Police Driving Simulator: Writers' Police Academy 2011

 

Police officers are taught emergency driving skills while attending the basic police academy. Each driving course is designed to simulate various real-life scenarios. Car tires are over-inflated to prevent the rubber from separating from the rims when cornering at high-speeds.

Instructors ride with the students during the first hours of training.

 

Skid pan driving simulates wet roadway conditions.

 

Drivers on skid pan courses learn to control hydroplaning vehicles.

 

Skid pan cars can be equipped with an extra set of wheels that lift the car off the ground a little at a time, reducing traction.

 

Academy students practice driving on courses that simulate highway and city driving. Each course must be successfully completed within a specified time frame while knocking over as few cones as possible. Students are graded accordingly. Points are deducted from the student’s final score for each cone they hit.

 

Recruits practice pursuit driving.

Aerial view of Houston Police Department driving course. (Google image).

 

Police academy driving simulator.

Officers must be prepared to drive at breakneck speeds on all surfaces.

 

Here’s a link to a video of real police driver training in North Carolina. Be sure your audio is on. Oh, and notice the lack of brake lights.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNLS9xdzppI

John Fedack

 

John Fedack

John is a native of Atlanta, GA. His interest in police work began at a very early age. His father was a physician in Clayton County near Atlanta. Dr. Fedack was the county physician so if a county deputy or even county prisoner was hurt or sick he would treat them. His father had a deep respect for law enforcement officers yet he treated the prisoners fairly and with compassion.

So after hearing stories about the deputies and tales from WW11 when his father was a doctor in the U. S. Navy John understandably wanted to try law enforcement as a career. After his education at Woodward Academy (previously a boy’s military school) and the University of Georgia, John starting working at the university police at Georgia State University. He quickly rose to the ranks of Detective Sergeant and stayed there for three years. But, he always wanted to work at DeKalb County Police.

Nationally recognized for their training and equipment, DeKalb County was in the vanguard of departments. Joining the department as a uniform patrol officer, John got an incredible education on surviving on the street as a cop. This was the late 1970’s and today we recognize this was one of the most violent and dangerous times to be a police officer. In the four years John was with DeKalb County four officers were killed in the line of duty. During his tenure, John worked uniform patrol and stakeout teams. He received many letters of commendation from the Director of Public Safety for bravery and exceptional police work. But, after the tragic shooting of a good friend John decided to leave the department. Coincidently, the night of the shooting, John had taken the night off. The officer who was shot was in John’s usually assigned territory.

After leaving police work, he accepted a position with Crum & Forster, a Xerox company. John was trained and began selling an accounting software package and this was his foray into technology. In the 1990’s and until 2006 John was employed in the legal software arena. In November 2006, he left software to devote fulltime to writing and managing the Liz Chandler marketing effort.

Liz Chandler, the protagonist in this series is a compilation of female’s officers that John knew and worked with for many years. ‘Protecting Sharks’ is a fictional account with many true life situations weaved into the story. John is currently on a sequel and has four additional stories in the series in the works.

John explains where he got the idea for the Liz Chandler character. ‘The first night of roll call at DeKalb County Police in 1976 I looked around and noticed something very striking. I was only 5’8″ and maybe 150 lbs. Almost all of the other patrolman were at least six feet and built like football players. Then I noticed three or four female officers and I thought to myself if I feel like a fish out of water what could they possibly be thinking. But, is it not an exaggeration that all of the women were dedicated and very brave. They had to be because they were working from a disadvantage being in a male dominated world. Many of the females became good friends and sometimes my most trusted partners.”

As far as why did John begin writing, there is a scene in the first chapter where a sadist attacks a helpless shark. John actually witnessed that real-life incident on St. Simon’s pier and that savagery was burned into his memory. A few years later, he thought why not write a book about a female officer who sees the same sight but she does something about it and the Liz Chandler series was born.

