Colleen Collins's Blog, page 4

A LAWYER'S PRIMER FOR WRITERS: The Steps Of A Trial - Part II

One of the best resource books I’ve found for writers.

— Lynn Chandler Willis, Winner 2013 Minotaur Books-Private Eye Writers of America Best First PI Novel

Last week, I started sharing sections of the chapter "The Steps of a Trial, From Jury Selection to Verdict" from A Lawyer's Primer for Writers: From Crimes to Courtrooms,a nonfiction book I co-wrote with Shaun Kaufman, my husband and criminal defense lawyer. This chapter provides a high-level overview of the steps of a trial.

In Part I,...

A LAWYER'S PRIMER FOR WRITERS: The Steps of a Trial - Part I

For the next few posts, I'll be sharing sections of the chapter "The Steps of a Trial, From Jury Selection to Verdict" from A Lawyer's Primer for Writers: From Crimes to Courtrooms, a nonfiction book written by my husband,Shaun Kaufman, and myself. Since we co-owned a private investigations firm for over a decade,Shaun has returned to the practice of law,specializing in criminal defense, family law, and personal injury. I currently work as an investigator for Shaun Kaufman Law and several oth...

No Need to Give Out Your Home Address — Mask It Instead

Today I went to get new glasses, and the receptionist asked me to first fill out a form that requested personal information such as my home phone number, cell phone number, email address, and home address. I have a general phone number I give out to businesses, but I reserve my personal cell phone number for family,trusted contacts, and friends. Same with email addresses (I use an alternate email address for business & reserve my personal one for family & others). And only in rare instances d...

Elliott Gould, Robert Altman, and Vilmos Zsigmond: THE LONG GOODBYE (1973)

Opening footage: The Long Goodbye,via YouTube.

It was reported today that Vilmos Zsigmond, the American-Hungarian cinematographer who filmed Altman's The Long Goodbye,has died. Zsigmond filmed other classic movies such as Deliverance, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, McCabe & Mrs. Miller(with Altman directing), and The Sugarland Express.

Who can forget those eerie, compelling scenes of the extraterrestrials inClose Encounters of the Third Kind? Zsigmond deliberately overexposed those scenes...

Happy 2016! Lady Sleuth Cocktails: Honey West Martini, The Emma Peel, The Nancy Drew

Let's raise our glasses and toast the new year with some lady sleuth cocktails, starting with the Honey West Martini.

Anne Francis as Honey West with her ocelot, Bruce (image is in the public domain)

The Honey West Martini

Honey West liked her martinis simple and strong:Gin, vermouth, on the rocks.

For more Honey West and other cocktails, check out the offerings at the Honey West restaurant and lounge in Burlington, Canada by clicking here.

The Nancy Drew

At A Crimson Kissblog, the author adapte...

Free Private Investigation Articles: Copyright-Free Image Sites to Investigating Crime Scenes

At my "sister site" Guns, Gams & Gumshoes, we (being my former PI-partner & current criminal lawyer husband & yours truly) have been blogging about private investigations since 2009. At the end of each year, we tally up readers' top 10 favorite articles. For 2015, the articles ranged from conducting trash hits to the history of private eyes to investigating crime scenes. Handy information for crime fiction writers, fans of legal films and books, armchair legal eagles, and those curious about...

#FreeBook December 22 - 26: Mistletoe and Murder in Las Vegas

Mistletoe and Murder in Las Vegas” is Colleen Collins at her best. It’s got the charm and humor of the best romantic comedies combined with a genuinely good mystery—an unbeatable combination. I couldn’t put the book down once I started it.

— Nancy Warren, USA Today Bestselling Author Mistletoe and Murder in Las Vegas (Affairs to Remember Book 1) By Colleen Collins FREE through December 26!

All 31-year-old, Las Vegas criminal lawyer Joanne Galvin wants for Christmas is a client—or thre...

#BookRelease Christmas Romantic-Mystery: Mistletoe and Murder in Las Vegas

Mistletoe and Murder in Las Vegas
Christmas romantic-mystery by Colleen Collins

Available for pre-order on Amazon Kindle - 99 cents! EBook automatically downloads on Dec 14
(Sale ends December 18)

To buy, click here or on book image to your right.

Mistletoe and Murder in Las Vegas (Affairs to Remember Book 1) By Colleen Collins Book Blurb

All 31-year-old, Las Vegas criminal lawyer Joanne Galvin wants for Christmas is a client—or three—so she can make ends meet. Instead she’s roped into defend...

A Thanksgiving Jail Visit, An Innocent Man, And Digging for Evidence on 800 Acres

This rancher lived out in the country on 800 acres of land

Every Thanksgiving, I remember my husband (Shaun) visiting a rancher in jail where he'd been sitting since October on two charges of attempted murder (we later found evidence that proved his innocence). Shaun sat with the rancher, who wept as he'd never been away from his family on a holiday.

I can't even imagine how that rancher felt sitting in jail all those months,facing a possible 48-year prison sentence if he were to be found gui...

Nov 10 - 17: Sale! 10,000 Kindle Books at $1.99 Each - Romance, Mystery and More...

Sleepless in Las Vegas (Harlequin Superromance) By Colleen Collins

10,000 Harlequin Kindle book are on sale for $1.99 through November 17, including 2 of my romantic-mystery-private-eye stories (Sleepless in Las Vegas and Hearts in Vegas).

Sleepless in Las Vegas won the 2014 Award of Merit, Virginia Romance Writers

Hearts in Vegas (Harlequin Superromance) By Colleen Collins