Since writing the book, The Lewiston Shootings: An All-American Tragedy, I've been asked a number of times why I chose to write about this horrible event. I've also been questioned on social media for doing so and it's been suggested that I've capitalized on others' pain to profit for myself. The emphasis on my motivations for writing the book, rather than on the issues raised about why it happened and what can be done to prevent it from … [Read more...]
Lewiston Commission Final Report: “Several Opportunities Might Have Changed the Course of Events” (But Don’t Ask For Solutions)
After nine months of subpoenaing witnesses and documents and listening to a wide range of testimony during sixteen public hearings, the Independent Commission To Investigate the Facts of the Tragedy in Lewiston issued its final report on August 20th. The 215-page report, while substantive in details that led to the failure to stop Robert Card II from killing eighteen Mainers on October 25, 2023, did not make any recommendations on how to fix … [Read more...]
NEW AUDIOBOOK AVAILABLE NOW! In THE LEWISTON SHOOTINGS, Robert Conlin Chronicles The Personal Stories Of A Deeply Scarred Community
Never again could anyone say, "It will never happen here." Because it did. October 25, 2023 was just an ordinary night in Lewiston, a small, working class city of 37,000 in central Maine. Friends and families had gathered to do what they loved to do with the people they wanted to be with at a bowling alley called Just-in-Time Recreation Center and Schemengees, a popular sports bar and restaurant. They felt immune from the violent crime … [Read more...]
In Memory of Elizabeth Short, Otherwise Known as “Black Dhalia”
July 29, 2024 marked the centenary of Elizabeth Short's birth. Born in Boston, Beth, as she often preferred to be called, was the middle child of Cleo and Phoebe Short. She had four sisters: Virginia, Dorothea, Elnora, and Muriel. In 1930, Cleo's miniature golf course business tanked. He positioned his car close to a bridge to create the appearance of suicide. A houseful of women has its comforts, but Cleo's abandonment appears to have profoundly … [Read more...]
OUT NOW! Audiobook version of ABOVE THE GROUND: A True Story of The Troubles in Northern Ireland—a tale of courage, injustice, and redemption by Dan Lawton
In 1978, the bloody conflict in Northern Ireland, known as The Troubles, reached a boiling point. An enthralling work of history told with intelligence and urgency." -Kirkus Reviews, November 2023 Gripping, well-researched, authentic, and powerful... If you like biographies and legal thrillers, you must read this book." -Mark W. Hansen, The Los Angeles Daily Journal Hundreds of members of the Irish Republican Army determined to drive the hated … [Read more...]
Joan Renner on Jealousy and Gin
I Love Los Angeles Crime! Every city has a unique crime signature. In Los Angeles, crime has a distinctly cinematic feel. In 1910, Hollywood made its first film, In Old California. The silent short ran for 17 thrilling minutes. A western, the characters run the gamut from upstanding citizens to thieves. Hollywood has been obsessed with themes of good vs. evil ever since. In the following tale, Jealousy and Gin, the killer is a real-life B-movie … [Read more...]
Author Joan Renner On True Crime, Blogging, and Advocacy
Hi! I'm Joan Renner, a multi-talented individual with a passion for all things true crime. As a seasoned author, blogger, historian, archivist, tour guide, and sought-after TV and podcast commentator, I've carved out a unique niche in the world of crime storytelling. Back in 2007, I turned my lifelong fascination with crime into something more tangible by blogging for a local true crime blog. Little did I know this step would lead me down a … [Read more...]
An Exclusive Inside Look into the Robert Telles Murder Trial in “THE LAST STORY: The Murder of an Investigative Journalist in Las Vegas” by Arthur Kane
Kane delivers a compelling story... [that] skillfully leads readers through [Jeff German's] homicide investigation that reveals a surprise suspect charged with the killing of a journalist who made plenty of enemies for his exposes of crime and corruption in America's fabled Sin City." -BRIAN ROSS, Chief Investigative Reporter, Law & Crime Network, former correspondent at NBC News, former investigative reporter at ABC News and author of The … [Read more...]
Author John Ferak Pens an Updated Epilogue for the WRECKING CREW 5th Anniversary, November 2023
"Ferak chronicles the long and sordid history of the Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department and the reason Sweaty's license was suspended. Framing Avery was just par for the course." -Kathleen Zellner Updated 5th Anniversary Edition Including Exclusive Interview with Steve Avery In 2016-17, while working for the USA TODAY NETWORK's Wisconsin Investigative Team, author John Ferak wrote dozens of articles examining the murder case against Steven … [Read more...]
Dan Lawton’s ABOVE THE GROUND Grabs a Spotlight Review by Kirkus Reviews!
We are proud to share that ABOVE THE GROUND: A True Story of The Troubles in Northern Ireland" by Dan Lawton, a recent history publication from WildBlue Press, has received a noteworthy review from Kirkus Reviews, an esteemed critic in the literary world. The rigor and expansiveness of Lawton's research is simply astonishing, and his journalistic prose is exacting and powerful. This is by turns a terrifying and heartbreaking story, conveyed with … [Read more...]
