Marilyn's Musings

Poor soul came to unexpected end at our conference. All during the conference this poor soul lay dead in the corner. All of the curious stopped by and checked things out--including the hotel maids who weren't exactly sure what the heck was going on. One even asked if we weren't going to take him away. PSWA Members, Mike Black (retired police officer and very much active mystery author) and Steve Scarborough, retired CSI, prepared the scene and told us about crime scene investigation, which has little relationship to what we see on TV. The process begins when the crime is reported. First officers on the scene make sure the person's dead. Any suspects still on the scene are arrested and the safety of others ensured. The crime scene is secured and protected. Witnesses are located and identified. Supervisor and coroner are called.  First responders have a crucial role, the initial observation upon arrival. Some tips: Never underestimate the strength of...

Steve is going to be presenting on "The Detective, Then and Now." A lot of early fiction detectives were taken from real people, but of course it went way beyond reality. Some of those early detectives had problems living up to the ideal created in fiction. There were some interesting real characters in the early days of detective work. The concept and the public's perception of a detective has changed greatly over the years making for some stark contrasts. Steve Scarborough is a Forensic Scientist with over 30 years experience in Law Enforcement with Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (yes, home of CSI) and the FBI. He has a B.S. degree in Police Science and has testified in court and presented scientific evidence in almost 300 cases. Steve has given lectures and/or presentations at many law enforcement conferences as well as the previous PSWA conference. He's written almost 30 articles appearing in numerous publications including; The IAI Journal of Fore...

Plans for next year's PSWA Writers Conference are underway. We’re delighted to announce the addition of Betty Webb as our keynote speaker at Saturday’s lunch. Betty is the author of the prize winning and much acclaimed, hard-boiled Lena Jones books, which are based on stories she covered as a reporter, include Desert Noir, Desert Wives, Desert Shadows, Desert Run and Desert Cut. Her much softer Gunn Zoo series debuted last December with The Anteater of Death. Currently a creative writing teacher at Phoenix College, Betty is a member of National Federation of Press Women, Mystery Writers of America, and the Society of Southwest Authors. Her topic is: "From Hard-boiled to Darn Near Cozy, and Why I Dunnit." and Victoria Heckman, Friday’s Keynote luncheon speaker will talk about "The Journey Is Everything" or "Where The Hell's The AAA When You Need It?" about the journey to becoming a writer and how it parallels our own life journeys. Victoria Heckman...