How Being Keynote Speakers at a Coroners’ Conference Led to Writing a Book

We were invited to speak to coroners about giving testimony

Twice we were invited to speak at our state coroners’ conference. The first time we spoke on a relatively serious topic – how to provide testimony at a trial. It seemed that during the previous year some coroners had contradicted their own reports while on the witness stand, as well as testified to using unaccepted procedures during autopsies. Because one of us (Shaun) had spent several decades as a trial attorney, and we co-owned a legal investigations agency, we were invited to give tips for how to testify during legal proceedings.

The Power Went Out During Our Talk

We were minutes into our presentation when the entire room went dark. No lights, no projection equipment, not even the microphones worked.

Fortunately, Shaun is a natural ham. He met the challenge with humor, telling the crowd that this was exactly what it’s like being grilled on the witness stand–anything can happen, and you better be able to roll with it.

Someone opened the blinds on some far windows, so there was enough light for Shaun to find his way off the stage and into the crowd. He walked among the seated coroners, grilling them as if they were on the stand at a trial. Someone handed him a flashlight, and he would shine it on people as he pummeled them with questions. Afterward, the coroners gave him a standing ovation.

And we were honored to be invited back to be their keynote speakers the following year.

Writing The Ungrateful Dead

We’ve since recommended to PIs that they consider attending a coroners’ conference to learn everything from how to aid clients who might be seeking private autopsy options for a loved one, to networking with medical examiners’ and coroners’ offices.

One of the Writing PIs, Colleen, has also used our experiences at the coroners

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conferences to write a mystery series featuring a 21st-century Nick and Nora private eye couple whose first case occurs at a coroners’ conference…where they also happen to be guest speakers. Life inspired this fiction story, which became The Ungrateful Dead.

Amazon Links

The Ungrateful Dead: http://www.amazon.com/The-Ungrateful-Dead-Humorous-Colorado-ebook/dp/B00ITWW9GO/

The Zen Man: http://www.amazon.com/The-Humorous-Colorado-Mystery-Book-ebook/dp/B006NPP9XY

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All rights reserved by Colleen Collins and Shaun Kaufman. Any use of the content (including images owned by Colleen Collins and/or Shaun Kaufman) requires specific, written authority.

THE ZEN MAN, BookRooster Reviewers’ Pick, is Free March 17-19

Click on cover to go to book’s Amazon page

Semifinalist Best Indie Books of 2012, The Kindle Book Reviews

BookRooster.com Reviewers’ Picks 2013

March 17: #1 Kindle Store-Mystery-Private Investigators!

“I loved every single word of The Zen Man!”~Delores Fossen, USA Today best-selling author

Military Justice, Historical Research and Contest to Win a $10 Amazon Gift Certificate

Shaun Kaufman and Colleen Collins, the Writing PIs

Today at Guns, Gams, and Gumshoes we have a smattering of links to share, from Shaun Kaufman‘s educational article on military justice to tips for historical research.  Last, there’s a fun contest running through June 4, 2012 where the lucky winner gets a $10 Amazon gift certificate!

“Remembering Military Justice” by Shaun Kaufman

This article outlines key differences between civilian and military criminal defense. To read, click here.

Historical Research Tips

Below are some articles on researching history — handy info for writers, researchers and those interested in investigating people and events in the past. To read an article, click on the link.

Tips from a PI: Historical Research Sites for Your Stories by Colleen Collins

State Historical Society of North Dakota: Research Tips for Beginners

History Detectives: Historical Research Checklist

From Guns, Gams, and Gumshoes: Historical Research Links

Win a $10 Amazon Gift Certificate!

Today through June 4, 2012, Mrs. Mommy Booknerd’s Book Reviews is running a contest for The Zen Man by author-private investigator (and Guns, Gams, and Gumshoes’s co-author) Colleen Collins.  For more information on how to enter the contest, click link below (hint: if you post a comment to this Guns, Gams, and Gumshoes’s blog, you get bonus points!):

Contest: Win a $10 Amazon gift certificate

Have a great week, Writing PIs

THE ZEN MAN, 21st Century Nick and Nora mystery book, available on Kindle and Nook

“I loved every word of THE ZEN MAN!” – USA Today Bestselling Author Delores Fossen

“Move over Sam Spade, Nick and Nora; make room for a Denver who-dun-it, Colleen Collins’s The Zen Man. Brilliant and fast-paced writing. I couldn’t put it down.”
~ Donnell Ann Bell,
 Award-Winning Author of The Past Came Hunting

Guns, Gams, and Gumshoes PI and author Colleen Collins’s eBook, THE ZEN MAN, is available on Kindle and Nook for only .99!

Book blurb

Just as washed-up criminal defense attorney, live-long Deadhead (nickname “The Zen Man”), and current private eye Rick Levine  decides to get relicensed as a lawyer, he’s charged with killing one — who just happens to be his ex-wife — and ends up in the slammer with a half-mil bail.

Out on bond, and with thirty days to find the real killer, Rick and his girlfriend Laura dig for dirt among Denver’s shady legal back rooms, criminals’ haunts and the city’s tony corporate centers. Flying bullets, trumped-up drug charges, and the FBI’s unwanted intervention doesn’t stop Rick and Laura from tracking key suspects…and eventually learning that true redemption begins at home.

Praise for Colleen Collins’s books

The suspense is taut and will have the audience wanting more tales like this (DARK ANGEL)
by clever Cassandra Collins, who already has a growing reputation for her romantic romps (under the name of Colleen Collins).”
~Harriet Klausner

“Colleen’s books never disappoint–they’re sizzling, snappy, and very sexy!” — Nancy Warren, USA Today Bestselling Author

“I do have a few must-buy authors in my list, including Colleen Collins who writes the best screwball comedy around.”
~ Mrs. Giggles

Author Bio

Colleen Collins is an award-winning author who’s written twenty novels and anthologies for Harlequin and Dorchester, as well as two nonfiction books about private investigations (How to Write a Dick, co-authored with Shaun Kaufman, and How Do Private Eyes Do That?).  Her novels have placed first in the Colorado Gold and Top of the Peak contests, and placed in the finals for the Holt Medallion, Coeur de Bois Readers Choice, Award of Excellence and the Romance Writers of America RITA contests.

After graduating with honors from the University of California Santa Barbara, Colleen worked as a film production assistant in Hollywood, improv comic, telecommunications manager at the RAND Corporation, technical writer and editor, and private investigator. All these experiences play into her writing.

Have a great week, Writing PIs