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Writing Authentic Crime: How To Get Away With Murder.

February 8, 2013 by Joanna Penn 30 Comments

OLD POST ALERT! This is an older post and although you might find some useful tips, any technical or publishing information is likely to be out of date. Please click on Start Here on the menu bar above to find links to my most useful articles, videos and podcast. Thanks and happy writing! – Joanna Penn

Some authors write from personal experience and since Garry Rodgers was a homicide detective and forensic coroner, he knows all the gory details about death.

I'm a thriller writer and send Garry questions when I want to make sure my story is realistic. He's a fantastic resource and his first novel, No Witnesses To Nothing, is packed full of fascinating details from his past.

You can listen to a great audio interview with him here on writing about death and crime scenes, and in today's guest post, Garry explains how your characters can get away with murder.

Are you planning on murdering someone, but your only stop is the fear of getting caught?

Or are you plotting a thriller where your serial-slayer stays steps ahead of that dogged detective who’s also top-tier in her trade?

Maybe both? Well, I’ll give you a cake and let you eat it, too… if you’ll follow me on how homicide cops investigate murders.

Think about it. There are only four ways you can get caught. Or get away with it. All seasoned sleuths intrinsically know this, and they build their case on these four simple pillars. Let’s take a look at them. Firstly, what not to do.

# 1 Don’t leave evidence behind that can identify you to the scene.

Such as fingerprints, footwear or tire impressions, DNA profiles, ballistic imprints, gunshot residue, toolmarks, bitemarks, handwritten or printed documents, hair, fibre, chemical signatures, organic compounds, cigarette butts, spit chewing gum, toothpicks, a bloody glove that doesn’t fit, or your wallet with ID (seriously, that’s happened).

# 2 Don’t take anything with you that can be linked.

Including all of the above, as well as the victim’s DNA, her car, jewelry, money, bank cards, any cell phone and computer records, that repeated modus operandi of your serial kills, no cut-hair trophies, no underwear souvenirs, and especially don’t keep that dripping blade, the coiled rope, or some smoking gun.

# 3 Don’t let anyone see you.

No accomplices, no witnesses, and no video surveillance. Camera-catching is a huge police tool these days. Your face is captured many times daily – on the street, at service stations, banks, government buildings, private driveways, and the liquor store.

# 4 Never confess.

Never, ever, tell anyone. That includes your best drinking buddy, your future ex-lover, the police interrogator, or the undercover agent.

So, if you don’t do any of these four things, you can’t possibly get caught.

Now… What To Do

Humans are generally messy and hard creatures to kill – even harder to get rid of – so murder victims tend to leave a pool of evidence. Therefore it’s best not to let it look like a murder.

Writers have come up with some fascinating and creative ways to hide the cause of death. Problem is – most don’t work. Here’s two sure-fire ways to do the deed and leave little left.

# 1 Cause an Arterial Gas Embolism (AGE)

This one’s pretty easy, terribly deadly, and really difficult to call foul. An AGE is a bubble in the blood stream, much like a vapor lock in an engine’s fuel system. People die when their central nervous system gets unplugged, and a quick, hard lapse in the carotid artery on the right side of the neck can send an AGE into their cerebral circulation. The brain stops, the heart quits, and they drop dead.

Strangulation is an inefficient way to create an AGE and it leaves huge tell-tale marks. You’re far better off giving a fast blast of compressed air to the carotid… maybe from something like that thing you clean your keyboard with… just sayin’.

# 2 Good Ol’ Poison

Ah, the weapon of women. Man, have there been a lot of poisonings over the centuries and there’s been some pretty, bloody, diabolical stories on how they’re done. Problem again. Today there’s all that cool science. The usual suspects of potassium cyanide, arsenic, strychnine, and atropine still work well, but they’ll jump out like a snake-in-the-box during a routine tox screen.

You need something that’s lethal, yet a witch to detect. I know of two brews – one is a neurotoxin made from fermented plant alkaloid, and the other is a simple mix of fungi & citrus. This stuff will kill you dead and leave no trace, but I think it’s quite irresponsible to post these formulas on the net.

So there, I’ll leave it with you to get away with murder. But if you have some crafty novel plot that needs help, I’m dying to hear your words.

Oh, and watch out for what’s in that cake that you’re eating.

