Stephanie Faris's Blog, page 10
June 7, 2017
IWSG: Winners Never Quit
It's the first Wednesday of the month, which means hundreds of us will be posting about our insecurities. If you haven't yet, join in. You'll be glad you did!
Each month we have a question. This month's question is:
Did you ever say “I quit”? If so, what happened to make you come back to writing?
When I was in my 20s, I got the bright idea to write a novel. Young and full of confidence, I started writing and when I finished, I put that sucker in the mail. No critique group, no writing workshops--I just sent it to a publishing house.
If you've been writing for a while, you know what that means. I learned my lessons the hard way. As I learned, the rejections poured in. I refused to give up until one day I did.
Or did I? During the time I wasn't trying to get published, I never stopped writing. I posted a blog on MySpace, which led to another blog and another. Before I knew it, I was getting thousands of views a day. My blog was up there in rankings with people you've actually heard of before.
During that time, I realized the value of doing what you love. And having people read your words. I came to terms with the fact that even if I never got a book published, I would be happy just to write and have people read my words.
When I did start writing novels again, I was better than ever. It took me only a couple of years to find an agent. I had years of workshops, blogging, novel writing, reading, and growing behind me. Did that make a difference? I'd say so.
Plenty of writers give up. Those who don't eventually succeed. I think the key is, whatever you do, don't ever stop writing. When it comes down to it, it's just you and your keyboard and the words on the page. Everything else is out of your control.
Each month we have a question. This month's question is:
Did you ever say “I quit”? If so, what happened to make you come back to writing?
When I was in my 20s, I got the bright idea to write a novel. Young and full of confidence, I started writing and when I finished, I put that sucker in the mail. No critique group, no writing workshops--I just sent it to a publishing house.
If you've been writing for a while, you know what that means. I learned my lessons the hard way. As I learned, the rejections poured in. I refused to give up until one day I did.
Or did I? During the time I wasn't trying to get published, I never stopped writing. I posted a blog on MySpace, which led to another blog and another. Before I knew it, I was getting thousands of views a day. My blog was up there in rankings with people you've actually heard of before.
During that time, I realized the value of doing what you love. And having people read your words. I came to terms with the fact that even if I never got a book published, I would be happy just to write and have people read my words.
When I did start writing novels again, I was better than ever. It took me only a couple of years to find an agent. I had years of workshops, blogging, novel writing, reading, and growing behind me. Did that make a difference? I'd say so.
Plenty of writers give up. Those who don't eventually succeed. I think the key is, whatever you do, don't ever stop writing. When it comes down to it, it's just you and your keyboard and the words on the page. Everything else is out of your control.
June 5, 2017
Mystery Monday: Maria Ridulph
It's Monday, which means it's time for another...
Today's mystery takes us back to a time when kids could freely play outside. No strange men lurked nearby to bring harm to them. Everything was safe in 1957.
Or was it?
Maria Ridulph was the 7-year-old daughter of a factory worker and a stay-at-home mom. Her best friend was 8-year-old Kathy Sigman, who lived on the same street as Maria.
Maria (left) and Kathy. Image credit: CBS News
After dinner on December 3, 1957, Maria and Kathy went outside to play in the snow. They were playing a game when a tall, slender man approached and introduced himself as Johnny. After mentioning he was married, he offered to give them piggyback rides.
After her piggyback ride, Maria ran back to her house to get a doll to show him. She returned and Kathy left to get a pair of mittens. When Kathy returned, Maria and the man were both gone. Her doll was found nearby, but Maria was never seen alive again.
Sadly, nearly five months later, Maria's remains were discovered in a wooded area 100 miles away. The initial autopsy couldn't determine a cause of death due to the decomposition of the body, but 50 years later, a forensic expert determined she'd been stabbed multiple times in the throat.
That newer autopsy was part of a reopening of the case in 2008, after a deathbed confession from Jack McCullough's mother. McCullough was a military veteran and former police officer who was 18 years old at the time of Maria's disappearance.
In 2012, a judge (without a jury) convicted McCullough of the case. At the time it made news as the oldest known cold case to ever be solved. Unfortunately, the conviction didn't hold up. McCullough was proven to be 40 miles away from the scene the night of Maria's disappearance. The conviction was overturned in 2016.
There was one other primary suspect in the case, but he died in 1992. William Henry Redmond was a former truck driver and carnival worker who was also a suspect in the high-profile unsolved disappearance of Beverly Potts. Beverly disappeared in 1951.
In fact, Redmond is suspected to have been a serial killer during that time, with his job as a carnie giving him access to young girls in each of the towns he visited.