My days as a DeKalb County Police Officer 1976-1981

The date was August 2, 1976 and at 4:00 in the afternoon I was standing in the roll call room and started my first shift as a rookie cop. I looked around. There were 50-60 officers lined up for inspection. As an aside, there were only 4-5 female officers. These days some departments have 40% female officers. Please see my website for more thoughts on female officers. www.protectingsharks.com

Starting that evening I rode for 8 weeks with a Patrol Training Officer before I entered the 18 week DeKalb Police Academy. I wanted a job that would be different and even exciting at times. Well, like they say, I got the bonus plan. But those stories can be told another day. Mr. Lee Lofland asked me to write about the equipment that we carried in the 1970’s.

Take a close look at the car. It was heavy and fast. There is a blue spoiler on the hood – not for decoration, but because the engines ran so hot!

The Motorola radio signal bounced off repeater towers in the county and every time the signal hit the tower the radio made a beep-beep-beep sound. After awhile you completely tuned it out. A very few of the cars had computer terminals. Now almost every car has a terminal and/or laptop computer to communicate with and to write your reports on.

The first two years we did not carry walkie-talkies. When you got away from your car, you were unable to communicate. Many, many nights everyone held their breath until an officer came back on the radio. Today the officers have walkie-talkies, cell phones and some carry recorders on their belts to record what happens on the street.

For the entire time with DeKalb I carried a 6 shot service revolver; a Colt .357 magnum Trooper with six additional cartridges in an ammo holder.

Also, I carried a hand cuff case, a ring for my night stick and that was it. My pistol holster only had a small leather strap to secure the pistol. By today standards this was suicide. In 1980 one officer was killed, another shot and severely wounded when a perpetrator grabbed one of their guns and shot them both. That could have been me. I was on vacation that night and that was my patrol beat. Very quickly, I brought a black jack for my back pocket. I wore a back up pistol and carried as much ammo for my service revolver as I could get away with.

My brother-in-law is a Marshall for Fulton County and I looked at his duty belt last week. His service pistol is a Glock model 23 that holds 16 cartridges and he carries two extra magazines for a total of 46 shots!

He also carries a Taser (a wonderful way to subdue someone without deadly force), a walkie-talkie, pouch for rubber gloves, handcuff case, an ASP baton, a small but very powerful flashlight and pepper spray. Oh yeah, he wears a bullet proof vest. We were strongly discouraged from wearing them as it would give us a Superman complex and we might act in a stupid or dangerous manner. (?)

DeKalb ran three ten hour shifts. The evening shift and Task Force (graveyard) shift overlapped for 4 hours.

Day Shift 7:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Evening 4:00 p.m. – 2:00 a.m.

Task Force 10:00 p.m. – 8:00 a.m.

After 2:00 a.m. there were usually 18-20 cars to cover 270 square miles. It is no exaggeration that some nights your nearest back up was 30-40 miles away. You handled the situation or it handled you.

Which brings me to what else we carried in the cars for officer protection. Every patrol car had an Ithaca 12 gauge shotgun in the trunk. I was given a small box of 5 buckshot rounds. I carried two boxes of shotgun shells next to the shotgun. In the days before civil liability was such an issue a lot of officers bought their own rifles. I saw AR 15’s, Ruger Mini 14’s, Eagle .45 (looks like a Thompson) and a few carried Winchester 30-30 deer rifles. A friend on mine carried an H & K assault rifle in .308. Almost everyone gave him a hard time until we had a barricade situation and he almost single handedly drove the bad guy out of the house with the furious barrage of bullets from his H & K assault rifle.

I was very proud to be DeKalb Police Officer.

At the time we had the best equipment and undoubtedly the best training. The FBI reports the late 1970’s was perhaps the most dangerous times for law enforcement officers in American history. Drugs were becoming a major problem, the criminals did not fear the police like in earlier times and the criminals were beginning to carry automatic pistols. That meant sometimes you were grossly outgunned.