Are you writing about murder and have some questions for Garry? Go ahead and ask in the comments.

Garry Rodgers is a retired Royal Canadian Mounted Police homicide detective and forensic coroner. His recently released supernatural crime-thriller No Witnesses To Nothing is an Amazon Top 10 BestSeller and available in both ebook and print on demand.

Garry welcomes all questions on crime writing and can be reached at his website www.dyingwords.net by email at garry@dyingwords.net or on Twitter @GarryRodgers1.

Book purchase link:

No Witnesses To Nothing: Garry Rodgers: Amazon.com: Kindle Store

Writing About Death And Crime Scenes With Garry Rodgers

July 22, 2012 by Joanna Penn 14 Comments

Podcast: Download (Duration: 41:55 — 23.9MB)

We are fascinated with death, as evidenced by the huge number of bestselling books, TV shows and films that center around it. But as writers, it's not necessarily something we know too much about. If you're interested in writing about death or crime, you'll learn a lot from my interview today.

Warning: this topic is a sensitive one and we do discuss some quite gruesome aspects of crime scenes.

Garry Rodgers has seen a lot of death. In three decades of experience as a Royal Canadian Mounted Police homicide detective and coroner, Garry has investigated death, studied death and written about death. He’s witnessed death and, tragically as a police officer, he’s had to cause death and came very close to experiencing his own.

How Gary's career has developed. During his years as a Mountie, he specialized as a homicide detective and became part of the emergency response team so he is an expert in ballistics and firearms. After leaving the police force, he became an investigative field coroner, so he is viewed as an expert in death.

On why we are so fascinated with death. It's not boring! Much of our lives are mundane, so we want to know what's behind the “black door”. The fear of death is one of humanity's greatest and it's something we must all face one day. Fear produces a buzz and there's a thrill of facing death vicariously through the books we read and the TV programs/movies we consume.

What writers get wrong when writing about death

The mechanism of death. We die because our central nervous system gets unplugged and that can happen in a number of ways. Mental and physical death are two different things. Garry also has a spiritual belief that the spark of humanity in us lives on after death, based on what he has experienced. People are quite hard to kill so the quick ways we kill in novels can be quite unrealistic. Shutting down the CNS requires force. Firearms and knives are the most common ways, but it is messy and not something that happens quickly.

On crime scenes. Writers often forget to use all five senses. Crime scenes are not pleasant and by evoking the senses, you can make this experience more real. Terminology is often used badly as well. Check what you write with experts. Also, get your basics right e.g. revolver vs pistol. A lot of acronyms are used at the crime scenes so include those.

On the emotional impact of the crime scene when you're a professional vs a ‘rookie'. The coroner focuses on the cause of death, not on the fact that it happened. You have to try to establish who, what, when, where and by what means. First responders will have arrived before the investigators so the chaos of the scene will have dissipated somewhat. First responders can walk into danger if the factors that caused the death are still there.

In death, the body will change very quickly. [I mention the Body Farm, Death's Acre by Bill Bass.] The biggest factor is temperature. The warmer the temperature, the larger the body, the faster the decomposition. The body temp will eventually reach equilibrium with the scene temp. Most indicative are mortis (change) in body; pallor (color) algor (temperature), rigor (stiffening), livor (pattern of blood settling) and decomp (breaking down of tissue). It's nature's recycling.

Time of death is critical to get right so the investigation can check the alibis of suspects, but it's not just about the body. Bodies can be found days or weeks after the event, so the stage of decomposition should be compared to the scene itself. But other factors are also important e.g. cellphone records are crucial because so many people carry them. The history will show the last call made but also when calls are received and go unanswered. Also check when the person was last seen. If in the home, when is the post dated. It's the overall pattern. It's not just the pathologist pronouncing time of death. It is also approximate unless there is an eye witness.

The best way to get away with murder is to completely get rid of the body. The ocean is a good place and Garry mentions some mob hits where the bodies have been disposed of in nasty ways. But it is actually very hard to do. Plus most writers need a body to write the book around.

On dental records. It always seems coincidental that people get ID'ed so fast through dental records. Most dentists do have records but they are not kept centrally. You need to have an idea who the person is in order to narrow down where their records might be. When a person is reported missing, one of the things the police will do is obtain their dental records in case they are needed for identification later.

