James Renner's Blog, page 3
March 21, 2023
New podcast: On Writing True Crime
On Writing True CrimeDo you want to write a true crime book? Here’s everything you need to know to make it happen, from “Picking the perfect case” to “Marketing and Publicity.” Learn how to interview witnesses and the best ways to organize your work into a compelling narrative.
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March 2, 2023
Researching the Boy Scouts
PipestoneI am currently at work, researching my next book, which will be about a death that occurred when I was a counselor at Seven Ranges Boy Scout Reservation, in 1995. It’s also about the current state of the Boy Scouts of America, which is fighting to get out of bankruptcy after a sex scandal that is exponentially greater in scale than that of the Catholic Church.
Earlier this week, I had the privilege of testifying at the Ohio Statehouse in support of HB35, which would get rid of the statute of limitations for Boy Scout sex abuse cases in civil courts. You can listen to my testimony here, around the 45 min mark.
Part of my book involves a secret society within Seven Ranges called Pipestone. If you took part in the “honors program” there and would like to share your experience, please email me: jameswrenner [at] gmail [dot] com
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January 28, 2023
See You at CrimeCon UK!
I’m bringing my podcast, True Crime This Week, to CrimeCon UK in London June 10 – 11 2023! If you’re a fan from across the pond, come say hello. You can get discounted tickets by using my code, RENNER when you buy tickets at CrimeConUK.com
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January 6, 2023
On Writing True Crime – Upcoming Sessions
This year, I will be holding live sessions on Zoom about the process of writing and publishing true crime to small rooms of people. You can pop in for one class or take all five. Each class is $25 paid online. If you’re interested, email Marsha at truecrimesbyrenner@gmail.com for registration details and the private link to the course.
Here are the classes I’m offering, along with dates and times:
5PM PST/ 8PM EST January 18 – “Picking the Perfect Case”
Description:
So you want to write true crime. Great. What sort of cases do you want to write about? Solved? Unsolved? Current? Historical? Renner walks through the pros and cons of each.
Objectives:
Participants will better understand the differences between covering solved and unsolved crimes.
5PM PST/ 8PM EST January 25 – “Conducting Research and Interviews”
Description:
An in-depth discussion about best practices when it comes to interviewing families and law enforcement officials connected to crimes.
Objectives:
Participants will learn how to submit FOIA requests and what is covered under Sunshine Laws.
5PM PST/ 8PM EST February 1 – “Writing and Editing True Crime”
Description:
Every crime story has a common structure. It’s up to you to know when to subvert the rules. A look at how the sausage is made – what goes into good crime writing?
Objectives:
Participants will learn how to manage their writing time and how to organize their story into a compelling narrative structure.
5PM PST/ 8PM EST February 8 – “Submitting Your Story”
Description:
Writing the story is half the journey. Now you need an agent and publisher. But where do you begin?
Objectives:
Participants will discover how to submit to professional agents and editors. This separates the real writers from the amateurs.
5PM PST/ 8PM EST February 15 – “Marketing and Publicity”
Description:
You’ve written a great crime story. Now, you have to tell the world. Where does one begin when you have no experience in marketing or publicity?
Objectives:
Participants will better understand the ugly business of book marketing; how it works, how to influence the results, and when to go out on your own.
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December 6, 2022
You Can Now Pre-Order Little, Crazy Children
My next true crime book Little, Crazy Children comes out June 27 but you can reserve your copy today, by pre-ordering from your favorite local bookstore or online at the links below.
In this riveting work of investigative journalism, the author of True Crime Addict and host of “True Crime This Week,” James Renner, explores the tragic unsolved 1990 murder of Lisa Pruett in the privileged enclave of Shaker Heights, Ohio, its troubling aftershocks, and the dark secrets teens tell—and keep.
TWIN PEAKS meets THE CRUCIBLE in 1990s Shaker Heights, the setting of LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE.
In September of 1990, in the Cleveland suburb of Shaker Heights, sixteen-year-old Lisa Pruett, a poetry lover and member of a church youth group, was on her way to a midnight tryst with her boyfriend, when she was viciously stabbed to death only thirty feet from the boy’s home.
The murder cast a palpable gloom over the upscale community and sparked accusations, theories, and rumors among Lisa’s friends and peers. Together they wove a damning narrative that circled back to a likely suspect: “weird” high school outcast Kevin Young. Without a shred of evidence the teen was arrested, charged, and tried for the crime. His eventual acquittal didn’t squelch the anger and outrage among those who believed that Kevin got away with murder.
With a fresh perspective and painstaking research culled from police files, court records, transcripts, uncollected evidence, and new interviews, James Renner reconstructs the events leading up to and following that heartbreaking night. What emerges is a portrait of a community seething with dark undercurrents—its single-minded authorities, protective status-conscious parents, and the deeply peer-pressured teens within Lisa’s circle.
Who had the capacity for such unchecked violence? What monsters still lurk in the dark? After more than thirty years, questions like these continue to fester among the community of Shaker Heights, Ohio, still deeply scarred by wounds that remain hidden, unspoken, and unhealed.
Pre-order:
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September 4, 2022
Upcoming Appearances, Fall 2022
It’s a busy fall! Come see me if you can. Click on links for more info.
September 10: Savannah Crime Expo
September 18: Fundraiser for the Nancy Eagleson Cold Case, Paulding, Ohio.
September 24: Mentor Barnes & Noble 20th Anniversary: 1 p.m.
October 8: Rocky River Readers & Writers Event 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.
October 9: PNW True Crime festival
October 27: Kent State lecture, “True Crime from May 4, 1970 to Present Day)
November 5: Buckeye Book Fair
The post Upcoming Appearances, Fall 2022 appeared first on James Renner.
Upcoming Appearance, Fall 2022
It’s a busy fall! Come see me if you can. Click on links for more info.
September 10: Savannah Crime Expo
September 18: Fundraiser for the Nancy Eagleson Cold Case, Paulding, Ohio.
September 24: Mentor Barnes & Noble 20th Anniversary: 1 p.m.
October 8: Rocky River Readers & Writers Event 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.
October 9: PNW True Crime festival
October 27: Kent State lecture, “True Crime from May 4, 1970 to Present Day)
November 5: Buckeye Book Fair
The post Upcoming Appearance, Fall 2022 appeared first on James Renner.
August 14, 2022
Watch True Crime This Week on YouTube!
True Crime This Week is now on YouTube, too! New episodes every Friday morning. Click here to subscribe.
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May 28, 2022
The Porchlight Project is featured in Kent State Magazine
James Renner, The Porchlight Project How cool is this!?! The Porchlight Project is featured in the new edition of Kent State Magazine.
Renner put out a message on Facebook asking for help; it was answered by Alexa Doutt, a director of advancement at Kent State. The two met at a coffee shop in West Akron—and the idea of the Porchlight Project was born.
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April 20, 2022
Season 5 of The Philosophy of Crime is Here!
Philosophy of CrimeThe new season of The Philosophy of Crime premieres today! Check it out everywhere you get your podcasts.
Here’s the full release schedule:
April 20: “How Can Lawyers Defend Guilty People?
April 27: “Does Reward Money Ever Help Solve Cases?”
May 4: “The Alford Plea – Pleading Guilty When You’re Innocent”
May 11: “School Shootings and Toxic Masculinity”
May 18: “Help! I Still Don’t Understand Money Laundering.”
May 25: “The Most Difficult Case — No Body, No Crime”
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