What Made Michael E. Witzgall Write His Series
Several years ago,
my agent/publicist and good friend, PJ Nunn (Break Through Promotions), was
organizing a “mystery writer conference.” Because I had a very close
relationship with the Nunn family, and because I was a veteran police officer
with the city of Dallas, Dallas Texas, PJ asked that I do a series of
presentations on law enforcement. The focus of those speeches was to be on procedures
as it relates to homicide investigations and then, after that, on law
enforcement in general.
Always keep in mind
that police work is a target rich environment for stories. While many of these
stories are funny, some are heartbreakingly tragic. There is a third category
for the tales we find in law enforcement, this is a dark blend of humor and
tragedy mixed together in an often spell binding way.
When doing the
presentations for PJ, I didn’t want the audience beaten up with a PowerPoint
lecture they could have received at any other conference. To that end, during
each lecture, I interjected short, but often funny stories that had happened to
me over my years as a patrol officer, SWAT officer, and as a Detective. The conferences (not to mention my
presentations) were quite successful, and a lot of fun! After each conference
(totaling 6), PJ and other conference attendees, suggested that I write down my
stories. The very best advice came from a fellow guest speaker, Ms. Elaine
Viets (author of the Dead End Jobs series). In a private conversation, Ms.
Viets told me to “start writing my stories, because if I didn’t, someone else
will!”
With that sage
advice from Ms. Viets, and the prompting of others (especially PJ Nunn), I sat
down and created my first (of many) outlines for my first book, Sentinel’s
Choice.
Bio:
The son of a career military officer,
Mike Witzgall spent 12 years on active duty as a non-commissioned and
commissioned officer. While in the military, Mike served in the US Marine
Corps’ elite Force Reconnaissance teams and then later as a commissioned
officer in the U.S. Army Infantry and Military Police Corps.
In 1988, after numerous deployments around the world, Mike left the military as a Captain and joined the Dallas Police Department. Mike served as a patrolman in south Dallas and as a member of a Tactical team (SWAT). Mike’s career with Dallas ended after a severe line of duty injury forced him into early retirement. Mike continues to contribute positively to the law enforcement community today by sharing his experience and wisdom with his fellow officers through mentoring and providing the best training available to their tactical teams. Published in his field, Mike has written numerous articles for law enforcement magazines and has published eight tactical training manuals.
Currently, Mike is co-owner of Charlie-Mike Enterprises, Inc. Charlie-Mike Enterprises, Inc. specializes in teaching SWAT courses. Since its inception in 1998, Charlie-Mike Enterprises, Inc. has taught over 5000 officers from as many as 500 different law enforcement agencies.
In 1988, after numerous deployments around the world, Mike left the military as a Captain and joined the Dallas Police Department. Mike served as a patrolman in south Dallas and as a member of a Tactical team (SWAT). Mike’s career with Dallas ended after a severe line of duty injury forced him into early retirement. Mike continues to contribute positively to the law enforcement community today by sharing his experience and wisdom with his fellow officers through mentoring and providing the best training available to their tactical teams. Published in his field, Mike has written numerous articles for law enforcement magazines and has published eight tactical training manuals.
Currently, Mike is co-owner of Charlie-Mike Enterprises, Inc. Charlie-Mike Enterprises, Inc. specializes in teaching SWAT courses. Since its inception in 1998, Charlie-Mike Enterprises, Inc. has taught over 5000 officers from as many as 500 different law enforcement agencies.
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