Using DNA. The science of genetic fingerprinting, which is now very sophisticated. In fact, so sophisticated it is hyper-sensitive and can be contaminated at the scene or during investigation. The maternal DNA can be used to identify a body against a list of potential suspects. There wouldn't be a crime scene investigation today without DNA so it is critical to include.

How the body is identified. If the DNA or fingerprints don't match anything, it can depend on the circumstances, but there are always unidentified bodies. The good old-fashioned detective work needs to be done in this case, for example, receipts found on the body or aspects found at the scene. Investigation is a multidisciplinary approach, pulling people from different teams.

Gender and homicide. Are there equal rights in the death business? Males are more violent than females. There has to be a strong motive for a woman to commit murder. Domestic violence is a common one. Knives are often used as they are handy at the moment of conflict. Planned and premeditated murders are rare, but women are more intelligent and might contract out the killing. So murder by women is likely to be violent and sudden or crafty and difficult to detect.

On the social networking of the underworld. Most people who commit these murders come from the ‘other' side of life. There are things we just don't see when we live ‘normal' lives.

Garry gives us a true story of crime that illustrates the things authors get wrong and also how the crime scene investigation works. It's fascinating.

You can find Garry at DyingWords.net.He also welcomes emails if you want to check anything to do with crime: Garry AT dyingwords.net

Garry also has a novel coming out soon, No Witnesses To Nothing, which will use his own near death experience as well as ancient Canadian mythology.

Crime Fiction: The Truth About Police Investigation With Joe Giacalone

March 14, 2011 by Joanna Penn 14 Comments

Podcast: Download (Duration: 31:42 — 16.0MB)

If you're a crime fiction fan, then you will love this interview with Joe Giacalone. You can hear the excitement in my voice as I was so thrilled to be talking to a real NYPD cop! Joe has amazing experience and he generously shares with us here. I would love to have Joe back on the show so please leave any questions in the comments and we'll try to do a follow up. Full video interview also available below the show notes if you'd rather watch.

Joe Giacalone is a law enforcement supervisor with an extensive background in criminal investigations including the cold case homicide squad and he holds the Medal of Valor. He also has an MA in Criminal Justice, teaches criminal investigation and is the author of “The Criminal Investigative Function: A Guide for New Investigators“.

Joe has 19 years in the NYC police department working on criminal investigations including the Cold Case Squad. He's also an adjunct professor at John Jay College and wrote his book to back up the course he teaches.

What do writers get wrong about the criminal justice system? People fall into the CSI Miami black hole. It's all so rushed but the reality is totally different. You have to take your time with investigation. We've also fallen in love with the technology but the good old-fashioned police-work still counts, knocking on doors etc.

Most of the time in investigation you spend talking to people. Dialogue is critical for crime writing. The police still take notes on a notepad. You have to be good at communication and get information from people. If you knock on someone's door at 3 am you need to be able to build rapport. If you can get people to talk, they will provide the information. After years of experience, you pick up on non-verbal body cues and can tell what's going on but you can't base your investigation on it, especially if there are different cultural issues involved. People behave differently in different cultures which may also relate to different physical neighborhoods. NYC is particularly diverse.

On writing detective characters and the most important character traits. You have to be persistent, you can't give up. Investigating cold cases in particular means you can't give up. Be determined. Develop additional leads, find new witnesses. You have to be a good communicator and build good rapport quickly. It's critical. Talk about their kids or photos on the wall. You don't just jump into “We're here to investigate the murder”, you start by breaking the ice.

There are some groups who are not so keen on police. You need to be able to deal with that. At some places, you have to look up for “airmail”, the stuff people throw down on you. Police are trained and use techniques to make sure you're always on your guard. You have to have a purpose in going somewhere. When you're writing, you're fishing for information. Fishing is not for interrogation – you need to know everything by then.
On carrying a gun, you only take it out if there is a situation where your life is in danger. You don't point it out at the sky either, point it to the ground.

Is the stereotype of cynical, burnt-out cop true? There is a lot to be cynical about and some people are more affected than others. You have to have your ways of dealing with it. The police force is just a microcosm of the rest of the world. There's only so much you can deal with before you personally suffer. Police do laugh a lot, there are defense mechanisms.