Do you think Maria Ridulph's disappearance will ever be solved?
Today's mystery takes us back to a time when kids could freely play outside. No strange men lurked nearby to bring harm to them. Everything was safe in 1957.
Or was it?
Maria Ridulph was the 7-year-old daughter of a factory worker and a stay-at-home mom. Her best friend was 8-year-old Kathy Sigman, who lived on the same street as Maria.
Maria (left) and Kathy. Image credit: CBS News
After dinner on December 3, 1957, Maria and Kathy went outside to play in the snow. They were playing a game when a tall, slender man approached and introduced himself as Johnny. After mentioning he was married, he offered to give them piggyback rides.
After her piggyback ride, Maria ran back to her house to get a doll to show him. She returned and Kathy left to get a pair of mittens. When Kathy returned, Maria and the man were both gone. Her doll was found nearby, but Maria was never seen alive again.
Sadly, nearly five months later, Maria's remains were discovered in a wooded area 100 miles away. The initial autopsy couldn't determine a cause of death due to the decomposition of the body, but 50 years later, a forensic expert determined she'd been stabbed multiple times in the throat.
That newer autopsy was part of a reopening of the case in 2008, after a deathbed confession from Jack McCullough's mother. McCullough was a military veteran and former police officer who was 18 years old at the time of Maria's disappearance.
In 2012, a judge (without a jury) convicted McCullough of the case. At the time it made news as the oldest known cold case to ever be solved. Unfortunately, the conviction didn't hold up. McCullough was proven to be 40 miles away from the scene the night of Maria's disappearance. The conviction was overturned in 2016.
There was one other primary suspect in the case, but he died in 1992. William Henry Redmond was a former truck driver and carnival worker who was also a suspect in the high-profile unsolved disappearance of Beverly Potts. Beverly disappeared in 1951.
In fact, Redmond is suspected to have been a serial killer during that time, with his job as a carnie giving him access to young girls in each of the towns he visited.
Do you think Maria Ridulph's disappearance will ever be solved?
May 29, 2017
Mystery Monday: The 9-11 Disappearances
It's Monday, which means it's time for another...
If you ask Americans to name the darkest days in our nation's history, one day would definitely be toward the top of most lists:
As the nation sat glued to its TV screens, though, two people disappeared...and haven't been seen since. Michele Harris lived nearly four hours from Ground Zero in a rural town called Owega, New York.
She was a married mother of four, but she was in the process of going through a divorce. Her husband, Calvin, did not want the divorce despite the fact that they both had been unfaithful during their marriage.
On September 11, 2001, Michele worked her evening shift at Lefty's, a now-closed restaurant in Waverly, New York. She reportedly left work at 9:30 pm and was never seen again. The next day, her van was found on the shoulder of the road near the entrance to her driveway. The keys were still in the ignition.
Calvin has done his best to cast his late wife in a negative light, saying she was drinking and possibly using cocaine prior to her disappearance, despite there being no evidence of this. He also painted her as sexually promiscuous, trying to pin her disappearance on another man. But despite being twice convicted of her murder, Calvin is a free man, since both convictions have been overturned. Michele's disappearance remains unsolved.
Unlike Michele, Sneha Philip disappeared in New York City. The Indian-American physician was last seen on September 10, 2001, which was her day off. That morning, she spoke to her mom, saying she wanted to visit Windows on the World at the top of Building One at the World Trade Center. A friend was planning to get married there.
She left her apartment to go shopping at around 5:15 pm. Two hours later, a security camera at the Century 21 department store captured video of her shopping. She hasn't been seen since.
Sneha's husband, Ronald Lieberman, arrived home between 11 and 11:30 pm to find the apartment empty. He assumed she was spending the night with her brother or cousin, which was something she sometimes did when he was working late. He did not report her missing until the next day and by then, she was among a long list of people who were missing in New York City.
Sneha's husband believes she spent the evening with family and died while walking back to the apartment the next morning, since they lived near the World Trade Center. He also thinks she may have run into the disaster area to help, since she was a doctor. She may also have chosen to visit Windows on the World that morning for breakfast, where she became one of many victims.
Others believe she may have chosen to escape her life. She'd recently filed a complaint against a coworker she believed touched her inappropriately. Law enforcement didn't believe her and when she refused to recant her accusation, they filed charges for a false complaint against her. Some also say she was involved substance abuse, although the family denies this and there are no indications of it.
Their disappearances may have been eclipsed in news media coverage by the events of September 11th, but both Michele and Sneha have captivated true crime fans in the years since. We may never know what really happened to either of them, but it's important to keep their stories in the media in case someone knows something.
