A crime of national news intrigue, a book for cops, mystery readers

By John Ferak | January 4, 2015

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 […]

Ron Franscell: Should crime writers profit from somebody else’s tragedy?

By Ron Franscell | December 29, 2014

Every crime writer has heard this little heckling voice, usually from the cheap seats, but sometimes from inside his own head. It isn’t always loud, but it’s often piercing. My 2008 true crime, The Darkest Night, recently enjoyed a revival on bestseller lists when its long-awaited digital edition was released a couple weeks ago. It’s […]

Meet the prosecutor in DIXIE’S LAST STAND: WAS IT MURDER OR SELF-DEFENSE?

By John Ferak | December 26, 2014

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 […]