traps shut the second that guy is within earshot. You know about him, right? No? Well, let me tell you about the rat. He’s the FBI agent who was a spy for the Russian and Soviet Intelligence Services against the United States, and he did it for TWENTY YEARS! Hanssen gave up big-time classified secrets to the Russians, including our nuclear war strategies. People were killed because of him. He was such a rat that he received 15 life sentences. And that’s why nobody talks to the guy.

Standing near the hemmorhoidal cream and stool softeners is none other than Joaquin Archival Guzman Loera (89914-053), aka El Chapo, the 5′-6″ leader of Sinaloa drug Cartel. He may be short, but he carries a lot of weight, and was giving ole Hanssen the big “stink eye.” It’s no secret that El Chapo doesn’t like snitches, so the double-crossing stoolie quickly moved along.

Seeing Hanssen always spoils anyone’s day, even if the sighting is only in your mind.

So it’s back to the reality of your concrete and steel, soundproofed cell, where each day you’re confined to 22-23 hours of isolation. Reality is where high security cells have two doors, a solid metal exterior door and an interior door constructed of steel bars. If you’re lucky enough to have an in-cell shower, water flow is on a timer to prevent inmates from flooding their cells. Like the single stool inside the cell, the bed is made of concrete. The latter is topped by a thin mattress. The stool has no attached cushion.


But this article is about shopping, not living conditions, so here are the real rules for commissary shopping at USP Florence ADMAX:

Since inmates are confined to their cells, to purchase items from the commissary they must submit their lists in advance of their unit’s assigned delivery days.

Monday – D&Z units

Tuesday – F&H units

Wednesday – J-A & K units

Wednesday – J-B units

Thursday – G unit

Friday – B & E units

Commissary lists (see below) are sent to the commissary and each order is delivered to the cells. There is a limit on the number of items inmates are allowed to order, and there’s a limit to the number of items inmates may have in their possession at any one time. No stockpiling.

Inmates at the ADMAX are limited to spending $285.00 per month. Postage stamp costs are not included within the spending limit; however, stamp purchases are limited to $29.40.

Shoe sales must have prior approval and the cost is deducted prior to weekly commissary sales.

Hobby craft items are permitted, but there’s a limit to the number of items allowed in the cell.

So, with those things in mind, HAPPY SHOPPING!

Commissary Slip

(Use your mouse to hover over the page and then click the arrows at the bottom left  to maneuver between page one and two)

FLM_commlist080118

 

ATTENTION…ATTENTION…ATTENTION!!!!

Registration for the thrilling 2022 Writers’ Police Academy OPENS February 1, 2022. Be ready to sign up at 12 NOON EST! Registrations are first-come, first-served until the event is sold out!

Check back each day this week for details, schedule information, news, classes, Sponsor page updates, and much more!!

Become a Writers’ Police Academy Sponsor

Would you like to become a Sponsor of the 2022 Writers’ Police Academy? It’s a fantastic opportunity to showcase your books and other products through the WPA’s unique far-reaching worldwide community and networking environment, all while supporting THE most exciting event for writers.

Sponsor dollars help us keep registration fees at a minimum, which allows an affordable opportunity to attend for more writers, readers, and fans. Therefore, not only are you helping yourself and your colleagues, you are helping jump start the careers and dreams of others.

So please, visit the “Become a Sponsor” page and join the generous folks who support this unique event—Mystery Writers of America, Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, authors Lisa Regan, Denise Grover Swank, Joe Bonsall and the Oak Ridge Boys, Mary Burton, Kendra Elliot, Stacy Green, Kathy Harris, Melinda Leigh, and Patti Phillips.

Without our sponsors the Writers’ Police Academy could not do what we do.

We are grateful to each of you!

To become a WPA sponsor, please click below.

Become a Sponsor

For questions about sponsorships, please contact me at lofland32@msn.com. Type SPONSORSHIP in the subject line of your message.

 

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Serial Killers: Are You Murdering Your Stories?

Okay, you’ve written your first, or maybe your thirty-first, shoot-’em-up, cut-’em-up cereal serial killer novel. You’re proud of the book and of all your hard work. After all, your sister’s husband’s best friend’s mother’s uncle who used to be a security guard at the mall says the bad guy in your latest book is so realistic that he makes Gacy and Bundy look like Cub Scouts. Now that’s an expert opinion, for sure!

But, did you do your homework? Are you sure you’ve written the character properly? Or, did you get your information from Dexter reruns?

Before you send the manuscript off to your editor, let’s take a moment to have a quick look at our mini serial killer checklist. You know, just to make certain your details are sound.

Number One – All serial killers absolutely LOVE Jodie Foster …

Oops, wrong list.

Hang on a second … it’s here, somewhere. I saw it just a moment ago…

Messy Desk

Ah, yes. Here we go…

Serial Killer Fact Checker

1. For the most part, serial killers are NOT loners. They don’t hang out in dark alleys hoping a potential victim will soon pass by. In fact, serial killers normally live everyday lives, working steady jobs and hanging out with everyday people.

2. Sex is NOT the only motivator behind serial killings. Greed, anger, money, the thrill of the kill, and wanting attention could all be considered as motivation for serial killings.

3. Serial killers are generally NOT wanderers who travel the highways and byways searching for their victims. Instead, they normally choose to stay within a comfortable region that’s relatively close to the center of their world (home, work, etc.).


4. Serial killers are generally NOT the super-smart geniuses we sometimes see on TV and in film. They’re also NOT always insane as defined by law. Sure, they’re usually psychopathic, but not “Elvis-lives-in-my-refrigerator-behind-the-cheesecake” crazy.