What do you think happened to Michele and Sneha?
If you ask Americans to name the darkest days in our nation's history, one day would definitely be toward the top of most lists:
As the nation sat glued to its TV screens, though, two people disappeared...and haven't been seen since. Michele Harris lived nearly four hours from Ground Zero in a rural town called Owega, New York.
She was a married mother of four, but she was in the process of going through a divorce. Her husband, Calvin, did not want the divorce despite the fact that they both had been unfaithful during their marriage.
On September 11, 2001, Michele worked her evening shift at Lefty's, a now-closed restaurant in Waverly, New York. She reportedly left work at 9:30 pm and was never seen again. The next day, her van was found on the shoulder of the road near the entrance to her driveway. The keys were still in the ignition.
Calvin has done his best to cast his late wife in a negative light, saying she was drinking and possibly using cocaine prior to her disappearance, despite there being no evidence of this. He also painted her as sexually promiscuous, trying to pin her disappearance on another man. But despite being twice convicted of her murder, Calvin is a free man, since both convictions have been overturned. Michele's disappearance remains unsolved.
Unlike Michele, Sneha Philip disappeared in New York City. The Indian-American physician was last seen on September 10, 2001, which was her day off. That morning, she spoke to her mom, saying she wanted to visit Windows on the World at the top of Building One at the World Trade Center. A friend was planning to get married there.
She left her apartment to go shopping at around 5:15 pm. Two hours later, a security camera at the Century 21 department store captured video of her shopping. She hasn't been seen since.
Sneha's husband, Ronald Lieberman, arrived home between 11 and 11:30 pm to find the apartment empty. He assumed she was spending the night with her brother or cousin, which was something she sometimes did when he was working late. He did not report her missing until the next day and by then, she was among a long list of people who were missing in New York City.
Sneha's husband believes she spent the evening with family and died while walking back to the apartment the next morning, since they lived near the World Trade Center. He also thinks she may have run into the disaster area to help, since she was a doctor. She may also have chosen to visit Windows on the World that morning for breakfast, where she became one of many victims.
Others believe she may have chosen to escape her life. She'd recently filed a complaint against a coworker she believed touched her inappropriately. Law enforcement didn't believe her and when she refused to recant her accusation, they filed charges for a false complaint against her. Some also say she was involved substance abuse, although the family denies this and there are no indications of it.
Their disappearances may have been eclipsed in news media coverage by the events of September 11th, but both Michele and Sneha have captivated true crime fans in the years since. We may never know what really happened to either of them, but it's important to keep their stories in the media in case someone knows something.
What do you think happened to Michele and Sneha?
May 26, 2017
Best Books of May
Warm weather is here, but that doesn't stop true book lovers from finding time to read. Since it's the last Friday of the month, it's time to tell you all about the great books I read this month.
I kicked off May with a fun book by Chrissie Perry that originally released in Australia. It's getting new life in America as a fun new series...and I couldn't wait to get started!
Project Best Friend introduces us to Penelope Kingston, a perfectionist who is on a quest to find a new best friend. She's sure the new girl, Brittany O'Brien ("Bob" for short!), is destined to be her BFF. Unfortunately, Bob's first day doesn't quite go as planned. You'll fall in love with little Penelope right away, plus it has a great message about how life rarely goes as planned.
The next book I read this month was a fun tween book from an accomplished author named Robin Palmer. How can you not love an author whose books have titles like Cindy Ella and Geek Charming?
In Love You Like a Sister, Avery must work with her soon-to-be stepsisters to get ready to be bridesmaids in her father's upcoming wedding. This book hit close to home, as I, too, had a father who remarried and had new children after my parents' divorce. Throughout reading this book, I was nodding along, amazed at how accurately Robin captured the jealousy from seeing a biological parent bonding with his fiancee's kids more than his own daughter. I would recommend this book to anyone dealing with a distant father following a divorce.
Next up is a collaboration between a long list of authors known to many of us. This book includes stories by Jen Chandler, L. Nahay, Renee Cheung, Roland Yeomans, Elizabeth Seckman, Olga Godim, Yvonne Ventresca, Ellen Jacobson, Sean McLachlan, Erika Beebe, Tyrean Martinson, and Sarah Foster.
Heroes come in many forms. As you're reading Hero Lost: Mysteries of Death and Life, you can't help but have that thought. These 12 stories show us heroes in a wide variety of settings, all in the fantasy genre. Best of all, the stories are each so different, you never know where the next tale will take you! If you love fantasy, this is definitely a book you MUST pick up.