Even after all the terrible things I witnessed and losing three fellow officers while I was there I am still glad I was a cop. I have close friends who are still there or recently retired. And whenever I see a patrol car with someone pulled over I slow down to make sure everything is OK. I am older, heavier and slower but I know I will get out of my car and try to assist that officer if they need help. It is either in your blood or it never will be.

Swat Training

 

SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) units are teams of specially trained police officers who respond to extremely dangerous situations, such as hostage situations and high-risk entries. SWAT team training is intensive. Officers assigned to SWAT units are normally combat trained, extremely proficient with firearms, and in excellent physical condition.

Many police department SWAT teams are comprised of volunteers from both patrol and detective divisions. To receive one of the coveted SWAT positions, officers are usually required to submit a written application along with a letter of recommendation from their immediate supervisor. The applicant must also maintain an average firearms score of between 80 and 90 percent. Once accepted, the officer must average a score of 90 percent or higher.

SWAT standards were established in 1983 by the LAPD.

SWAT teams are required to attend annual training and regular practice. Some of their training includes:

Basic training

Learning the basics of SWAT, and how SWAT teams originated.

Tactical firearms course – Officers fire individually and then with a group. Then, they’re given one on one instruction before they fire again, individually. An officer’s score normally improve greatly after this intensive training session.

SWAT officers practice timed shooting, shooting while running, walking, and standing, and they practice reloading under fire.

They’re also schooled in:

Search warrant executions

Obstacle course

Building entry and clearing

Dynamic entry

Mock exercises/realistic scenarios

Advanced and in-service training courses (partial list)

Covert operations

Counterterrorism

Knife fighting

Ground fighting

Stick fighting

Booby trap and explosive recognition

Hostage negotiation

Hazardous materials

(Thanks to the Hamilton Ohio Police Department SWAT Unit)

*     *     *

For Bobby M. (See comment below).

Writers Conference

 

Our road trip this week takes us to Salinas, California for the East of Eden Writers Conference. The conference kicked off Friday with workshops taught by a star-studded group of presenters and speakers.

Conference co-director, Kelly Harrison, was one of many staffers who assisted conference goers and faculty with registration.

L-R Author Terri Micene, literary agents April Eberhardt and Verna Dreisbach.

L-R Author Maralys Wills, keynote speaker Brian Copeland, and conference co-director Edie Matthews.

Publisher Charlotte Cook and Komenar Publishing’s marketing manager, Jasmine Nakagawa.

Literary agents Elizabeth Pomada and Michael Larsen.

Foreground – Authors Becky Levine and Terri Micene chat during the faculty meet and greet session.

Authors Hallie Ephron (keynote speaker), Maralys Wills, and David Corbett

Literary agent Nathan Bransford chats with faculty members.

Tommy Brandt

L-R Literary agents Verna Dreisbach, Andrea Brown, and April Eberhardt.

Linda McCabe and agent Verna Dreisbach


Friday's Heroes - Remembering the fallen officers

 

Deputy Sheriff Anne Jackson, 40

Skagit County Washington Sheriffs Office

 

On the night of September 2, 2008, Deputy Anne Jackson was shot and killed after she had responded to a disturbance where three people had been murdered. Another officer was wounded during a chase of the suspect. The shooter was apprehended. Deputy Jackson is survived by her parents.

Officer Christopher Kane, 38

Jacksonville Florida Sheriffs Office

 

Officer Kane was killed September 4, 2008 in an on-duty automobile accident. He leaves behind a wife and two children

Deputy Probation Officer Irene Beatrice Rios, 28

Imperial County California Probation Office

On August 13, 2008, Deputy Probation Officer Rios was killed in an on-duty automobile accident. Deputy Rios is survived by her parents, sisters, and a brother.

 

Recently, a writer asked me why some cops wear gloves. Many people think officers wear them to look cool, as accessories to those nifty mirrored sunglasses. Well, not so. Here’s a few examples of the many types of duty-specific police gloves. Oh, I’ve added a few other items at the end just for fun.

