Editor’s Note: Katlyn Sweet is the daughter of Detective Gary Sweet, one of the main investigators whose quest to catch serial child-killer David Penton is the subject of BOGEYMAN: He Was Every Parent’s Nightmare. She wrote this blog about her father's investigation and its impression on her then and now. A small child is abducted, scared, murdered and tossed onto the earth like she means nothing to this world. In fact, the small child is … [Read more...]
Man Overboard – Introduction to the 20th Anniversary Edition
My first foray into true crime, MAN OVERBOARD: The Counterfeit Resurrection of Phil Champagne, was a surprise hit, achieved universal rave reviews, and was nominated for an Anthony Award at the Bouchercon World Mystery Convention as “Best True Crime Book of the Year.” “Oh, Burl,” said true-crime author Ann Rule, “I just know you’re going to win.” I didn’t. Ann won for Dead by Sunset. Ann Rule actually appears in Man Overboard and was the … [Read more...]
Bogeyman – Why I Chose This True Crime Story
Since the August publication of BOGEYMAN, I've frequently been asked how and why I chose this particular story to write about. I know what drives some of that: True Crime authors usually steer clear of stories about the murder of children, particularly those involving a killer who’s a stranger … a bogeyman. Sure there are the books in which the parents murder their offspring (and sometimes spouse), and we’re all justifiably horrified. But … [Read more...]
Bogeyman-A Man of God
Editor’s Note: Katlyn Sweet is the daughter of Detective Gary Sweet, one of the main investigators whose quest to catch serial child-killer David Penton is the subject of BOGEYMAN: He Was Every Parent’s Nightmare. This post involves her father’s prison interview with Penton and her reaction to reading about it in the book. Although detectives were 99 percent certain that Penton was the murderer of the young girls, he had no intention of … [Read more...]
Bogeyman – The Nightmare
Editor’s Note: Katlyn Sweet is the daughter of Detective Gary Sweet, one of the main investigators whose quest to catch serial child-killer David Penton is the subject of BOGEYMAN: He Was Every Parent’s Nightmare. This blog involves one of her reactions to reading the book about an investigation that impacted her family directly. Imagine … dreaming of a man every night. The old nightmare. You can still see his face after all these years. He’s … [Read more...]
The Story Behind the Story: EMPIRE CITY UNDER SIEGE and Finding Heroes
The following is excerpted from EMPIRE CITY UNDER SIEGE: Three Decades of New York FBI Field Office Manhunts, Murders, and Mafia Wars which features the true stories from Anthony John Nelson, who served four decades of distinguished law enforcement experience as a former Supervisory Special Agent with the FBI, before joining the Brooklyn DA's Special Investigations Unit. Real heroes are hard to find these days. Real heroes never call themselves … [Read more...]
The Las Vegas Massacre Connections: Finding Strength Through Tragedy After America’s Deadliest Mass Shooting
Bronze Winner Independent Publisher Book Awards! An outstanding narrative of the shootings from journalist Mark Gray whose first-person account of the tragedy was published in Rolling Stone Magazine the day after the event. When the Music Stopped, Her Life Changed Forever On October 1, 2017, Mary Jo von Tillow's world changed forever. Her husband, Kurt, was killed in the Route 91 Harvest Festival mass shooting in Las Vegas, the deadliest … [Read more...]
The Cop and the Professor
Note: Cameron Santana is one of the two authors of A MURDER ON CAMPUS: The Professor, The Cop, And North Carolina's Most Notorious Cold Case -- When I first started teaching university writing seminars on true crime, my brother Cameron was still active with the Raleigh Police Department and was less interested in the genre. "I didn't watch true crime documentaries or listen to podcasts because after I got off of work, I wanted to do something … [Read more...]
True Crime Talk with Nic Edwards Podcast
The True Crime Talk with Nic Edwards podcast is brought to you by WildBlue Press. It is hosted by Carolyn Berardino, Bryan Smith, and Nic Edwards. Featuring books and authors from the WildBlue Press true crime library. You can find the True Crime Talk with Nic Edwards podcast in all of these popular podcast networks. Click the icons to go to the network channel: Nic Edwards Nic Edwards … [Read more...]
On Childhood Abuse & Searching for Answers
By David McGrath, Author of Obsessed Validation. I was searching for that when I decided to undertake the project of telling a coherent story regarding the most dangerous era in history for children. Some intrusive thoughts come to my head about wanting to burn the whole thing down. Expose it all. I suffered a lot of sexual abuse at the hands of my mother's revolving door of boyfriends. It was mostly for ages 8-12. 1992- to say early 1996. When … [Read more...]