Kelly Hashway is one busy author. Her latest book features a main character who is a best-selling author. And it's a suspense--my favorite!
Lies We Tell is an exciting suspense about a best-selling author and her stalker. There's a love interest in the form of a publicist who may or may not be the stalker. You just have to read the book to find out! This is one of those rare mystery-suspenses that actually keeps you guessing all the way to the end.
You can't beat the price of the next book I read this month. It's free! Patricia Josephine (known as Patricia Lynne around here) writes a great book. But she also writes compelling short stories. This collection is her latest:
Learn a Word in 100 Words incorporates the fun of word learning into the flash fiction format. Patricia first introduces you to a word, then writes a 100-word story incorporating that word. Stories are grouped into subjects like writing, paranormal, animals, and science fiction. It's a fun format and, best of all, you can learn one word a day while still getting your reading in!
What's the best book you read in May?
I kicked off May with a fun book by Chrissie Perry that originally released in Australia. It's getting new life in America as a fun new series...and I couldn't wait to get started!
Project Best Friend introduces us to Penelope Kingston, a perfectionist who is on a quest to find a new best friend. She's sure the new girl, Brittany O'Brien ("Bob" for short!), is destined to be her BFF. Unfortunately, Bob's first day doesn't quite go as planned. You'll fall in love with little Penelope right away, plus it has a great message about how life rarely goes as planned.
The next book I read this month was a fun tween book from an accomplished author named Robin Palmer. How can you not love an author whose books have titles like Cindy Ella and Geek Charming?
In Love You Like a Sister, Avery must work with her soon-to-be stepsisters to get ready to be bridesmaids in her father's upcoming wedding. This book hit close to home, as I, too, had a father who remarried and had new children after my parents' divorce. Throughout reading this book, I was nodding along, amazed at how accurately Robin captured the jealousy from seeing a biological parent bonding with his fiancee's kids more than his own daughter. I would recommend this book to anyone dealing with a distant father following a divorce.
Next up is a collaboration between a long list of authors known to many of us. This book includes stories by Jen Chandler, L. Nahay, Renee Cheung, Roland Yeomans, Elizabeth Seckman, Olga Godim, Yvonne Ventresca, Ellen Jacobson, Sean McLachlan, Erika Beebe, Tyrean Martinson, and Sarah Foster.
Heroes come in many forms. As you're reading Hero Lost: Mysteries of Death and Life, you can't help but have that thought. These 12 stories show us heroes in a wide variety of settings, all in the fantasy genre. Best of all, the stories are each so different, you never know where the next tale will take you! If you love fantasy, this is definitely a book you MUST pick up.
Kelly Hashway is one busy author. Her latest book features a main character who is a best-selling author. And it's a suspense--my favorite!
Lies We Tell is an exciting suspense about a best-selling author and her stalker. There's a love interest in the form of a publicist who may or may not be the stalker. You just have to read the book to find out! This is one of those rare mystery-suspenses that actually keeps you guessing all the way to the end.
You can't beat the price of the next book I read this month. It's free! Patricia Josephine (known as Patricia Lynne around here) writes a great book. But she also writes compelling short stories. This collection is her latest:
Learn a Word in 100 Words incorporates the fun of word learning into the flash fiction format. Patricia first introduces you to a word, then writes a 100-word story incorporating that word. Stories are grouped into subjects like writing, paranormal, animals, and science fiction. It's a fun format and, best of all, you can learn one word a day while still getting your reading in!
What's the best book you read in May?
May 24, 2017
My Super-Fun Spring
I've never been on an actual book tour before. I figure if I ever get to the point where my publisher mandates that I go on a tour in my contract, I'll know I've made it!
But you can still pretend you're a big star and plan your own book tour. Even better if you plan your tour with friends! In March, I announced I was going on tour with two fellow Simon & Schuster authors.
As the flyer above shows, our tour began in March in Kentucky. My fellow Girls Read Tour authors Debbie Dadey and Gail Nall introduced me to an incredible bookstore in Fort Thomas, Kentucky called Blue Marble Books. Our visit even made Publisher's Weekly!
From there, we moved onto Louisville and Elizabethtown, finishing our Kentucky visits at the Lexington Public Library. They threw a mermaid party in celebration of Debbie's Mermaid Tales series!
In May, we brought our tour to Tennessee, starting with Books-A-Million in Knoxville. Tate's School was determined to win the free school visit Debbie promised to the school with the most students. (Spoiler alert: they won!)
On Saturday, we moved on to Parnassus Books and Barnes & Noble. Both places still have signed copies of our books on hand.