On writing criminals. There are some bad people but where there's a crime there is MOM – Means, Opportunity and Motive. Some people do things because of economic or family situation. They are not all super-bad people. Writers give too much credit to bad guys but a lot of them are not very smart, for example, the bank robber who writes note on the back of his own deposit slip. The people who don't get caught are the few compared to those that are caught by police.

Why are we so fascinated with violence and crime? It's a part of human nature. Joe talks about the criminological theories. Social bond theory – everyone would be a criminal but for what keeps us grounded. Attachment and family are important. It starts at home. The commitment of school, job and friends keeps people grounded. You don't want to be embarrassed or shamed. Other theories – social learning, conflict theory. It's all based on sociology and psychology. Do we watch these crime TV shows because it makes life more exciting? Joe explains that the old show Barney Miller is probably the closest show to reality.

On interrogation techniques. The questions you have, you already know the answers to. “The box” is the interrogation room. The hardest person to talk to is the one who has been through the system before. A good tip is to look at people in the jail cell beforehand to see who to interview first – it's the guy who's desperate to get out. There's a saying “The guilty always sleep” e.g. if someone's been on the run for a while, then the adrenalin stops and they fall asleep in custody.
Police are allowed to lie and trick but not to fabricate. We have all learned to be good liars and people bring out all the tricks when faced with interrogation, so you need to be prepared and use all your skills. Say things like “Do you know what DNA is?” You don't have to say you have that evidence but you've planted the seed. It's real cat and mouse. You can be in ‘the box' for hours on end as long as people get adequate rest and breaks which are all documented. Each case is different.

On interrogating in other languages and dealing with interpreters and how the words could be changed. That makes it difficult but in the NYC department there are many detectives who speak different languages so isn't a big issue in big departments.
On body language in an interrogation room. Arms crossed, even complete body cross – people will curl up into chairs. You need to vary your approach as you want to back off sometimes, get people to relax but it helps you find the right track. A riveting interrogation scene could be a whole book.
On why Joe does his job. The cold case investigations are very rewarding as after years, you can give people closure. You are the last advocate for people sometimes. It's the proverbial knight in shining armor where you are defending someone, you're the care-taker. It can be hard and Joe teaches coping with this life to his students. Police work is 7 hours of boredom and 1 hour of sheer terror, it's not all CSI.

You can find Joe at his blog JoeGWrites.com and also at The Cold Case Squad blog. His book The Criminal Investigative Function: A Guide for New Investigators is available on Amazon and other sites. Joe is also on twitter @joegiacalone and @coldcasesquad

Writing Thrillers With Heart. Interview With Author CJ Lyons

February 25, 2011 by Joanna Penn 5 Comments

I love to speak to authors about their books and recently reviewed CJ Lyon's Snakeskin on MysteryThriller.TV so I was keen to talk to her. She also has a new book coming out with environmental activist Erin Brockovich so we talk about that and how her work as a pediatrician informs her writing. Below is a video interview with mp3 download if you prefer audio plus text summary.

In the video, you will learn:

How CJ Lyons started as a romance writer by being a finalist in Romance Writers America. She was then contacted to write a medical thriller series but aimed at women. Her books are all about the people and relationships, less about the crime. But she didn't want to be pigeon-holed as a doctor writing medical thrillers. When some of her books weren't accepted by publishers, she published them independently and mixes traditional and indie publishing.

CJ is currently writing a series with environmental activist Erin Brockovich. On collaboration with someone famous and how great Erin is to work with, even though her speaking schedule takes her around the world so she is always busy. The books have a strong female protagonist and the first one is out on March 2. Erin's publisher approached CJ on the potential working relationship and they found that the mix of strong, but flawed women was important for the book. Both think that people can become their own heroes, and aim for the books to inspire people to take action and change their own lives.
CJ has woven her life interests into her writing. You need to be passionate about the world and characters you are writing about. We talk about Snakeskin which is about crime against kids but focuses more on how the protagonist deals with the balance between solving horrific crimes and looking after her family. CJ did stay with an FBI agent and interviewed people. She wanted to bring this world to life.

On the use of a pen-name. CJ didn't want patients picking up the book so her nurses came up with a pen-name for her. She uses the name CJ Lyons for “thrillers with heart” as they are about the family or relationships at the core of the story. It's an umbrella brand that can encompass any kind of genre within this. She might consider a different pen name for mainstream thrillers.