5. Serial killers can and often do stop killing. There’s no serial killer handbook rule stating they must find and kill a new victim every day for the rest of their lives.

6. Not all serial killers are white males.

7. Serial killers, as a rule, do NOT want to get caught. Instead, they become complacent and careless, and sometimes cocky, making it easier to be caught by police.

8. Not all serial killers are alike. There is no standard. Each serial killer has his/her own motivation and personality.

9. Serial killers are NOT limited to any specific race, age group, or gender.

10. Serial killers may have multiple motivations.

Finally, to help with your research …

 

 

“A serial killer murders at least two people in distinctly separate incidents, with a psychological rest period between, which could be considered a time of predatory preparation. He, she, or they also choose the murder activity, such as stabbing, strangulation, shooting, or bombing, and may move around to different places or lure successive victims to a single locale. They view victims as objects needed for their ultimate goals, and manifest as addictive quality to their behavior, so that choosing murder is a satisfying act rather than merely a reaction or instrumental goal.”  Dr. Katherine Ramsland

*Jodie Foster image by Alan Light (background removed)

Full details coming soon!

 

 

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Writers’ Police Academy’s 2022 Guest of Honor and Special Guest Presenters

The Writers’ Police Academy is pleased and excited to announce the 2022 Guest of Honor – International Bestselling author Robert Dugoni!

Robert Dugoni is the critically acclaimed New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and #1 Amazon bestselling author of the Tracy Crosswhite police series set in Seattle, which has sold more than 8 million books worldwide.

He is also the author of The Charles Jenkins espionage series, the David Sloane legal thriller series, and several stand-alone novels including The 7th Canon, Damage Control, and the literary novels, The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell – Suspense Magazine’s 2018 Book of the Year, for which Dugoni’s narration won an AudioFile Earphones Award and the critically acclaimed, The World Played Chess; as well as the nonfiction exposé The Cyanide Canary, a Washington Post Best Book of the Year. Several of his novels have been optioned for movies and television series.

Dugoni is the recipient of the Nancy Pearl Award for Fiction and a three-time winner of the Friends of Mystery Spotted Owl Award for best novel set in the Pacific Northwest. He has also been a finalist for many other awards including the International Thriller Award, the Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction, the Silver Falchion Award for mystery, and the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award.

Robert Dugoni’s books are sold in more than twenty-five countries and have been translated into more than thirty languages.

2022 Special Guest Speaker – Steven Spingola

Known to his colleagues as “the sleuth with the proof,” Spingola is as an investigator for Cold Justice, a popular Oxygen Channel true crime program. During a 2014 episode in Vigo County, Indiana, Spingola and another investigator obtained a confession in a decades-old cold case. During an intense interrogation, suspect Clint Mackey broke down and stated, “I went back, grabbed the knife and killed her.

Steven Spingola is an investigator with a national reputation for excellence. He is a 2001 graduate of the FBI National Academy, and he holds two master’s degrees. Steven is a death investigation expert, a police-related shooting reconstruction specialist, and is formally trained as a criminal investigative analyst (profiling).

Prior to his retirement as a lieutenant of detectives with the Milwaukee Police Department (MPD), Spingola supervised all major categories of criminal investigations, including stints in the Homicide Unit, Vice Control Division, Sensitive Crimes Unit, and Violent Crimes Division. He further served as the lead investigator for the Critical Incident Unit, a group that probes police related shootings, use-of-force incidents, and other significant events. As a detective, Spingola spent several years conducting death investigations for a homicide unit with one of the highest clearance rates in the country.

Steve has authored several books: Best of the Spingola Files, Volumes 1 & 2; Predators of the Parkway: A Former Homicide Detective Explores the Colonial Parkway Murders and Staggered Paths: Strange Deaths in the Badger State.

2022 Special Guest Speaker – Dr. Katherine Ramsland

Dr. Katherine Ramsland teaches forensic psychology at DeSales University in Pennsylvania, where she is the Assistant Provost. She has appeared on more than 200 crime documentaries and magazine shows, is an executive producer of Murder House Flip, and has consulted for CSI, Bones, and The Alienist. The author of more than 1,500 articles and 69 books, including The Forensic Science of CSI, The Forensic Psychology of Criminal Minds, How to Catch a Killer, The Psychology of Death Investigations, and Confession of a Serial Killer: The Untold Story of Dennis Rader, The BTK Killer, she was co-executive producer for the Wolf Entertainment/A&E documentary based on the years she spent talking with Rader. Dr. Ramsland consults on death investigations, pens a blog for Psychology Today, and is writing a fiction series based on a female forensic psychologist.

* 2022 WPA website is currently under construction—schedule, presenters, classes, registration details, and more are coming very soon. The 2022 event is thrilling, and massive. It’s the largest hands-on event we’ve ever produced!

Attendees earn continuing education credit!

You do not want to miss this event!

June 2-5, 2022

NWTC Public Safety Training Academy – Green Bay, Wi.
Red Lion Hotel Paper Valley – Appleton, Wi.
 (Transportation between locations is provided by the WPA)
Event begins at noon on Thursday at the Fox Cities Exhibition Center in Appleton, Wi., with a huge indoor display of public safety vehicles and equipment for attendees to view and explore. Officers and firefighters will be on hand to explain the functions of these vehicles and equipment used by first responders. Q&A and demo. The stellar Exhibition Center is attached to the official WPA event hotel, Red Lion Hotel Paper Valley (will be a newly remodeled Hilton property at the time of the WPA event).

Fox Cities Exhibition Center

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