 

Frisker gloves are fitted with cut resistant liners. $30.00 pair.

 

Heat and friction resistant gloves for fast roping (rappelling). $55.00 pair.

 

Roping gloves worn by many SWAT officers for rappeling. $15.00 pair

 

Wet operations gloves. $14.39 pair.

 

Fluid-proof gloves provide protection against blood borne pathogens. $15.00 pair.

 

Street guard gloves are specially designed to allow excellent weapon control. There’s also a Terrycloth outer thumb for wiping away perspiration from the eye area. $30.00 pair.

 

White gloves are normally worn for formal dress. They’re sometimes worn when directing traffic. $3.99 pair.

 

Patrol gloves are excellent for driving. They also offer protection against sharp objects during pat down searches. $25.00 pair.

 

Search gloves provide protection against razor blades and other edged weapons. $45.00 pair

 

Flight glove – Flash and flame resistant for protection of up to 800 degrees F. $26.00 pair.

 

Xtreme X body armor is equipped with a built-in moisture wicking material that’s deigned to keep the officer dry and cool. $615.00 each.

 

Second Chance Summit SUM 2 vest is breathable and waterproof. It’s available for both male and female officers. $1250.00 each.

 

Hidden badge and wallet case. $25.00 each.

 

Kubaton key chain. An excellent physical control and distraction device. Think pain. Lots of it. $4.25 each.

*      *      *

I’m traveling to the East of Eden Writers Conference today. I’ll check in after I arrive in California.

Yvonne Mason

 

Serial Killer Gerard Schaefer’s Instructions on How to Commit the Perfect Murder

The term narcissistic means self-absorbed, egotistic, selfish, conceited, or self-important. Gerard Schaefer was all of these and more. He was also diagnosed as a psychopath, a person affected by a personality disorder marked by aggressive, violent, antisocial thought and behavior. A psychopath is also someone who has a lack of remorse, or empathy. Gerard Schaefer was indeed that. He fully believed that what he did to his victims was right. He had no remorse and he was so violent he made even law enforcement officials sick.

Gerard Schaefer, in his narcissistic mind, really believed he had the plan to commit the perfect murder. His self-importance of cleansing the world of the whores of the world led him to believe that he was indeed doing the work of a good Catholic Boy.

Schaefer’s written instructions for committing a perfect murder were seized during the search warrant at his mother’ house. His plans were used to convict him at the trial of Susan Place and Georgia Jessup.

Gerald Schaefer spelled out step by step instructions for murder that were as methodical as putting together a model airplane. It makes one wonder how many times he rehearsed it in his mind.

Schaefer wrote:

“In order to remain unapprehended(sic) the perpetrator of an execution style murder such as I have planned must take precautions. One must think out well in advance a crime of this nature in order for it to work.

 

We will need an isolated area, assessable by car and a short hike away from any police patrols or parking lovers. The execution site must be carefully arranged for a speedy execution once the victim has arrived. Ideally would be 2 sawhorses with a 2×4 preferably by car. A grave must be prepared in advance away from the place of execution.

 

The victim could be anyone of the many women who flock to Miami & Ft. Lauderdale during the winter months. Even 2 victims would not be difficult to dispose of since women are less wary when traveling in pairs. In any case it maybe more preferable to bind & gag the victims before transporting them to the place of execution. Then again depending on what torture or defilement is planned for them other items may be useful.

Bars of soap& water. These are useful if you would want to wash a woman before her execution. Induce her to urinate and then wash her. Soap provides an excellent lubricant for anal intercourse. Beer is useful to induce urination and make the victim groggy and more cooperative. Soap can also be forced into the rectum to induce defecation of bowels. Possibly she may want to defecate since people generally have a desire to do this when they are scared. A douche bag may be helpful in degrading her further and is also useful in a soapsuds enema which would be a great indignity, especially if one victim was made to urinate or defecate on the other. This would be a gross indignity. Nylon Stockings are useful to tie the hands and feet of the victim. The victim should be made to strip at least to her underwear. If stripped completely nude an attempt can be made to excite her sexually. This effect would be especially interesting if the victim had her neck in the noose and hands tied behind her back. A white pillow case should be placed over her head and her mouth gaged(sic).

