Author: susancbell

Nov 9 – Paul Hoffman Speaks on Writing True Crime

Join us on November 9 for our guest speaker, Paul J. Hoffman, who will speak to us on writing about true crime.

Paul J. Hoffman is an author, publisher, journalist, and actor. A native of Wisconsin, he spent 34 years in journalism, working as a sportswriter, news editor and nearly 20 years as special publications editor in Franklin and Columbus, Indiana, for Home News Enterprises and its successor, AIM Media Indiana. Paul’s first book, Murder in Wauwatosa: The Mysterious Death of Buddy Schumacher, was published in 2012 by The History Press. It is the true story of the disappearance of an 8-year-old boy in 1925 and the subsequent investigation into the boy’s murder. Wicked Columbus, Indiana, published in 2017 by the same publisher, tells the true tales of some of that city’s more notorious stories.

He is the president and owner of PathBinder Publishing LLC, which he purchased in 2020.

Paul lives in Columbus with his wife, children’s author Kimberly S. Hoffman. They have six adult children and a granddaughter.

Join us on November 9 for the DRS monthly meeting, followed by our guest speaker, Paul J. Hoffman.

  • When: November 9, 2024
  • Time:  
            • 11:00 am EST: business meeting
            • Noon:  Speaker Paul J. Hoffman

This meeting will only be zoomed – NO IN PERSON MEETING.

Please use the following link to register. 

Zoom Registration Link

Oct 12 – Sara Marian – Skeletal Analysis for Authors

Skeletal Analysis for Authors

Sara Marian
Sara Marian

Sara Marian will discuss how bioarchaeologists and forensic anthropologists go about estimating age-at-death, sex, and other features of a deceased person’s identity, as well as a crash course in how different types of trauma show up on skeletonized remains.

Sara Marian was raised in the woods by wild English teachers and has been writing for as long as she can remember. She is also a partner in Per Bastet Publications, a small press based in southern Indiana. Her fiction blends genres including fantasy and urban fantasy, cyberpunk and steampunk, mystery, historical fiction, literary fiction and comedy, and she is the author of over 200 nonfiction articles on the Clio history website. Her day job is archaeology.

Join us on October 12 at 11am for the DRS monthly meeting, followed by our guest speaker, Sara Marian at Noon.

This meeting will also be zoomed. Please use the following link to register. 

Zoom Registration Link

 

September 14 Meeting – Celebrate Agatha Christie!

Join us for our first in person DRS meeting in quite awhile! On September 14 at 11am, join us for a celebration of Agatha Christie’s birthday. 

Sandra Leonard and Elaine Munsch will give a talk about Dame Agatha’s life, her works and her writing techniques. A birthday cake will be on hand so please RSVP so we know whether to order a cupcake or sheet cake. A quiz (with prizes) just might take place as well. Invite your friends.

  • When: September 14, 2024
  • Time:  11:00 am EST
  • Where:  Middletown Library.
  •  
  • This meeting will also be zoomed. Please use the following link to register. 

Zoom Registration Link

In addition to our celebration of Agatha Christie, the following items are on the gaenda:

Business: We need candidates for the 2025 Chapter Board. ALL positions will be available. Interested parties should email miscmunsch@gmail.com so we can put your name in the hat. Don’t be shy. Ask any questions about the positions.

There is an interest in forming a ‘marketing’ subcommittee to promote the chapter and the authors within. We’ll talk about this at the meeting but if you are interested, please reach out to Lorena.

Critiques: Beginning in October, we will try to accommodate anyone who wishes to submit a piece. We can only read/review two submissions at a meeting. Please remember that the piece should be 3000 words or less, double-spaced, New Times Roman, 12 point. Submissions should be sent to the membership one week before the meeting. Interested in sending something in for October, please let Miki know so she can schedule it.

Back by Popular Demand – Coroner Jo-Ann Farmer on June 8

Join us on June 8 for a repeat performance from Jefferson County Chief Deputy Coroner Jo-Ann Farmer.

Ms. Farmer’s spoke to our group in November 2023, and we were so wowed by her presentation we asked her to talk to us again, and she graciously accepted. 

Be advised this is a very graphic presentation, and no one under the age of 18 will be allowed to attend.

Jo-Ann Farmer was elected Jefferson County Coroner in November 2022. Previously, she served as a Deputy Coroner for nearly 23 years, and the last 17 were as Chief Deputy Coroner. She earned “Advanced Coroner” designation in 2005 and achieved “Master Coroner” designation in 2011.

Jo-Ann is the keynote speaker for Bellarmine University several times per year, lecturing on Forensics, and speaks to high schools and community organizations on Forensics as well. She conducted a six-week Forensic seminar at the Louisville Free Public Library and two full-day seminars at the University of Central Florida.

A graduate of the University of Kentucky Nursing Program, Jo-Ann’s nursing experience includes: Charge Nurse of Trauma/Emergency Room, Labor and Delivery, Coronary Care and Intensive Care Units in Lexington, Covington and Louisville.

She is a native Louisvillian, a wife, a mother of two adult sons, and “Mimi” to two young grandsons.

Note: At the request of Ms. Farmer, this meeting will not be recorded.

When: Saturday, June 11, 2024

Time: 11am-1pm

NOTE: Arrive at 10:45AM. We need to wait outside the entrance until the entire group has arrived.

We will be dining at Selena’s at Willow Lake Tavern for lunch after the presentation. Selena’s is just down the road from the coroner campus. 

Where:

Central State Campus, Bingham Building

10511 La Grange Road

Louisville, KY 40223

Google Map

Directions on the campus:

Go in the main entrance and veer right.

There will be a building on the left with mosaic tile on it.

This is the Bingham Building.