Every week seems to bring a new story of how advances in forensic technology are bringing closure to cold cases that had been held in police files without leads for ten years, twenty years, or longer.  The scientific community and law enforcement are working together to bring closure to families who just a few years ago may have thought the ability…

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Emily Stone is a woman with three independent novel adventures and a growing list of captured serial killers to prove it.   Every case, every missing child, and every serial killer stalking victims on the west coast…

Photo: Texas Dept. of Safety

None of us started where we want to be in our chosen profession.  We have to take courses, practice a skill, develop a good reputation with clients, or a variety of other activities that…

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Crime scenes aren’t as cut and dry as one might think.  There are many variables and each one should be carefully identified, searched, documented, and processed correctly.  The process doesn’t flow like the…

How much prison time should be considered appropriate for the murder of an infant?  Yes, there must be consideration for intent, maliciousness, premeditation of this act . . . but what is the ballpark?  Five years?  Ten years?  Twenty?  Maybe life?

Well, how about ninety days in prison for the death of a six-month-old girl?  That is the sentence handed down to a teen dad in Colorado after…

You probably have seen an episode of Law and Order: SVU or Criminal Minds during which the police psychologist explains a brain scan of an accused criminal to a packed courtroom.  It makes for great television, but does this premise reflect real…

When I outline bad guys for my novels, it often reads like a police rap sheet and a psychological profile.  I can’t overstate the effectiveness for research and outlining in fiction writing.  There’s always those little pieces of nuggets that you can weave into the story that gives it the added realism and authenticity.  These nuggets are like pieces of gold for me and I love hunting for…

As we approach the end of the summer movie season, I’ve had some thoughts about what makes a classic on-screen villain.  I’ve often heard interviews with actors who say that the bad guy is the most fun to play, and I understand why.  They are fascinating!

There are the villains…

You caught me.  I admit it.  I’m a huge Die Hard movie fan (see photo above of Bruce Willis as John McClane from Die Hard).

I love to write action and fight scenes in my novels.  I’m not quite sure what that actually stems from, but I thrive on ways to figure out interesting and sometimes very physical ways to get my main character…

July started out with some real fireworks!  I found on July 1st, that Dark Mind, my latest Emily Stone Thriller, has received two award…

In my crime fiction Emily Stone Thriller Series, the main character is an ex-police officer where she had to go toe to toe with a male dominated profession.  Certain situations (don’t want to give away any spoilers) dictated that she had to quit her post, but she more than made…

I’ve been immersed with various aspects of forensic research and writing my next Emily Stone Thriller – Dead Burn.  Some writers find research tedious, boring, and…

We’ve all heard the saying ‘life imitating art’ and it definitely fits some instances.  I’d like to think that we’ve only scratched the surface of original fiction stories, but sometimes reality beats us to the punch.

I’m going to take you back a few years, before I wrote my first crime fiction novel…

One of the most interesting aspects of studying criminal behavior and criminology is finding out why and how criminals commit a specific crime.  It is the complicated task of finding out what makes an individual tick by learning more about their criminal pattern of behavior in the process.…

It is often thought that police forensics has been a relatively new contribution to interpreting, reconstructing, and solving crimes in our society.  Quite the contrary, police forensics, or more accurately described as forensic science, has been a part of history for more than a hundred…

Calling all CSI lovers out there, I’ve got a challenge for you.

I love finding interesting tidbits and fun facts when I’m researching for my books.  I came across a ten-question quiz related to crime.  I or should I say, Emily Stone missed one – number #9.

These are actually tough.  Try your luck and see how well you know crime history.  I’ve posted the answers at the…