Jennifer Chase's Blog, page 57

Unveiling the Mystery of Forensic Facial Reconstruction

After human skeletal remains are discovered, sometimes there is little to be done to determine the identity of the person.  Dental records are only reliable if there are any teeth left on the skeleton and if the medical examiner or forensic scientist can compare them to existing dental records.   Sometimes DNA can be extracted from bone, but it's usually a difficult and expensive process.

With technology and experience, facial reconstruction can provide the answers needed to determine the...

What's Happening?

It seems that it's that time of year for writing and the time is flying by with a vengeance.  I'm working hard on my next Emily Stone Thriller!  I wanted to let you know a few things that are going on in my world you might want to jot down on your calendars or check out at your leisure.

RADIO APPEARANCE – True Crime Uncensored with Burl Baer

When: Saturday, March 3, 2012

Time: 2:00pm, PST

Where/Who: I will be a guest and chat with the awesome Burl Baer, crime expert and bestselling true crime...

Guest Post — Crime Writer Benjamin Sobieck

One of the most wonderful aspects about being a writer these days is that I get to meet so many wonderful writers and avid readers.  Without the modern marvel of the Internet, I would have missed out on some great new friends in my life.   Crime writer Benjamin Sobieck is a sharp, witty, and exciting crime writer.  Well… basically, he's just an all around fun guy and he agreed to write a fun post for today. 

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Matching Your Beverage to What You're Writing

by Benjamin Sobieck

In the early...

Jeffrey Dahmer's High School Years Depicted in New Graphic Novel

Forensic psychologists are in the business of studying, among many other factors, the childhoods of our most notorious criminals.  How does someone's past predict or play a role in the horrible pain they inflict upon others later in life?  Volumes have been written on what Stalin and Hitler were like as kids, and the parallels between the two men are eerie and striking.  Closer to home, any review of FBI interviews with serial killers will reveal lengthy discussions about parents, school...

Take a Bite out of Research!

Research doesn't have to be like a rabid animal trying to take a bite out of your backside.  Make peace with it; in fact, make best friends with it.

Research is Phase Two of my outlining stage.  I consider myself lucky because I love to conduct research.  Let's face it, you can learn something that you didn't know when you woke up that morning.  How cool is that?

Click here Revved up and Writing to Go! to access the link to my previous post on beginning the novel outline.

I divide my research...

Hell's Belle – The Matronly Face of a Brutal Serial Killer?

Interestingly, we have a difficult time wrapping our minds around the fact that there have been "female" serial killers throughout history.  Many times these fiendish femme fetales have had a different approach to offing their unsuspecting victims such as with poison, suffocation, and even starvation as opposed to shootings, knifings, and blunt force traumas inflicted by their usual "male" counterparts.

This particular female serial killer had many unusual components to her alleged crimes and ...

Would Your Hometown Be a Good Host for a Thrilling Storyline?

More prominently than in any of my previous novels, the physical environment I depict in Dark Mind plays a pivotal role in the development of the story.  Set on the Hawaiian island of Kauai, the book offers the stark contrast that those who visit the land will discover between the gorgeous beaches and breathtaking sunsets and the dense forests that are filled with strange shadows and rugged acres that are likely terrifying to anyone but a native.  I chose the location following my own visits ...

First Campaigner Challenge 2012 – Flash Fiction "Mind's Eye"

I am so excited! I've never participated in this type of writers' campaign challenge before AND I've never written flash fiction. What a newbie I am!  Woohoo!  Bring it on!

I'm participating in the 4th Writers' Building Campaign with Rachael Harrie.

Here's the writing challenge and I chose to accept it with a vengeance:

Write a short story/flash fiction story in 200 words or less, excluding the title. It can be in any format, including a poem. Begin the story with the words, "Shadows crept...

Dark Mind Excerpt – Cornered and Pushed to the Limit

Reader Note: This is an excerpt from chapter three of DARK MIND.  It is not a story spoiler.  Emily Stone must decide how she will get out of her dangerous situation deep in the jungle of Kauai.

Two tattered wicker chairs sat on opposite sides of the porch in front of two sash windows.  The screens around the sitting area used to keep most pesky mosquitoes away had long since deteriorated, curled and ripped vertically from age and constant humidity.

First step, then the second onto the porch...

California Serial Killer Leads Authorities to Human Remains in Well

Major pieces of machinery recently finished upending layers of earth outside of Sacramento, California that may lead to closure for some families after twenty or more years.  Already convicted of four murders, Wesley Shermantine, known as one of two "Speed Freak Killers," has drawn a map from inside his prison cell to lead authorities to the remains of an unknown number of victims.  With that paper in hand, the tractors got to work.

The efforts focused on a 19th century well and thousands of...