BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND!
LT Patrick Hilliker: The “L” Offices River & Campbell
Sept 10, 10:00 a.m.
More On-the-Job Stories!
Next Saturday we welcome back LIVE a fascinating speaker, who brings stories about his work with the Pima County Sheriff’s Department SWAT team (and in other roles) along with a willingness to answer all the questions we can direct his way.
We’ll meet LIVE at The “L” Offices, 1840 E. River Road. We’ll provide coffee and treats;
The meeting will run from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., with time for catching up from 11:30 to noon.
Costs for members is $10, $15 for non-members.
We’ll also be streaming the meeting by Zoom, at no charge (but without treats).
You need not be a member of Arizona Mystery Writers to join our Zoom meetings. Information goes out in our newsletter. You can sign up for it at the bottom of this page!
Best-selling writer Isabella Maldonado shares tales from her life on the street, fighting crime.
August 13, 2022 Virtual Meeting
Join best-selling writer Isabella Maldonado as she shares tales from her life on the street, fighting crime.
A graduate of the FBI National Academy in Quantico and the first Latina to attain the rank of captain in the Fairfax County Police Department just outside DC, Isabella Maldonado retired as the Commander of Special Investigations and Forensics. During more than two decades on the force, her assignments included hostage negotiator, department spokesperson, and precinct commander. She uses her law enforcement background to bring a realistic edge to her writing, which includes the bestselling FBI Special Agent Nina Guerrera series (soon to be a Netflix feature film starring Jennifer Lopez).
July 9, 10:00 a.m. AZ time: Short Stories Shared
Practice for the AMW Short Story Contest!
In our May meeting, Pima College faculty member Mike Alvarez shared his wisdom about mystery writing. The presentation was lively and informative, and we all enjoyed the learning experience. According to Mike, he sometimes assigns writing a one-page mystery to help students learn to develop a story.
One of Mike’s short mysteries is posted below to serve as an example and to provide inspiration.
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“You Can’t Come Here No More” with Betty Frizzell
June 10, 2022 10:00 AM AZ
You Don’t Want to Miss This One!
Betty Frizzell, former police chief of the Winfield, Missouri Police Department, will speak about her escape from her family’s legacy of crime, addiction, and abuse to become a respected law enforcement officer, author and teacher. Following her sister’s conviction for murder, Betty was drawn back to the town and people of her past.
LET’S TALK ABOUT MURDER! with Mike Alvarez
May 14, 10:00 a.m. AZ time
Considering submitting a short story to our annual contest? Contemplating your first–or next–crime novel?
Member Mike Alvarez will give us the basics–and more–next Saturday. Be there for an informative and fun hour. And be ready to take notes!
Here’s Mike’s outline:
A brief discussion of the origin of the mystery, and a review of the seven essential elements every successful mystery must have. Also a discussion of the importance and impact of recent forensic developments, and how they have been used in recent fiction.
Saturday, April 9, 2022 – Guest Speaker: Pima County Sheriff’s Office Sergeant Patrick Hilliker
April 9, 2022 10-11:00 AM AZ Time
We welcome back a fascinating speaker, who brings stories about his work with the Pima County Sheriff’s Department SWAT team (and in other roles) along with a willingness to answer all the questions we can fling at him.
Pima County Sheriff’s Office Sergeant Patrick Hilliker has served various roles since hired in 1998 as a Commissioned Deputy with Pima County Sheriff’s Office.
Selected in 2001 for Sheriff’s Department Special Weapon and Tactics Team (SWAT), he was promoted to Sergeant in 2006 and appointed Lead Sergeant for the SWAT team in 2008.
Sergeant Hilliker has been an instructor for the National Tactical Officers Association for 6 years. He teaches SWAT tactics and philosophies around the country.
Courses include: Hostage Rescue, Barricaded Subjects, Active Shooter, Basic SWAT School, Team Leader Course, and Tactical Pistol.
Get your questions ready for an informative and lively session!
February 12, 2022 – R-Rated Romance in Mystery: None of My Business?