On Sunday, we headed to Chattanooga. If you're ever in the Chattanooga area and you're an author, you have to do an event at the Barnes & Noble there. As I've mentioned before on this blog, Kelly Flemings is the best!!! They even have their own drink in their Starbucks called a "Bookaccino." It tastes like birthday cake and fairy tales:
A portion of sales all weekend went to a charity called Homebound: Bringing Reading Back Home, which puts books in the hands of kids who wouldn't otherwise have them. Kelsey Butler, who founded the charity while she was still in college, came out to support our event:
Kelsey Butler, Kelly Flemings, Debbie Dadey, Gail Nall, and me.
After such a busy spring, I'm looking forward to a little rest this summer!
How was your spring?
But you can still pretend you're a big star and plan your own book tour. Even better if you plan your tour with friends! In March, I announced I was going on tour with two fellow Simon & Schuster authors.
As the flyer above shows, our tour began in March in Kentucky. My fellow Girls Read Tour authors Debbie Dadey and Gail Nall introduced me to an incredible bookstore in Fort Thomas, Kentucky called Blue Marble Books. Our visit even made Publisher's Weekly!
From there, we moved onto Louisville and Elizabethtown, finishing our Kentucky visits at the Lexington Public Library. They threw a mermaid party in celebration of Debbie's Mermaid Tales series!
In May, we brought our tour to Tennessee, starting with Books-A-Million in Knoxville. Tate's School was determined to win the free school visit Debbie promised to the school with the most students. (Spoiler alert: they won!)
On Saturday, we moved on to Parnassus Books and Barnes & Noble. Both places still have signed copies of our books on hand.
On Sunday, we headed to Chattanooga. If you're ever in the Chattanooga area and you're an author, you have to do an event at the Barnes & Noble there. As I've mentioned before on this blog, Kelly Flemings is the best!!! They even have their own drink in their Starbucks called a "Bookaccino." It tastes like birthday cake and fairy tales:
A portion of sales all weekend went to a charity called Homebound: Bringing Reading Back Home, which puts books in the hands of kids who wouldn't otherwise have them. Kelsey Butler, who founded the charity while she was still in college, came out to support our event:
Kelsey Butler, Kelly Flemings, Debbie Dadey, Gail Nall, and me.
After such a busy spring, I'm looking forward to a little rest this summer!
How was your spring?
May 23, 2017
Introducing Love You Like a Sister by Robin Palmer
I'm so excited about today's book birthday because I've actually read this book. And I loved it!!! As a daughter of divorced parents who married people with other children, I'm all too familiar with the complications of blended families, and Robin Palmer captures it all perfectly in this awesome new book!
Blurb:
Four soon-to-be-stepsisters must learn to work together as they try to make their parents’ wedding day a day to remember in this witty M!X novel in the tradition of Bridesmaids.
When Avery was two, her parents divorced, and it’s just been Avery and her mom ever since—the Two Musketeers. Until Avery opens her email—on a non-holiday and not her birthday—and receives a bombshell announcement from her father. Not only is he moving back to the New York area, he is remarrying—and his soon-to-be wife has three daughters. Avery’s future stepsisters. Holy. Moly.
Avery’s father is determined to make them all one happy family, so he and his fiancée ask the girls to be the bridesmaids in the upcoming wedding. And they want the girls to help with the something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue. Meaning that Avery and the girls—who clearly want nothing to do with her—are going to be forced to spend time together.
It’s one (hilarious) disaster after another as Avery tries to help and get to know her future stepsisters—who are all dealing with their own issues with the wedding. From spilling a chocolate-y drink on a very expensive dress when they go dress shopping, to turning her future step-mother’s hair bright blue days before the wedding. Can they all manage to make the wedding a day to remember—or will it be memorable for all the wrong reasons?
Buy Links:
Amazon | B&N
Bio:
After a decade-long career in Hollywood, Robin Palmer regained her sanity and chucked her cushy network executive job and expense account to become a writer. Which, she quickly discovered once her savings account was depleted, may not have been so sane. Luckily her perseverance paid off with the publication of her first YA book CINDY ELLA, the first in a series of modern retellings of fairy tales set in a fictional Los Angeles high school. This was followed by GEEK CHARMING (made into a highly rated original Disney Channel movie starring Sarah Hyland); LITTLE MISS RED, WICKED JEALOUS, THE CORNER OF BITTER AND SWEET, and ONCE UPON A KISS. In addition, she wrote a five-book middle grade series called YOURS TRULY, LUCY B. PARKER. A few years ago she moved back into screenwriting as well and has written numerous television movies including the highly rated Hallmark movie SO YOU SAID YES starring Kellie Martin. She lives in Louisiana with her husband, daughter, and way too many animals.