Her panties should be pulled down enough to expose the genitals and clitoral stimulation applied. During the height of her excitement the support would be pulled away and she would dangle by her neck. She may be revived before death if desirable and subjected to further indecencies. After death has occurred the corpse should be violated if not violated already. The body should then be possibly mutilated and carried to the grave and buried. All identity papers should be destroyed and the place of execution dismantled.”

However, as with all narcissistic personalities, he had to keep the evidence. He could not bring himself to destroy it as he had written in his instructions. The items were trophies of his cleansing.

That, the fact that he really was not as smart as he perceived himself to be, and getting sloppy with his work, was what caused untimely his down fall. These are factors that can lead police to narcissistic criminals.

Had Schaefer really been as smart as he thought he was he would have destroyed all his writings, destroyed the victim’s identification, and not kept any trophies. However, his type of personality disorder won’t allow him to do that. They really believe they are above the rest of the world in intelligence.

Writers' Police Academy

 

It’s official! You asked for it and we delivered. The Mad Anthony Writers Conference and I have joined forces to present to first annual Writers Police Academy on April 17-18, 2009. Here’s a sneak preview of some of the workshps and faculty. There’s still more to come.

Friday – Police Department and Morgue Tours

Friday night – Murder, Mayhem, and the Macabre, a candlelight visit with Hamilton’s most infamous killers and their unfortunate victims. This night owl presentation offered by Lee Lofland is not for the faint of heart.

Saturday workshops will be taught by some of the nation’s top law enforcement experts. These police professionals are all authors, too!

The faculty (to date):
A police officer with the Matteson, Illinois Police Department for over 30 years, Sergeant Michael A. Black, has served in a variety of assignments including investigations, patrol supervisor, SWAT team leader, and plainclothes tactical officer. He is also the author of two different series and several thrillers. Out now is a re-release of Windy City Knights, the second in Mike’s award-winning Ron Shade private-eye series, and (in hardcover), Dead Ringer, the brand-new fourth adventure for Ron Shade. Mike’s newest series begins with Random Victim, introducing a male/female police detective team Francisco Leal and Olivia Hart. Mike has also co-written the recently released I Am Not A Cop with television star Richard Belzer.

 

Public Information Officer/Crime Prevention Officer Dave Crawford has worked in several areas within the Hamilton Police Department, including the Patrol Division, Traffic Division, as a Court Officer, Desk Officer and, as a member of the Honor Guard Unit. His current position is in the Public Affairs Section of the police department, which entails a multitude of assignments.

Officer Crawford is a member and board member of many local civic originations. He’s also a member of the Ohio Crime Prevention Association, National Public Officers Information Association, International Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design Association, and MADD.

Dave proudly serves as a member of the board of directors for MADD of Southwestern Ohio Affiliate, Neighborhood Housing Services, Inc., Visitors and Convention Center, Accent Hamilton, Open Door Food Pantry Board Member, Dayton Lane Historical Society, Safe Kids Coalition, FOP Lodge 38, Washington Lodge Masons, and the High Twelve Club.

Verna Dreisbach of Dreisbach Literary Management offers professional representation for distinctive voices with a diverse range of both fiction and non-fiction interests. She is currently looking for emerging and experienced writers to build her list and desires books that present the possibility to affect change. The agency has a particular interest in books with a political, economic or social context. Verna’s first career as a law enforcement officer gives her a genuine interest and expertise in the genres of mystery, thriller and true crime. She believes in building an agency based on dedication, loyalty and trust, representing the voice behind the work, not just the writing. If you are accepted by Dreisbach Literary Management it is because Verna has faith in your abilities as a writer and feels a connection with your goals and aspirations.

