Sue Spalding, Private Investigator

Sue Spalding, local private investigator, was our guest speaker for our March meeting.

She has been an investigator for seventeen years. Originally she studied Child Psychology but took a criminology course and fell in love with it.

A friend of hers hooked her up with an investigator who was looking for a female operative. He was doing surveillance at a picnic and needed a female presence so he didn’t stand out as an adult male watching children.

When Sue started in this field, the requirements were 90-130 hours of driving surveillance with an affiliated company. Now, in Kentucky, there is an exam a prospective investigator must pass to get a license. Another requirement is to have a million dollars’ worth of insurance before you start practicing.

Sue does mainly workman’s compensation fraud and child custody cases. In the first instance, she (or her operative) watches the subject to see if they do anything that, according to their claim, they shouldn’t be able to do.

In the child custody cases, most have to do with whether the non-custodial parent is really visiting with the child or are they passing the child off to another person to care for them during these visits.

Both scenarios involve long hours of sitting and watching or tailing the subject, mostly in the car. In order to avoid the police cruising up to her car as she watches, Sue makes it a point to alert the local police of her presence. That way, when a nosy neighbor calls to report a suspicious vehicle, the police can say they are aware of the situation.

When asked what she looks for in a person she might hire to be an operative, she says good, detailed reporting and an investigator license.

Sue is also licensed to practice in Tennessee and Missouri. Other areas of her work include insurance fraud, locating people, process server, infidelity and background checks.

Member News – March

Lynn Slaughter

Lynn reports that she is an M & M Finalist for the Chanticleer International Book Awards in the mystery category.

Also, she is a finalist in the Book Excellence Awards in mystery for DEADLY SETUP.

Lynn will be joining the board of Louisville Literary Arts.

Congratulations Lynn!

Elaine Munsch and Susan Bell

Elaine and Susan would like you to join us at the Jeffersonville Library, Saturday, April 1st, from 1:30 until 3 p.m.

The library is located at 211 E. Court St., Jeffersonville, IN, 812-285-5630

We will be discussing:

A HAUNTING AT MARIANWOOD

By E. M. Munsch

Marianwood, located in central Kentucky, is the motherhouse for the Sisters of the Blessed Mother of God. When the president of the order experiences odd happenings, she calls on her cousin Dashiell Hammond, retired Army colonel, to sort out the events. Is there really a ghost or more sinister beings at work?

This is the sixth book in the Dash Hammond series.

MYSTERY WITH A SPLASH OF BOURBON

by Derby Rotten Scoundrels authors

From historical adventure, gritty realism, and madcap humor, the crime stories in MYSTERY WITH A SPLASH OF BOURBON are fermented in the history and culture of Kentucky bourbon and distilled through the imagination of the writers. Murder, Mayhem and Bourbon –What’s more Kentucky than that?

We hope you can come out and see us!

Leanne Edelen

Leanne has a short story, Playing Possum, which will be published in an anthology called Strangely Funny X (publisher: Mystery and Horror, INC). The anthology is due to be released in May of this year.

She is also submitting a short story to a fellow Sisters in Crime chapter, Speed City (Indianapolis). The story is titled The Perfect Match, and our fingers are crossed that her story is accepted for the anthology, Amber Waves of Graves.

Several other members are also planning to submit to this anthology, but I won’t put them on the spot unless they ask. Good luck to anyone and everyone who submits! For more information on this anthology, click the link (submission deadline is March 24, 2023): https://www.speedcitysistersincrime.org/amber-waves-of-graves.html

That’s all for now, folks!

Musings From Munsch – Top of the Morning to You

Top of the morning to you, and top o’ the rest of the day for some good Irish reading.

Since it is the month of St. Patrick, I thought it would be a good time to muse about some Irish mystery writers and some writers who write about Ireland.

Tana French

The first name that jumps to the head of the line is Tana French, who penned the Dublin Murder Squad books. The first book in the series, IN THE WOODS, is excellent. The ensuing books in the series feature a different protagonist in each, but are tied together since this person appeared in the book previous as one of the noticeable characters, but definitely not the lead.

Ken Bruen

Many years ago, my daughter and I visited Ireland on a short trip. We dashed from Dublin to Galway on the train, which took a blink of an eye to go from one coast to the other. Ireland is, after all, about the same size as the state of Illinois. We explored Galway. After we returned home, I discovered author Ken Bruen, who is from Galway and sets his books there. The first one, THE GUARDS, introduces us to Jack Taylor, an alcoholic ex-Garda who solves problems. The books were very successful and made into movies starring Ian Glen as Taylor.

Adrian McKinty

Adrian McKinty was born in Northern Ireland, but now lives in Australia. He drew on his heritage to write a series of books featuring Sean Duffy, a Catholic cop in Northern Ireland during the Troubles. Each time before Duffy gets in his car, he stoops down to study the undercarriage in case there is a bomb. This award-winning series is definitely worth your time.

