The Graveyard Shift Blog

Since 2008, Lee Lofland has written over 2000 articles on his blog, The Graveyard Shift. Topics such as police procedure, forensics, criminal behavior, and what it’s like to be a cop has helped countless numbers of popular and aspiring writers.

His life’s mission – to remind writers that cordite is dead and gone. Just say no to cordite in your books!

Disguises: Evasion and Impersonation

When writing about criminals it is sometime necessary for your fictional bad guys to, for a variety of reasons, conceal their identities. And they do so by wearing disguises, which could be anything from shielding the eyes by pulling a hat…

MurderCon's Official Website Is LIVE!

It's NEW. It's UNIQUE. It's SPECTACULAR.And it's never been done before, anywhere. Not in the U.S. Not anywhere else in the world, and, as far as we know, not in this galaxy.You, my good friends, have the opportunity to attend an event…

Special Weekend Edition - Friday's Heroes: Remembering the Fallen

Detective Deidre Irene Mengedoht, 32Louisville Kentucky Metro Police DepartmentDecember 24, 2018 - Detective Deidre Mengedoht was killed when her patrol car was struck by a tractor-trailer driven by an impaired driver.  She was conducting…

Day Three: Meet Your 2019 MurderCon Instructors!

Next in the lineup of fabulous 2019 MurderCon instructors is a pair of experts whose backgrounds and bios bring to your writing tables a huge and vast wealth of information that you've not seen at another writers event anywhere within this universe.Since…

Going In: The Fatal Funnel

One of the most dangerous aspects of working as a law enforcement officer is not the suspect who’s standing ready to fight, the armed robber who’s decided to stop running and turns square-off with the cop who’s been in pursuit for several…

Day Two: Meet Your 2019 MurderCon Instructors!

Next in the parade of stellar 2019 MurderCon instructors is a pair of experts whose backgrounds and bios read like a steroid-enhanced combination of the works of Tom Clancy, Tami Hoag, Lisa Gardner, and David Baldacci. Yes, they're that impressive,…

Meet Your 2019 MurderCon Instructors!

When we decided to develop the MurderCon event, we knew we'd have to bring writers inside the often very private world of homicide investigations, to a place where only law enforcement professionals are permitted to enter. It's a place beyond…

MurderCon 2019: It's Never Been Done Before, and You're Invited to Attend!!

Each year, the Writers' Police Academy reaches for the stars to offer writers the opportunity to learn and to train as law enforcement officers. The event is unique in that sessions involve hands-on training classes.We've seated authors…

A Tool for Cops: Tiny Pink Gloves

Along with, "It was a dark and stormy night," another opening line, "Once upon a time," is a long-favored-beginning to a tale. Since both are so inherently popular, why not start this blog article with both? Here goes.One upon a time, on…

Today's Hero: Jim Nugent, a Brilliant and Compassionate Detective

I've met a lot of truly good patrol cops in my day---hard-working, honest men and women who truly care about their communities, the people they serve, their families, and their fellow officers.And, I've met and worked with a lot of truly…

Weapons of Mass Ear-itation

If we're to believe novels and old movies and even some television news reports, spying and gathering information by way of torture go together much like peanut butter and jelly, French fries and ketchup, and bacon and eggs. And, well, bacon…

Topping the Bizzarro Meter: Toe-Sucking and Button-Licking

Sylvia and Dave Dungan of Salinas, California, did a smart thing when they installed surveillance cameras around their home. After all, they sometimes leave their children at home, locked inside and protected by a security system. The cameras…

I Lost a Femur the Easy Way, She Did Not

Having a surgeon hammer, chisel, and saw away and remove the femur and surrounding bone of my left hip was a bit odd, to say the least. But, I was provided instruction regarding what and how the bone-removal was to take place. I was told, in…

Hip Replacement: The Ins and Outs of It

Hip replacement surgery, for those of you who haven't had the pleasure of experiencing it, is basically a breeze. The worst part of it all came by way of the nurse who shaved the surgical site. She, and I'm being more than kind, was a sadistic,…

Hammers, Saws, and New Body Parts: Today is Surgery Day!

By the time you read this I'll be inside a modern hospital---pictured above---that's complete with all the newfangled gadgets, hammers, saws, and big box store power tools needed to complete a successful hip replacement.My surgeon is currently…

Wednesday Musings: A Faulty Hip and MurderCon

It’s a new year and soon I’ll be the proud owner of a brand new, shiny left hip. Yes, tomorrow is surgery day.I’ve endured a couple of years dealing with pain that grew increasingly worse as the days passed by. Routine tasks and chores…

Madam Zelda's Top 14 Predictions for 2019

Each year on the last day of December I travel to a secret location where I meet with my friend Madam Zelda to learn her predictions for the coming year. The mysterious clairvoyant is so good at what she does that she’s rarely, if ever, wrong.…
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Thank You, Dear Friends: 2018, a Super Tough Year, is Almost Behind Me

Today marks the end of another year. This one was especially turbulent for me and my family. But above all the bad, of course, came the filling of most of the top portion of a half-empty glass.As many of you know, both my mother-in-law and…