As the New York Times bestselling author of fiction and nonfiction books, I thought that readers might be interested to hear how the writing process differs between my two main genres, at least for me, and how I go about choosing the cases I feature in my books. So far, I’ve written or co-authored 10 books, including eight that are narrative non-fiction crime titles, and I'm working on #11 and #12. My latest title is I’ll Take Care of You and … [Read more...]
Sullivan Discusses Insanity, Legal Insanity, And The Murderer Richard Chase
Conversation On Shattered Lives Radio Centered Around The Meaning Of "Crazy" And The Vampire of Sacramento Insanity, Legal Insanity, and the Murderer: It's a subject that raises its head all the time in the courts, and often, it's a battle that is pivotal in deciding what happens to those who kill their fellow human beings. Recently, I was on Shattered Lives Radio with Donna Gore discussing my book, Vampire: The Richard Murders. Our … [Read more...]
Lookout Free Security App for Mobile Devices
Lookout is the first app you should load onto your smart phone. Available for both the iOS and Android formats, this security app performs multiple critical functions for you: Scans all files and apps you download for viruses Backs up your contacts Can locate your device in case you lose it You need to have an account at lookout.com to access your backed up info or find your device after you have lost it. You can also set the device … [Read more...]
Vote for Your Favorite True Crime Hangouts
In order to better serve you... Please vote below for the places where you hangout the most to find, discuss and purchase your favorite true crime books. Voting will register you for a chance to win one of five sets of these three audio books: Bogeyman: He Was Every Parent's Nightmare Dixie's Last Stand: Was It Murder or Self-Defense? Vampire: The Richard Chase Murders If you go to specific groups or sections or forums of a site … [Read more...]
Charles Thoman, Dixie’s murder trial prosecutor, now enjoying life in retirement
It's been nearly 11 years since Assistant Iowa Attorney General Charles Thoman dropped into the western Iowa city of Harlan. He was the powerful one-man prosecution crew against Dixie Shanahan. When Thoman finally left town, in May of 2004, he accomplished his mission. He branded Dixie Shanahan as a convicted and cold killer -- just as he intended to do. "I never felt cross examining the defendant Dixie Shanahan would be a slam-dunk," Thoman … [Read more...]
Corpse Bride: Tourists would love Dead Manson!
Even mass murderer Charles Manson couldn’t wrap his fevered brain around this macabre plot: His erstwhile fiancée had a bizarre scheme to put his corpse in a glass casket and get rich by charging admission. Manson’s beloved, 27-year-old Afton Elaine Burton, wanted to marry the homicidal cult leader just so she’d own his remains when he died. A lot of people, she reckoned, would pay good money to see Manson’s preserved body in a modern-day, … [Read more...]
Who was your favorite character in DIXIE’S LAST STAND?
When I wrote DIXIE'S LAST STAND: WAS IT MURDER OR SELF-DEFENSE? I made a concerted effort to limit the number of key characters in this feature-length book for #WildBluePress. You can find out more about the book and how to purchase it at #Amazon #Kindle by clicking here https://wildbluepress.com/dixies-last-stand-john-ferak-true-crime/ Sure, there were plenty of names and positions that were paramount to the case. Iowa Division of … [Read more...]
NY Times Bestselling Author Caitlin Rother Says ‘Writing Is Rewriting’ For Success
Known Best For Her True Crime, Rother's First Book Was NAKED ADDICTION, A Crime Fiction Mystery Now Out With WildBlue Press I can’t even count how many times I wrote and significantly rewrote NAKED ADDICTION. But because it was my first book, I was riding the learning curve, and as I tell my students, writing is rewriting. Back in the 1990s, when I started this crime novel, I decided that rather than stick the early drafts into a drawer … [Read more...]
True Crime Reader: Domestic Violence Caused Dixie To Kill
From the Author: This particular #truecrime #author blog post is a little different as it deals with a controversial topic, domestic violence, brought up in my latest book DIXIE'S LAST STAND: Was It Murder Or Self-Defense? I invited Jennifer Marshall -- who is a loyal member of several true crime Facebook forums -- to write about her reaction to DIXIE'S LAST STAND. (You can find out more about the book and how to purchase it at #Amazon #Kindle … [Read more...]
DIXIE’S LAST STAND Murder Front-Page News
Small-Town Newspaper Covered Dixie's Crime And Now The Book Small town newspapers know the pulse of their communities inside and out. Over in western #Iowa, The #Harlan Newspapers have a rich tradition for exhibiting excellence in small-town journalism. The paper's history dates back to 1870. The Harlan Newspapers are the fifth largest twice weekly newspaper in Iowa. Harlan's journalists have won more than 250 state and national awards, as … [Read more...]