Lee Lofland is the author of Police Procedure and Investigation, A Guide For Writers from Writers Digest Books, a 2008 Macavity Award nominee for best non-fiction mystery. Lee is a former police detective with nearly two decades of law-enforcement and crime-solving experience. He was in charge of major felony cases, including homicide, narcotics, rape, kidnapping, ritualistic and occult crimes, fraud, and robbery.

Lee is a nationally acclaimed expert on police procedure and crime-scene investigation and is a popular conference, workshop, and motivational speaker. He writes freelance articles for newspaper and magazine publications, such as The Writer and Slate magazine.

He has consulted for many bestselling authors, such as J.A. Jance, Lee Goldberg (Monk), PJ Parrish, Jeffery Deaver, Jan Burke, Stuart Kaminsky, and Allison Brennan. He’s also worked with television shows, such as Spike TV’s Murder, and a new major motion picture that’s currently in the development stages.

Lee has appeared as an expert on national television and radio shows, such as CNN’s Talk Back Live and NPR’s Talk of the Nation, and BBC Television. He writes and manages the popular blog site The Graveyard Shift.

The Graveyard Shift

https://leelofland.com/

His current works-in-progress are a mystery novel, a true crime book, and a children’s book co-authored with Becky Levine called Everything Kids: I Want To Be A Police Officer that’s scheduled for release in early 2009.

Lee and his wife, Dr. Denene Lofland, live in the Boston area, where he proudly serves on the board of directors for the New England Chapter of Mystery Writers of America. He’s also a member of Sisters in Crime.

Special Agent Rick McMahan has worked in federal law enforcement for over sixteen years. During the first six years of his career, Rick worked as a civilian Special Agent for the Air Force Office of Special Investigations where he worked a wide range of person and property crimes. For the last ten years, as a Special Agent for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF) Rick has investigated federal firearms and explosives violations, including conducting investigations into violent street gangs and outlaw motorcycle gangs. He has served as an on-the-job trainer for new agents and is firearms instructor. Rick’s short stories have appeared in anthologies such as Techno Noire, Low Down & Derby, and the Mystery Writer’s of America Death Do Us Part, edited by Harlan Coben.

Sheila L. Stephens was the first female Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms (ATF) special agent in the state of Alabama and one of the first in the nation. She recently graduated from Boston University with a master’s degree in criminal justice. After leaving the ATF due to injury, Ms. Stephens opened a private investigation/security business. She is a criminal justice professor at Andrew Jackson University and a contributing writer and associate editor of The Agent, the newsletter of the National Association of Federal Agents (NAFA). Ms. Stephens lives in Bessemer, AL.

Sheila is the author of Everything Private Investigation Book from Adams Media.

Lieutenant David Swords (ret.) is a thirty year veteran of the Springfield, Ohio Police Department. Nearly half of Lt. Swords’ police career was spent as an investigator, working on cases ranging from simple vandalisms to armed robberies and murders.

David is the author of a novel, “Shadows on the Soul.” He and his family live near Springfield.

Saturday sessions. Many of these workshops are hands-on classes.

Writing Realistic Fight Scenes Interview & Interogation
Rick McMahan & Staff David Swords
Arrest Tech & Handcuffs Writing Compeling Villians
Rick McMahan & Staff Lee Lofland
Police Tools & Equipment Technology & Crime
Dave Crawford & Rick McMahan Sheila Stephens
SWAT I Primer of Handguns
Mike Black Rick McMahan
Nonlethal Weapons Hostage Negotiations
Sheila Stephens Mike Black
Prison & Jail, Slang & Gangs Fingerprinting
til 5:10 Verna Dreisbach Crawford, McMahan, & Swords
5:20-6pm High Rish Traffic Stop Kenesics: Human Lie Detecting
Crawford & Staff Lee Lofland

 

 

We’ll be back on schedule on Tuesday. Stay tuned for a surprise for writers later in the week!