Author Links:
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Tumblr | Instagram
Blurb:
Four soon-to-be-stepsisters must learn to work together as they try to make their parents’ wedding day a day to remember in this witty M!X novel in the tradition of Bridesmaids.
When Avery was two, her parents divorced, and it’s just been Avery and her mom ever since—the Two Musketeers. Until Avery opens her email—on a non-holiday and not her birthday—and receives a bombshell announcement from her father. Not only is he moving back to the New York area, he is remarrying—and his soon-to-be wife has three daughters. Avery’s future stepsisters. Holy. Moly.
Avery’s father is determined to make them all one happy family, so he and his fiancée ask the girls to be the bridesmaids in the upcoming wedding. And they want the girls to help with the something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue. Meaning that Avery and the girls—who clearly want nothing to do with her—are going to be forced to spend time together.
It’s one (hilarious) disaster after another as Avery tries to help and get to know her future stepsisters—who are all dealing with their own issues with the wedding. From spilling a chocolate-y drink on a very expensive dress when they go dress shopping, to turning her future step-mother’s hair bright blue days before the wedding. Can they all manage to make the wedding a day to remember—or will it be memorable for all the wrong reasons?
Buy Links:
Amazon | B&N
Bio:
After a decade-long career in Hollywood, Robin Palmer regained her sanity and chucked her cushy network executive job and expense account to become a writer. Which, she quickly discovered once her savings account was depleted, may not have been so sane. Luckily her perseverance paid off with the publication of her first YA book CINDY ELLA, the first in a series of modern retellings of fairy tales set in a fictional Los Angeles high school. This was followed by GEEK CHARMING (made into a highly rated original Disney Channel movie starring Sarah Hyland); LITTLE MISS RED, WICKED JEALOUS, THE CORNER OF BITTER AND SWEET, and ONCE UPON A KISS. In addition, she wrote a five-book middle grade series called YOURS TRULY, LUCY B. PARKER. A few years ago she moved back into screenwriting as well and has written numerous television movies including the highly rated Hallmark movie SO YOU SAID YES starring Kellie Martin. She lives in Louisiana with her husband, daughter, and way too many animals.
Author Links:
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Tumblr | Instagram
May 22, 2017
Mystery Monday: Sierah Joughin
It's Monday, which means it's time for another...
On July 19, 2016, University of Toledo student Sierah Joughin decided to go for a bicycle ride with her boyfriend. It would be the last time she was seen alive.
During their bicycle ride, Sierah's boyfriend posted this haunting photo of the two of them on Snapchat.
Around 6:45 pm, the two separated. Sierah was supposed to go directly to her house, but she never showed up. During the search that followed, they discovered her bicycle in a cornfield close to the area where her boyfriend left her.
Three days later, police found Sierah's body in a cornfield. Her hands and feet were bound and the cause of death was determined to be asphyxiation.
James Worley was arrested for the crime. While Worley had no connection to Sierah, his home had evidence he may have killed others. There was a room designed for "holding humans against their will" and a bloody wall and freezer.
In 1990, Worley plead guilty for attacking and abducting a woman on a bicycle. He served time for that crime, but was released in 1993.
To learn more about this case, the media looked into the previous abduction, since it seems to have been similar in nature. According to the victim, Robin Gardner, Worley forced her off the road, then dragged her to his vehicle, where he handcuffed her. She managed to get away...Sierah Joughin wouldn't be so lucky.
Robin Gardner today Image credit: Toledo Blade
Currently, police are looking into other cases that might be linked to Worley.
On July 19, 2016, University of Toledo student Sierah Joughin decided to go for a bicycle ride with her boyfriend. It would be the last time she was seen alive.
During their bicycle ride, Sierah's boyfriend posted this haunting photo of the two of them on Snapchat.
Around 6:45 pm, the two separated. Sierah was supposed to go directly to her house, but she never showed up. During the search that followed, they discovered her bicycle in a cornfield close to the area where her boyfriend left her.
Three days later, police found Sierah's body in a cornfield. Her hands and feet were bound and the cause of death was determined to be asphyxiation.
James Worley was arrested for the crime. While Worley had no connection to Sierah, his home had evidence he may have killed others. There was a room designed for "holding humans against their will" and a bloody wall and freezer.
In 1990, Worley plead guilty for attacking and abducting a woman on a bicycle. He served time for that crime, but was released in 1993.
