Veteran true crime author Steve Jackson channels the well-established In Cold Blood tradition of absenting himself from the plot, like a journalist, while constructing a narrative, driven by action and dialog, influenced by novel-writing technique. Jackson’s gradually unfolding story feels familiar to anybody accustomed to reading police procedurals and crime thrillers. The horrifying aspects of Jackson’s narrative, of the very killer every … [Read more...]
NAKED ADDICTION-Caitlin Rother-Persistence Pays
NAKED ADDICTION started off as a short story, inspired by a news article I wrote when I was the Northampton City Hall reporter for the Springfield Union-News in Massachusetts about 25 years ago. A young woman, who was an old friend of my then-boyfriend, was murdered in New York City and he took me to her wake. That true crime story worked as a creative catalyst for me to create the character of the first murder victim, Tania Marcus, who, by … [Read more...]
MAN OVERBOARD-Praised by newspaper as “darkly funny”
"Barer pulls no punches in his telling of the story," writes Frank Girodot, the senior editor of the San Gabriel Valley News Group, "which begins humorously enough: “Phil Champagne died Aug. 31, 1982, in a tragic boating accident off Lopez Island, Washington. He was 52. Champagne was survived by his wife of 28 years, four grown children, an octogenarian mother and two despondent brothers. Phil didn’t know he was dead until he read it in the … [Read more...]
BOGEYMAN-‘He stands on the edge of a foul dark pond …”
"He stands on the edge of a foul dark pond as the cold winds of hell howl around him. In his cruel hands, he holds a collection of shiny pebbles that represent every child he took, subjected to unspeakable horrors and pain, and then remorselessly killed in the most terrifying manner imaginable. With each murder, the monster, this bogeyman, this nightmare, tosses a pebble into the bottomless waters causing ripples of misery and devastation to … [Read more...]
MAN OVERBOARD-Q&A With Burl Barer
Author Burl Barer answers questions about the special 20th Anniversary edition of his true crime classic MAN OVERBOARD: The Counterfeit Resurrection of Phil Champagne Q: How much of this story is true? A : Good question. If it is a pack of lies, the lies are well packaged and expertly delivered. As an investigative journalist, I am trained to investigate. Am I always correct? Yes, eventually. I am perfectly willing to be corrected. Once … [Read more...]
MAN OVERBOARD-Author Meets Conman
Author Burl Barer discusses his first meeting with the conman/counterfeiter that led to the writing of MAN OVERBOARD: The Counterfeit Resurrection of Phil Champagne I wasn’t the first author to approach Mr. Champagne about a book, and the fact that he hadn’t said “yes” to any of them encouraged rather than discouraged me. I fired up my Volvo 1800E, aimed it at Spokane, and passed through security at Geiger Correctional Center wearing faded … [Read more...]
Bogeyman – Throwaway Kids
Editor’s Note: Katlyn Sweet is the daughter of Detective Gary Sweet, one of the main investigators whose quest to catch serial child-killer David Penton is the subject of BOGEYMAN: He Was Every Parent’s Nightmare. She wrote this blog about her father's investigation and its impression on her then and now. A small child is abducted, scared, murdered and tossed onto the earth like she means nothing to this world. In fact, the small child is … [Read more...]
Man Overboard – Introduction to the 20th Anniversary Edition
My first foray into true crime, MAN OVERBOARD: The Counterfeit Resurrection of Phil Champagne, was a surprise hit, achieved universal rave reviews, and was nominated for an Anthony Award at the Bouchercon World Mystery Convention as “Best True Crime Book of the Year.” “Oh, Burl,” said true-crime author Ann Rule, “I just know you’re going to win.” I didn’t. Ann won for Dead by Sunset. Ann Rule actually appears in Man Overboard and was the … [Read more...]
Bogeyman – Why I Chose This True Crime Story
Since the August publication of BOGEYMAN, I've frequently been asked how and why I chose this particular story to write about. I know what drives some of that: True Crime authors usually steer clear of stories about the murder of children, particularly those involving a killer who’s a stranger … a bogeyman. Sure there are the books in which the parents murder their offspring (and sometimes spouse), and we’re all justifiably horrified. But … [Read more...]
Bogeyman-A Man of God
Editor’s Note: Katlyn Sweet is the daughter of Detective Gary Sweet, one of the main investigators whose quest to catch serial child-killer David Penton is the subject of BOGEYMAN: He Was Every Parent’s Nightmare. This post involves her father’s prison interview with Penton and her reaction to reading about it in the book. Although detectives were 99 percent certain that Penton was the murderer of the young girls, he had no intention of … [Read more...]
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