Maybe The Grass Isn't Greener Over There

 

Each day, either by email or telephone, I talk to lots of law enforcement officers from all over the country. I like to stay abreast with what’s current in the world of cop and robbers so I can pass along that information to my friends in the world of books, radio, television, and film.

I provide this information in various ways. I write articles for an assortment of newspapers, magazines, and newsletters. I manage and write The Graveyard Shift. I speak at several writers conferences each year. And I receive, and answer, hundreds of emails each and every day, seven days a week.

My life is usually a whirlwind of travel, conferences, library and school talks, consulting, writing and managing this blog (The Graveyard Shift has indeed become somewhat of a monster, receiving well over 22,000 hits each day from 120 countries) and writing books (in my spare time).

I currently have two works-in-progress, along with a kids book that’s scheduled for release next spring. I partnered with Becky Levine to write that one. One of my current projects is a novel I’ve just completed that’s now in the proofreading stage. The other is a true-crime book that my hard working agent, Scott Hoffman of Folio Literary Management, is shopping around to various publishers.

One of the publications I write for on a regular basis is InSinC, the national newsletter of Sisters in Crime. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Sisters in Crime you should be. It’s a wonderful organization. In fact, SinC president, Roberta Isleib, will be a guest blogger on The Graveyard Shift in a couple weeks.

 

Anyway, last month I wrote an article for the Sisters in Crime newsletter called Maybe The Grass Isn’t Greener Over There.

That little story has such an important meaning to me (only me) that I’d like to share it here on the blog. Here goes:

Maybe The Grass Isn’t Greener Over There

I’ve recently put together a proposal for a true-crime book about a grisly homicide that occurred in the Midwest. The story is exceptionally fascinating. It’s a convoluted and compelling tale with enough twists to make it seem fictional. A real imagination stretcher.

I knew that researching a true crime would be a daunting task. It was not something I was looking forward to, especially since I had made a promise to myself to never again write nonfiction. I must be a glutton for punishment because I sharpened a couple of pencils, grabbed a handful of notepads and my camera, and traveled to the city where the crime took place.

 

I spent time with the detectives who worked the case, the attorney who prosecuted the killer, and the coroner who performed the autopsy. I visited the crime scenes and interviewed the family and friends of the victim and killer. I even spent a few minutes at the victim’s grave site.

I became more and more interested in the case as details unfolded. I even began to feel a strange connection to the victim, a young woman I’d never met. It didn’t take long for the case to become a part of me, consuming my energy and thoughts. At the end of each day, though, something always seemed to be missing. I couldn’t quite put my finger on what, so I shrugged it off and moved on.

It’s been over a decade since I’ve investigated a murder, but as soon as I set foot in the Ohio police department for my initial meeting with the lead homicide detective, I felt it again. I don’t know if it found me because I was again surrounded by patrol officers with all their creaking leather gun belts and jingling, jangling keys, or if sitting in a briefing room listening in on secret meetings allowed it to return. The cause might have been the familiar smell of Hoppes gun oil, or maybe it was the behind-the-scenes joking and kidding that’s never seen by the general public. I don’t know what brought it back into my life, but one thing was certain, it was back.

Sure, I felt comfortable inside the police department. After all, I’d been in the business for over twenty years, solving crimes and arresting bad guys. I’d ten-foured with the best of them. I knew the case I was researching was closed and that the killer had been found guilty of his crimes and was now safely tucked away in a maximum security prison. Still, I couldn’t seem to shake the feeling that an important element was missing in this case, and I was going crazy trying to figure out what, or who, eluded me.

During my trip, I spent hour after hour riding in police cars, pushing my way through overgrown brush, wading through mud and water, sorting through and reading court documents, pawing through newspaper archives, examining evidence, and taking notes and photos. I also ate quick, on-the-run meals with law-enforcement officials in tiny, greasy-spoon diners.

I got very little sleep and felt really overworked. Just like the good old days. Still, lurking around in the back of my mind was the sense that something was missing. The feeling was beginning to really nag me, like a relentless mosquito that buzzes around your ear. The feeling grew worse with each passing day. Man, was it ever annoying!