On using initials as a female thriller writer. Most female thriller writers do this because men think twice about buying a “girls book”. Kindle may be breaking down those barriers. CJ does have a varied fan-base though. [ We also discussed this issue on ThrillerCast with David Wood and Alan Baxter]

Why CJ is blogging and on social networking sites. Authors now need to be the CEO of Me Incorporated. The blog is a place where CJ can share the information she finds and uses for her own business. At heart she is a hermit and it is overwhelming but she knows it's important. It's not the job of an agent or publicist or publisher.

Click here for the mp3 audio version of the interview with CJ Lyons.

You can find CJ and her books at CJLyons.net and on her blog Marketing with Heart. Her novel with Erin Brockovitch is out soon.

Podcast: Crime Writer Seth Harwood On New Publishing Paradigms And Author Marketing

May 3, 2010 by Joanna Penn 2 Comments

Podcast: Download (Duration: 30:24 — 7.0MB)

It's great to have crime novelist Seth Harwood on the show talking about the new publishing paradigm for his latest novel, Young Junius available for special edition pre-order on May 5th.

Seth Harwood is the author of several crime novels including ‘Jake Wakes Up‘ published last year and his latest book, ‘Young Junius‘ . Seth is also a podcaster, writing teach and co-creator of the Author Bootcamp program.

In this podcast you will learn:

The publishing world does not quickly recognise new novelists, so Seth used podcasting to build an audience for his crime novels.
Pre-release of ‘Young Junius' is inspired by Scott Sigler's self-publishing run of ‘The Rookie' and now ‘The Starter‘ which his publisher didn't want to publish as it didn't fit the genre. Seth has partnered with a small press, Tyrus Books to organise a special edition that is only pre-sold on the internet with tons of special extras, photos, cover art, embossed and more. People pre-order on Amazon so why not skip them as the middleman and do this directly.
The possibility of mainstream authors doing this is out there i.e. avoid the middleman and publish straight to the market. We will likely see more authors using this model for publishing.

‘Young Junius' is a crime novel, fans of ‘The Wire', ‘Dexter', ‘Law & Order' and authors Richard Price, David Simon, Michael Connelly will enjoy it. It's available for pre-order on May5th – Cinco de Junius! If you use promo code ‘PENN', you'll get $3 off. Go to SethHarwood.com on May 5th.

How podcasting can still benefit new authors by getting your work out there to new fans. You need to have a presence where people can find out about you, and podcasting is ideal as you can podcast your actual work and people can listen when they are doing other things. [Seth has an online workshop with Writer's Digest webinar on podcasting coming up if you want to know more]. The podcast version of ‘Young Junius' is here.
Don't worry about your voice! Fans like to hear the author's voice reading the book.

How to balance your time between writing, marketing, revisions, online promotion. It varies depending on the phase you are in for your book. But it is definitely tricky!
It's important to write well but also sell a lot of books. Write what you love to read and create, not something that is ‘literary' if that is not the genre you love.

You can order ‘Young Junius' special edition at SethHarwood.com on May 5th. You can connect with Seth on twitter @sethharwood

Writing Authentic Crime: How To Get Away With Murder.

# 1 Don’t leave evidence behind that can identify you to the scene.

# 2 Don’t take anything with you that can be linked.

# 3 Don’t let anyone see you.

# 4 Never confess.

# 1 Cause an Arterial Gas Embolism (AGE)

# 2 Good Ol’ Poison

Writing About Death And Crime Scenes With Garry Rodgers

What writers get wrong when writing about death

Crime Fiction: The Truth About Police Investigation With Joe Giacalone

Writing Thrillers With Heart. Interview With Author CJ Lyons

Podcast: Crime Writer Seth Harwood On New Publishing Paradigms And Author Marketing

Search The Creative Penn

Inspiration and Information every Monday in The Creative Penn podcast

Thanks for visiting The Creative Penn

# 1 Don’t leave evidence behind that can identify you to the scene.

# 2 Don’t take anything with you that can be linked.

# 3 Don’t let anyone see you.

# 4 Never confess.

# 1 Cause an Arterial Gas Embolism (AGE)

# 2 Good Ol’ Poison

What writers get wrong when writing about death

Connect with me on social media

Search The Creative Penn

Inspiration and Information every Monday in The Creative Penn podcast

Thanks for visiting The Creative Penn