To learn more about this case, the media looked into the previous abduction, since it seems to have been similar in nature. According to the victim, Robin Gardner, Worley forced her off the road, then dragged her to his vehicle, where he handcuffed her. She managed to get away...Sierah Joughin wouldn't be so lucky.
Robin Gardner today Image credit: Toledo Blade
Currently, police are looking into other cases that might be linked to Worley.
May 21, 2017
Just Another Teen Reading Books
As someone who writes both middle grade and chapter books, I'm often asked what the difference is? They're two different age groups with some overlap, but there are many other things setting them apart.
Today, I'm participating in Just Another Teen Reading Books's annual event Yay for Middle Grade Books! Click here or on the banner below to read my post on Understanding Middle Grade.
Today, I'm participating in Just Another Teen Reading Books's annual event Yay for Middle Grade Books! Click here or on the banner below to read my post on Understanding Middle Grade.
May 17, 2017
The Power of 1980s-1990s TV
I cover a lot of mysteries on my blog. Missing people, unsolved murders, some more missing people... Some have been solved, but many more never will be.
The older a case is, the less likely it is to be solved. This is especially true if you didn't grab the world's attention like Madeleine McCann:
Or captivate the nation like Natalee Holloway
Over time, a missing persons case drops out of the news, sadly. New cases come along, grabbing media attention, and eventually people forget. Additionally, today's cases can't possibly get enough attention due to something called narrowcasting. Narrowcasting basically means this:
It was something we studied in broadcasting in 1990. Instead of three channels, like people had in the "old days," we'd already gone to more than 100. We knew even then that the future would bring even more channels. We discussed the possibility that someday people could just watch whatever they wanted, whenever we wanted. And no, we had NO idea something called the internet would bring that!
Today if someone disappears, the message can be distributed through a variety of sources. TV news, radio, newspapers, online publications, personal Facebook feeds, Facebook groups, online forums, podcasts, YouTube videos... The list goes on. Unfortunately, each of those methods only reaches a small segment of the market.
Nothing makes that clearer than watching old episodes of Unsolved Mysteries on Amazon Prime. Other than the bad 80s/90s hairstyles, the one thing that is most glaringly obvious is that when cases showed up on Unsolved Mysteries, chances were they were going to be solved.
If a missing person or criminal on the run was still alive, someone, somewhere was going to call that hotline and report the person. Why? Although Unsolved Mysteries was not the top-rated show of its time, it still had more viewers than today's number one shows. More people were watching...mostly because we didn't have that much else to do if we were home.
Today we have Amber Alerts, which let us know when a child is in immediate danger. But what about cold cases? Who's getting the word out about Bryce Laspisa, who disappeared from his overturned truck in 2013?
Or Leah Roberts, who disappeared while traveling in 2000?
There are so many cases like these. Too many to count. Thousands upon thousands of faces, leaving behind grieving family members. If we had a show with the reach Unsolved Mysteries or America's Most Wanted had back in the 80s, would we see more of this?
What cold case would you like to see solved?
The older a case is, the less likely it is to be solved. This is especially true if you didn't grab the world's attention like Madeleine McCann:
Or captivate the nation like Natalee Holloway
Over time, a missing persons case drops out of the news, sadly. New cases come along, grabbing media attention, and eventually people forget. Additionally, today's cases can't possibly get enough attention due to something called narrowcasting. Narrowcasting basically means this:
It was something we studied in broadcasting in 1990. Instead of three channels, like people had in the "old days," we'd already gone to more than 100. We knew even then that the future would bring even more channels. We discussed the possibility that someday people could just watch whatever they wanted, whenever we wanted. And no, we had NO idea something called the internet would bring that!
Today if someone disappears, the message can be distributed through a variety of sources. TV news, radio, newspapers, online publications, personal Facebook feeds, Facebook groups, online forums, podcasts, YouTube videos... The list goes on. Unfortunately, each of those methods only reaches a small segment of the market.
Nothing makes that clearer than watching old episodes of Unsolved Mysteries on Amazon Prime. Other than the bad 80s/90s hairstyles, the one thing that is most glaringly obvious is that when cases showed up on Unsolved Mysteries, chances were they were going to be solved.
If a missing person or criminal on the run was still alive, someone, somewhere was going to call that hotline and report the person. Why? Although Unsolved Mysteries was not the top-rated show of its time, it still had more viewers than today's number one shows. More people were watching...mostly because we didn't have that much else to do if we were home.
Today we have Amber Alerts, which let us know when a child is in immediate danger. But what about cold cases? Who's getting the word out about Bryce Laspisa, who disappeared from his overturned truck in 2013?