Mystery readers love puzzles involving crime, but how much do they want to puzzle through their protagonists’ romantic relationships or sex lives? D.R. Ransdell will share considerations for levels of heat in cozies, amateur sleuth novels, and thrillers before leading writers through three short writing exercises designed to heat up—or cool down—their own manuscripts. D.R. writes mysteries from the heart of the mariachi world where men cry over lost love and women exact revenge. Her protagonist is a violinist, but Andy Veracruz spends more time getting himself out of trouble than he does learning new songs. In the…
Get your questions ready! We have an expert ready to be grilled about addiction treatment this month–our own Janet Hopkins. Janet A. Hopkins has been involved in some aspect of mental health treatment since 1976. It all started with a newsletter for the Montgomery County Mental Health Association (Maryland) comparing drug costs. She soon found herself (as a volunteer) doing a group in the Sykesville State Hospital in Baltimore preparing long term (40 years for some!) women patients for discharge “to the community.” The hospital once held thousands of patients hospitalized for life and looked like a scary movie asylum—the inside was…
December 11 10:00 AM
REID PARK RAMADA #31
It’s time to bump elbows and see some smiling faces. Our December meeting will be a LIVE get-together at Reid Park in Tucson. Unfortunately we can’t be live (or Zoom our meeting) for our distant members, but memories will be shared later! It’s a big park, but see below for a map to Ramada #31.
Jessie has over 28 years of combined law enforcement experience. He retired from the Pima County Sheriff’s Department after serving the community for 24 years and has been with the Pima County Attorney’s Office as a Detective for four years.
His current tasks include felony post-indictment casework and trial preparation for the prosecutors, and he continues to use his experience and skills to bring justice for victims.
Jessie is a native Tucsonan. He is inspired daily by his wife of 27 years and his 16-year-old daughter. In his free time, he enjoys watching his daughter play volleyball, hunting, yard work, working on his vintage car and playing with his two-year-old mini schnauzer, Buddy.
Please join us!
November 13, 2021
10 A.M.- 11 A.M. AZ time
Oct 9, 2021 – Discussion with Biographer James McGrath Morris
Join us in conversation with the NYT best-selling biographer of author Tony Hillerman, who, in the words of the Los Angeles Times, “reinvented the mystery novel as a venue for the exploration and celebration of Native American history, culture and identity.” The biography will be released mid-month, but you can pre-order from bookshop.org and local booksellers. Get your questions ready for a fascinating chat with this award-winning biographer. Here’s an excerpt from the press release from The University of Oklahoma Press: The author of eighteen spellbinding detective novels set on the Navajo Nation, Tony Hillerman simultaneously transformed a traditional genre and unlocked the mysteries of the Navajo…
In her first career, Rhema Sayers spent 10 years on the Mexican border in Douglas, Arizona and learned a lot about the Old West. Then she spent the next 25 years working in ERs in Tucson and California. Since retiring, she has developed a second career as a freelance writer with an historical bent. On September 11, she will relate the tale of “The Bad Boys of Cochise County”, a story of good guys gone bad, of greed and love, life and death. Please join us. Signup for our newsletter to receive the ZOOM link. Meeting Date/Time: Sept. 11, 2021…
Let’s Get Writing! As writers, we all know that the opening line is important. In short stories, it’s the hook. In most novels, it’s both the hook and something that will get explained if we were just to read on. In The Nickel Boys, Colson Whitehead used: “Even in death the boys were trouble.” In The Intuitionist, it was: “It’s a new elevator, freshly pressed to the rails, and it’s not built to fall this fast.” Adept mystery writers use a variety of lures: Ray Bradbury in Something Wicked This Way Comes: “The Seller of lightning rods arrived just ahead of the storm.”…
Retiring, But Not Shy About Answering Our Questions! Chief Brian Seastone of the University of Arizona Police Department is retiring in August from his 41 year law enforcement career. We’re delighted he’s agreed to chat with us at our July 8th Zoom meeting, before he moves into retirement and new adventures. His topic is “To Protect and To Serve,” and he’ll share stories from that 41 year career. Chief Seastone visited with us in 2017, focusing on the challenges of law enforcement on campus. Let’s welcome him back with congratulations on his retirement and lots of questions! About Chief Brian Seastone: Brian Seastone began…
Late one night, a man walked out of Tez Haag’s closet. She grabbed a butcher knife. There was a long, tense standoff. The man fled. After that, Tez bought a .38 revolver and learned how to shoot. Today, Tez is an NRA certified pistol coach, a pistol instructor and a range safety officer. She competes in the International Defensive Pistol Association, and the Back-up Gun and Steel Challenge matches in Tucson, Phoenix and Colorado. She is also the VP of Las Pistoleras de Tucson, a women’s shooting team. At our next meeting, Tez will talk to us about learning…
