My passion for writing, particularly storytelling and investigative journalism, traces back to my senior year of high school – when I dug into a fascinating story about the Ghost of Joliet Catholic High School for my school newspaper. Despite spending several frightful nights worried that the ghost of the dead priest would visit me, I quickly became enamored with writing about the darker things in life. For nearly twenty years, I’ve led a … [Read more...]
BOGEYMAN-‘He stands on the edge of a foul dark pond …”
"He stands on the edge of a foul dark pond as the cold winds of hell howl around him. In his cruel hands, he holds a collection of shiny pebbles that represent every child he took, subjected to unspeakable horrors and pain, and then remorselessly killed in the most terrifying manner imaginable. With each murder, the monster, this bogeyman, this nightmare, tosses a pebble into the bottomless waters causing ripples of misery and devastation to … [Read more...]
MAN OVERBOARD-The legendary Burl Barer (& Co.) interviews the infamous Phil Champagne
Listen in as author Burl Barer talks counterfeiting, drug deals gone bad, and life after death with the protagonist of his book MAN OVERBOARD: The Counterfeit Resurrection of Phil Champagne on True Crime Uncensored. The special 20th Anniversary edition of MAN OVERBOARD was recently released by WildBlue Press. … [Read more...]
Burl Barer on True Murder
Date: October 8, 2014 Time: 8 p.m. (Central) Author Burl Barer discusses the Special 20th Anniversary Edition of his acclaimed true crime book MAN OVERBOARD: The Counterfeit Resurrection of Phil Champagne with True Murder host Dan Zupansky … [Read more...]
John Ferak Discusses Bloody Lies, a True Crime Story – Part 2/2
John Ferak Discusses Bloody Lies, a True Crime Story out of Omaha, Nebraska Part 2 of 2. … [Read more...]
The MAN OVERBOARD Phil Champagne on True Crime Uncensored
Date: October 11, 2014 Time: 2 p.m. (Pacific) What: Phil Champagne, the main character in Edgar Award winning author Burl Barer's 20th Anniversary Special Edition of MAN OVERBOARD recently released by WildBlue Press, will be regaling Burl with tales of his adventures (and misadventures) on True Crime Uncensored. … [Read more...]
John Ferak Discusses Bloody Lies, a True Crime Story – Part 1/2
John Ferak Discusses Bloody Lies, a true crime story out of Omaha, Nebraska - Part 1 of 2. … [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...]