Or Leah Roberts, who disappeared while traveling in 2000?
There are so many cases like these. Too many to count. Thousands upon thousands of faces, leaving behind grieving family members. If we had a show with the reach Unsolved Mysteries or America's Most Wanted had back in the 80s, would we see more of this?
What cold case would you like to see solved?
May 16, 2017
Introducing Twenty-Four Days by Jacqui Murray
Today we have a new book that's sure to fulfill your thirst for a fast-paced adventure. Jacqui Murray is a favorite author of mine, so I can't wait to dig into this one.
Blurb:
What sets this story apart from other thrillers is the edgy science used to build the drama, the creative thinking that unravels the deadly plot, and the sentient artificial intelligence who thinks he's human:
An unlikely team is America's only chance
World-renowned paleoanthropologist, Dr. Zeke Rowe is surprised when a friend from his SEAL past shows up in his Columbia lab and asks for help: Two submarines have been hijacked and Rowe might be the only man who can find them.
At first he refuses, fearing a return to his former life will end a sputtering romance with fellow scientist and love of his life, Kali Delamagente, but when one of his closest friends is killed by the hijackers, he changes his mind. He asks Delamagente for the use of her one-of-a-kind AI Otto who possesses the unique skill of being able to follow anything with a digital trail.
In a matter of hours, Otto finds one of the subs and it is neutralized.
But the second, Otto can’t locate.
Piece by piece, Rowe uncovers a bizarre nexus between Salah Al-Zahrawi--the world’s most dangerous terrorist and a man Rowe thought he had killed a year ago, a North Korean communications satellite America believes is a nuclear-tipped weapon, an ideologue that cares only about revenge, and the USS Bunker Hill (a Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser) tasked with supervising the satellite launch.
And a deadline that expires in twenty-four days.
As America teeters on the brink of destruction, Zeke finally realizes that Al-Zahrawi’s goal isn’t nuclear war, but payback against the country that cost him so much.
Buy Links:
Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon Canada
Bio:
Jacqui Murray is the author of the popular Building a Midshipman, the story of her daughter’s journey from high school to United States Naval Academy, and the thrillers, To Hunt a Sub and Twenty-four Days. She is also the author/editor of over a hundred books on integrating tech into education, adjunct professor of technology in education, webmaster for four blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice book reviewer, a columnist for TeachHUB, monthly contributor to Today’s Author and a freelance journalist on tech ed topics. You can find her books at her publisher’s website, Structured Learning.
Author Links:
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest | LinkedIn | Google Plus
Blurb:
What sets this story apart from other thrillers is the edgy science used to build the drama, the creative thinking that unravels the deadly plot, and the sentient artificial intelligence who thinks he's human:
An unlikely team is America's only chance
World-renowned paleoanthropologist, Dr. Zeke Rowe is surprised when a friend from his SEAL past shows up in his Columbia lab and asks for help: Two submarines have been hijacked and Rowe might be the only man who can find them.
At first he refuses, fearing a return to his former life will end a sputtering romance with fellow scientist and love of his life, Kali Delamagente, but when one of his closest friends is killed by the hijackers, he changes his mind. He asks Delamagente for the use of her one-of-a-kind AI Otto who possesses the unique skill of being able to follow anything with a digital trail.
In a matter of hours, Otto finds one of the subs and it is neutralized.
But the second, Otto can’t locate.
Piece by piece, Rowe uncovers a bizarre nexus between Salah Al-Zahrawi--the world’s most dangerous terrorist and a man Rowe thought he had killed a year ago, a North Korean communications satellite America believes is a nuclear-tipped weapon, an ideologue that cares only about revenge, and the USS Bunker Hill (a Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser) tasked with supervising the satellite launch.
And a deadline that expires in twenty-four days.
As America teeters on the brink of destruction, Zeke finally realizes that Al-Zahrawi’s goal isn’t nuclear war, but payback against the country that cost him so much.
Buy Links:
Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon Canada
Bio:
Jacqui Murray is the author of the popular Building a Midshipman, the story of her daughter’s journey from high school to United States Naval Academy, and the thrillers, To Hunt a Sub and Twenty-four Days. She is also the author/editor of over a hundred books on integrating tech into education, adjunct professor of technology in education, webmaster for four blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice book reviewer, a columnist for TeachHUB, monthly contributor to Today’s Author and a freelance journalist on tech ed topics. You can find her books at her publisher’s website, Structured Learning.
Author Links:
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest | LinkedIn | Google Plus