The subconscious is a bottomless source of creativity. But it’s also unruly, unpredictable and undisciplined. The Titanic, don’t forget. Whether you’re a plotter or a pantser, the subconscious is a powerful writing tool but it must be managed. Author Debbie Burke will discuss ways to navigate that iceberg to create deep characters and solve plot problems. She will offer specific techniques to manage subconscious power to write compelling stories. Debbie Burke is a suspense novelist, award-winning journalist, and blogger at The Kill Zone, a popular website focused on crime. She is also a staff writer for Montana Senior News…
April., 2021 Mystery Writers Meeting Saturday, April 10th, 10am MST Write What You Know—Even if it’s Murder? Local author Alice Hatcher is a literary writer with a novel and many published stories to her credit. She had trouble placing her literary story, so she sent it to “Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine,” and what happened next was surprising. She’ll tell us what she learned from the experience. Maybe “write what you know” isn’t bad advice regardless of the differences between literary and mystery genres. Alice Hatcher is the author of “The Wonder That Was Ours” (Dzanc Books, 2018), which was long-listed…
Saturday, March 13th, 10am MST What Writing Tools Do You Use? As writers, we’ve come a long way from rolling a blank sheet of paper into the typewriter and staring at it. Or, for the really old-school, uncapping the fountain pen and poising it over a blank yellow pad. Today, we have all kinds of writing tools to make us more productive, creative, and polished. What are some of your favorites? Tell us about them, how you use them and what they do for you. You might have tried some of these: Editing software, such as Autocrit.com. Line-editing and grammar…
Scamming in the Time of Pandemic: Special Guest Speaker Matthew Schwartz Have you received a phone call promising quick access to the Covid vaccine? All you have to do is “confirm” your social security number. Or maybe you can just pay a hundred dollars to receive your “special vaccination appointment.” The scammers are out in force! Matthew Schwartz, former investigative reporter for KVOA News 4 Tucson will be with us to talk about his new book, “Confessions of an Investigative Reporter.” (www.amazon.com/Confessions-Investigative-Reporter-Matthew-Schwartz/dp/1646630718). The book is described as “…funny, fast-moving, and dishy.” Matthew has exposed all sorts of corruption, fraud,…
Jan., 2021 AMW Meeting Saturday, January 9th, 10am MST Pantsers Vs Plotters! How do you start writing a novel or story? Do you start writing from an idea not knowing where you will go? If so you are a “Pantser,” someone who writes from the seat of the pants. Or maybe have an outline to start that has the plot and the character details and especially, the ending, sketched out. If so, you are a “Plotter.” Pantsers and Plotters do not understand how the other camp manages. For each, the other method seems preposterous. Steven King, in his well-known book,…
December Meeting: Saturday, December 12th, 10am MST, Online The Shortest Mystery! Can you write a mystery story in 500 words or less? Of course, you can. You’re a mystery writer. That’s what we do. This is your chance to show off. Write a complete mystery, with a setup, a crime, a villain, a hero/heroine, and a solution. Two pages, double-spaced; no more than 500 words. Can you do it in twelve days? Of course you can. Start now. Bring your treasure to the meeting, and if you want to, you can read it for the group. It takes about 2…
Nov., 2020 AMW Meeting Saturday, November 14th, 10am MST Get Cozy! For our November meeting, we are lucky to have author Debra H. Goldstein, Judge, litigator, mother of twins, former Jeopardy contestant, and award-winning author of multiple cozy mysteries. Her latest series, featuring enthusiastic cook, Sarah Blair, includes One Taste Too Many (2019), Two Bites Too Many (2019), and Three Treats Too Many (2020). Read about them at https://www.debrahgoldstein.com/sarah-blair-mysteries/. Buy them at Amazon or Barnes& Noble and elsewhere (https://www.debrahgoldstein.com/find-debras-books/). Debra has a BA in English and History from the University of Michigan and a J.D. from Emory University. Her very…
How to Stay Motivated Some AMW members report they have trouble focusing on their writing these days. Is that you? We have tons of good intentions and determination, but when it comes to putting down actual words, we suddenly remember something else that needs to be done. But there are ways to stay motivated for writing! What are some of your tricks? What helps you get actual words on page or screen? How do you manage distractions? Are you still submitting your stories to sites? Where do you get the motivation to show your work? What resources have you found…
Writers Who Improved! And some who didn’t? We all have favorite authors who seem to get better and better over time. And maybe you are aware of some whose first novel was a knockout, but the latest ones…? Let’s talk about writers who have gone both directions. Hold up your favorites to the camera, if you want. And tell us why the books got better, or worse. What failed? What improved? And maybe do the same analysis for your own work. Do you dare to go back to one of your early stories and share a sentence or two that…
We all know plenty of pitfalls hide between the start and finish of a story. Everyone has rules to avoid them when writing. Here is Elmore Leonard’s famous list: Never open a book with weather. Avoid prologues. Never use a verb other than “said” to carry dialogue. Never use an adverb to modify the verb “said”…he said gravely. You are allowed only three exclamation points per 100,000 words of prose. Never use the words “suddenly” or “all hell broke loose.” Use regional dialect, patois, sparingly. Avoid detailed descriptions of characters. Don’t go into great detail describing places and things. Leave…
