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...]
Readers Asked To Decide “Was It Murder Or Self-Defense?” in DIXIE’S LAST STAND
A WildBlue Press True Crime By Award-Winning Journalist John Ferak Dixie Shanahan had a terribly troubled and abusive marriage in the sleepy little town of Defiance, Iowa. Then one summer day in 2002, Dixie's mean and wicked husband was gone. Some of the local residents presumed that Scott packed his bags and left town. But others were skeptical. After all, Scott's brown Ford pick-up truck was still parked in his driveway. The disappearance … [Read more...]
DIXIE’S LAST STAND: Reviewer Gives True Crime Thriller 5-Stars
DIXIE'S LAST STAND: WAS IT MURDER OR SELF-DEFENSE? Below is Carol Tilson's unedited FIVE STAR review of my true crime book, DIXIE'S LAST STAND, a soon-to-be newly published true crime feature-length book at WildBlue Press: Reviewer Carol Tilson says "I had a hard time putting the book down" Whenever I review a book, especially non-fiction, I always read it a second time to pick up whatever I missed. Before that second reading, I make a … [Read more...]
A crime of national news intrigue, a book for cops, mystery readers
In about ten days, true-crime readers from across the globe can become acclimated with a tiny western Iowa community that captured the national spotlight a decade ago: https://wildbluepress.com/dixies-last-stand-john-ferak-true-crime/ This was a murder case that ultimately generated incredible public awareness on hot-button topics such as domestic violence and murder in self-defense. How big a deal was the murder case involving Dixie … [Read more...]
Meet the prosecutor in DIXIE’S LAST STAND: WAS IT MURDER OR SELF-DEFENSE?
In DIXIE'S LAST STAND, readers will follow the turbulent lifestyle of Defiance, Iowa, resident Dixie Shanahan, but nobody had a more pivotal role in the outcome of the case than Iowa prosecutor Charles Thoman. Thoman drew the assignment from his bosses at the Iowa Attorney General's Office to handle the criminal proceedings against Dixie. In DIXIE'S LAST STAND, you will learn how Thoman was almost bypassed for the assignment, based on his own … [Read more...]
Tremendous input from true crime readers helps finalize our DIXIE’S LAST STAND cover
At WILDBLUE PRESS, we're a true-crime book publishing firm like nobody else. Why? Because we consider your input essential in our most vital work. It's a known fact that many readers of all shapes and sizes make a decision whether to buy a book based on the title and based on the cover. Over the past week, we've received hundreds of comments from TC readers all over North America as we posted several different dummy designs of … [Read more...]
A small Iowa sheriff’s office comes up big in Ferak’s new book, DIXIE’S LAST STAND
(Seated: Shelby County Sheriff Gene Cavenaugh, with chief deputy Mark Hervey ) Photo Courtesy of The Harlan Newspapers As I set out to produce this story as an original True-Crime Feature for WildBlue Press, there was no shortage of angles. Questions about self-defense, justification and mandatory sentencing laws. The crime was bizarre given the length of time that Scott Shanahan's body was left in his bedroom. A body in the bed. A … [Read more...]
DIXIE’S LAST STAND — Why Ferak chose this Iowa murder case
It was the third week of October in 2003. My first week at the Omaha World-Herald newspaper in Nebraska when a news alert came over the Associated Press wire from neighboring Iowa. A woman in a small-town was put in jail, accused of killing her husband. (More about DIXIE'S LAST STAND: Was It Murder or Self-Defense?) I grabbed my reporter's notebook. I hopped into one of the newspaper's many company cars with Rudy Smith, a long-time and … [Read more...]