Stuart Neville

Another Irish author whose books are set during the Troubles is Stuart Neville. THE GHOSTS OF BELFAST is an award-winning book worthy of your time.

Irish Cozies

The aforementioned authors do not write cozies, which have become the better selling sub-genre of mystery. Irish cozies pepper the bookstore shelves and customers devour them in stacks. A good browse and you will discover that not only do Irish authors write about Ireland, but a plethora of American authors have discovered the Emerald Isle as a setting. These authors’ protagonists live abroad, working in a variety of occupations, but always stumbling upon a body or two which dot the beautiful countryside and graveyards. At this rate, Ireland may decide to close its borders to Americans for fear the homicide rate will rise as its visitors ramble around the cities, towns and villages. Some of the authors to look out for are: Carlene O’Connor, Cathie Murphy, Sheila Connelly, and Dicey Deere among others.

Brew yourself a ‘cup o’tae’ or pour a bit of Jameson to sip as you turn the pages of any of these wonderful works. Sit back and let the leprechauns peek over your shoulder.

Writing Hints From Lorena Peter

One of the best ways to learn more about writing is to talk with other, hopefully more experienced, writers.

Conferences offer opportunities to hear about the various aspects of the craft. In one such panel I attended, a member of the audience asked if reading about a place or activity on the Internet or in books was as good as actually visiting the place. Members of the panel suggested going to a place, or learning how to do what you write about, enables you to see, smell, hear, feel, taste the setting of the story as well as meet people who might end up as characters in your story. Your experience will help you build a setting that “feels” real to your reader. After all, a writer, as a keen observer of people and places (most writers are), you can get a feeling for an individual’s cadence and the energy he exudes, in addition to his physical attributes. The old trope of writing what you know applies in this situation.

I was on a panel with a woman who spent six weeks of her life studying divination with the Tarot cards when she only wanted to use specific cards as threats in her story. By studying the process, she was able to make those threats have the feeling of reality. She was to develop the energy of the threat in addition to the specific cards.

From my own life ~~ a friend in Florida used to describe how he loved sitting in his lanai for hours watching butterflies in his Monarch Garden. I heard his words, but I didn’t get what he was saying. Now, I feel untold joy as I watch the Sandhill Cranes in my own backyard. I get a feeling much like what I feel when I hold a new baby and so I have spent time making “friends” with my new pets~~ five-foot tall winged friends! When I want to write about the experience, my description will cover all of the senses to bring my readers into the scene.

Additionally, some readers might miss the emotional importance of an event if they have not experienced it themselves. In that situation, the writer helps them along by describing more common experiences to which the reader might relate. Or s(he) might describe the feeling in more physiological details as in “racing heart” or “a catch in my breath as the tall fella looked at me through the glass of my storm door. He stood only feet away from me, turning his head from side to side to alternate eyes to inspect me. He was so tall that I practically looked directly into his eyes as he studied me. Now I understand the meaning of the term breath-taking. I also feel a stronger heart connection with other beings of this planet.”

As I write these thoughts, I realize how much more interesting my own descriptions could become if I actually applied these observations. Thanks for letting me solidify these thoughts.

Mind Your Business – Create a QR Code

Why a QR Code?

Many readers are interested in reading ebooks on their phones or iPad these days. Others enjoy listening to audiobooks while driving, working out, doing housework or just relaxing. Those fans also attend functions like book fairs where they can meet and shake the hand of authors, get to know them personally and learn what is new in their literary journey. They may not buy a signed physical book by you at that time, but they might if you can give them access to a way to buy the non-physical version they prefer right then and there.

You have a book they can buy, but if they’re not interested in the print version, you’ve lost a sale. Once they walk away from your table, there’s very little chance they will purchase that book. Life gets in the way, and they forget all about it.

The QR code is the answer to your dilemma of how to provide them instant access so they can do it immediately. A QR code instantly puts them in touch with the version of your book they want to purchase—while their urge to buy is immediate.

How do You Create a QR Code?

Here’s a step-by-step tutorial, showing you how to do just that on your PC. The process is similar but slightly different when done on an iPad or phone.

On Your PC

Go to your retailer page for the book in question. In the top blue lined box is the electronic address for this page. To the right inside the box is a square. Click on that box.

The QR code appears. Download it and save it to a file, where you can access it later for marketing purposes. Do this by clicking the three black dots on the right. A dropdown appears. Click Save As and file it in the location of your choice.

The same dropdown that allows you to save the file, allows you to copy it as well. Copy it and paste it to a Word document. You can now print it out and take the printout to events, so customers can buy their version from you immediately through the distributor you’ve linked them to.

Via iPad

This process is slightly different when done via an ipad. The dropdown looks like this. Click it. You see the dropdown with icons. Select the bottom one with FOUR squares in it.

The QR code comes up. Save it to your file. Copy and paste it into your document. You are good to go.