By the last day of my research trip I was totally exhausted, but I sensed a fulfillment I hadn’t felt in a long, long time. I’d discovered things in the case that had never before been uncovered, and I’d found out things about the killer and the victim that the police hadn’t discovered during the initial investigation. It was exciting.

At midnight of the last night of my research trip, I was sitting in front of my laptop, transferring notes to my computer, when I finally realized what had been bothering me for so long. I knew what was missing in the case, what the mosquito was in my ear. It was me. I was the missing piece of the puzzle.

 

Twelve years after I left police work, and I’d just learned that I actually missed it. I missed grabbing meals on the run, working long hours, falling asleep at my desk after a marathon work session, the lonely, solitary working conditions, and tons of pressure to succeed.

After sitting and thinking for a while, missing my old police car with its seat molded to fit my rear and my suit coats with their linings torn from rubbing against the hammer on my service weapon, another stark realization hit me. All the things I missed could be found in my new life as a writer. The only real difference was that, as an investigator, I started a case with a puzzle to unravel. As a writer I begin my work with the solution and then work in reverse to develop the mystery.

After carefully weighing the two options, I think I’ll stick with the latter profession. It’s much safer. Haven’t had to dodge a single bullet since I started writing.

 

Jane Friedman

 

JANE FRIEDMAN
Jane Friedman is editorial director at F+W Media in Cincinnati, Ohio, where she oversees the publication of more than 50 nonfiction titles each year, under the imprints of Writer’s Digest Books, HOW Books, Betterway Books, and TOW Books. Writer’s Digest Books is the world’s #1 reference publisher for writers, and for more than 85 years has published the bestselling reference guide Writer’s Market. Stop by her blog, There Are No Rules, at blog.writersdigest.com/norules.

Being a Savvy Author Who Impresses Editors and Agents

One of the fastest ways that a potential (or current) author can impress me is through their knowledge of what’s happening in the industry. Very few authors take time to stay current on how the industry is changing and what challenges it faces. In turn, this often results in authors who have the wrong expectations about publication or make the wrong kinds of demands from their agent or editor.

There’s a very easy way to become savvy and knowledgeable. Set aside an hour or two every week to read blogs and articles from the thought leaders in the book publishing industry. I’m not talking about those editors, agents, or published authors who give advice on how to get published or what’s “hot” and selling well today. I’m talking about blogs that monitor the state of the industry.

Here are four I recommend.

Tools of Change or Publishing (O’Reilly)
http://toc.oreilly.com/
O’Reilly is one of the most progressive publishers on the scene as far as using new technologies to reach and serve their audience. When you visit this blog, you’ll notice the tag line, “Connect With Publishing Innovation.” Their analysis and opinion is always thoughtful and insightful, and usually accessible to even the most stubborn Luddite.

PersonaNonData
http://personanondata.blogspot.com/
This blog can be very business-focused (at least from a writer’s perspective), with probably more analysis than you care to read about how retailers and companies are performing on a financial level. But it always covers important trends and strategies related to publishing. Even if you don’t care about the financial performance of B&N, it’s helpful to know what direction the wind is blowing.

The Digtalist (Pan Macmillan)
http://thedigitalist.net/
This is a blog by the digital team at Pan Macmillan in the UK. As they say on their opening page, it’s a place to debate books, publishing, the web, and the future, with posts such as “10 Reasons Not to Write Off Reading From a Screen” or “Short Fiction in the Age of the Ebook.”

Chris Brogan
www.chrisbrogan.com
I get tons of questions from writers asking about social networking. What is it? Is it important? How do you use it? And so on. Social networking and community marketing does play a role in publishing now, even if we’re not sure yet how to make it profitable. Chris Brogan is the one expert I’ve seen in social networking/marketing that consistently delivers accessible and useful information that can help writers (and, well, everyone) sort through the mess.