PITCH-A- PALOOZA: Will you be pitching your manuscript to an editor, publisher or agent at the conference? 

Find advice on the pitch process at  http://tinyurl.com/25emkr8

Love is Murder is happy to confirm the following expert witnesses for our panel lineup. Forensic accountant Peggy Tracy and Lee Williams, former special agent with the IRS' Criminal Investigation Division, will make return appearances, and criminal investigator Bill Howe will offer an in-depth look at the science of fingerprinting. Details and bios are below.

Peggy Tracy has appeared in an expert capacity on many television and radio shows, and has been quoted in the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Sun-Times, Mutual Funds magazine and Financial Planning magazine. Among the major accomplishments in her career, she taught in the Certified Financial Planner program for 14 years and is past president of the Greater Chicago Chapter of the Institute of Certified Financial Planners (1999-2000). Numerous speaking engagements to professionals and consumers fill Peggy's calendar every year. Recent talks and webinars cover divorce dissipation issues, anatomy of a tax return and family fraud detection and prevention.

Lee Williams spent 29 years as a special agent with the Criminal Investigation Division of the IRS, where he developed, investigated and prosecuted money launderers, narcotics organizations, corrupt policemen and corrupt public officials. He was also an instructor at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center and a lead developer and facilitator for money-laundering seminars given to the FBI, DEA and state and local law enforcement agencies. He has testified as an expert witness in several cases, including the prosecutions of former Illinois governor George Ryan and newspaper mogul Conrad Black.

Bill Howe will present a "Fingerprinting and Evidence Collection 101" session where participants can roll up their sleeves for his two-hour hands-on class, because they're going to get dirty! Bill is a retired crime lab supervisor and court-recognized expert witness who will take us through the mechanics of fingerprinting witnesses and suspects.

The first hour will cover fingerprint theory. Bill will discuss the FBI classification system and its role in fighting crime. He'll also outline the process of making court displays and testimony techniques as well as "chance transfer". Bring your fingerprint or other evidence collection questions.

During the second hour, attendees will visit various stations in the room to process evidence themselves. They can dust items for prints and lift the prints, securing them onto evidence cards. They can roll a fellow attendee's digits onto a ten print card. They'll also superglue evidence to make latent prints pop. There'll even be a station for capturing pry marks similar to those found in a burglary.

A 38-year veteran of police work, Bill is currently employed as a criminal investigator with the Calhoun County, MI prosecutor's office. He is a recognized expert in dactyloscopy (fingerprint collection, examination and identification), crime scene processing and accident reconstruction, and spent 9 years as an investigator on the Cold Case Homicide Team in Calhoun County, MI (as featured in an episode of Bill Kurtis' Cold Case Files).  

He taught for 30 years in the Kellogg Community College Criminal Justice and Police Academy (Accident Reconstruction, Crime Scene Examination and other courses), and is a frequent speaker at area service clubs on various aspects of criminal investigations and career opportunities. He is the author/publisher of a Powerpoint whodunit for juvenile audiences, titled "Who Stole the IPod?" and recently signed with Echelon Press for a series of police stories with co-author Susanne Rorhus, aimed at the juvenile market.

Joanna: Go back in time and talk to Julie before her first book was published. What would you say to her?

Julie:  Oh gosh, this is like the, "What would you say to yourself if you could go back to high school" question. I'm terrible at these types of questions.  I don't know that I have some great, deep answer so instead I'll give a practical response.  

One thing I wish I had known before I was published was how much promotion authors need to do themselves.  That would not have changed my decision to write-not at all-but I was pretty clueless after selling my first book when it came to marketing.  So writers should be aware that this job does, in fact, involve more than actually writing.   

And here's something perhaps a little deeper: I think I would tell myself that my writing process is my own, and not to worry about how other authors write, or - more specifically - how fast they write.  I tend to be a slow writer - I do a book a year in a genre in which many authors write two or more books a year.  So I'm constantly reminding myself that it doesn't matter how fast I go-what's most important is that I'm pleased with the outcome, regardless of how long it took me to get there.  

No Less in Blood  

by D. M. Pirrone

Quest for the Crystal Skull  

by David Ciambrone

Virginia Davies-Clark encounters some killers and an old crystal skull with something important in it.

The Dreamer Gambit  

by Kathryn Flatt

A troubled detective helps a singer in trouble for  

mentioning a dead man's name on TV.

Are you an author attending LIM 2012? Then take advantage of a terrific opportunity to advertise your work to nearly 800 newsletter receipients!

Option 1 ($10 per title/newsletter issue): Book title and name.  

 one issue = $10; all six issues = $60

Option 2 ($15 per title/newsletter issue):  

Book title, name, and brief description or series information (15 words max).

One issue = $15; all six issues = $90   

Authors may advertise their books in one or more newsletters, up through the final issue in January, 2012. To participate in Author Spotlight, email the information with your request for Option 1 or 2 to Diane Piron-Gelman at wordnrd@gelmanmanor.com. Payment may be made on our website via PayPal, or you can send a check or money order to:  

LIM, c/o Terri Stone, 1009 Iroquois Ave., Naperville, IL  60563 

Advertising and payment for the December 2011 issue must be received by DECEMBER 14   

A good time was had by authors and attendees alike at the LIM mini-cons earlier this month in Waukegan (Nov. 5) and Vernon Hills (Nov. 12). Congratulations to Waukegan attendee Fred Townsend, who won the drawing for a complimentary registration to Love Is Murder 2012. Fred attended LIM 2011, and is thrilled to win this chance to come back.  

Dr. Thomas Willer of Libertyville was the winner at the Vernon Hills Library drawing. We look forward to seeing you both at Love Is Murder #13!

Across cultures, the number 13 is linked to change and renewal. From the zodiac, to the medieval era that gave us the tarot, to modern-day New Year festivals in Thailand, 13 is a number that brings major life changes in its wake.

Though most of us know 12 signs of the zodiac, some astrology buffs believe there is one more: Ophiuchus, which lies between Scorpio and Sagittarius. According to astronomers, Ophiucus is the thirteenth constellation to pass through the ecliptic, between November 30 and December 17. The earliest mention of this constellation is from the 4th century B.C.E.: "... Both hands firmly clutch the Serpent, which encircles the waist of Ophiuchus, but he, steadfast with both his feet well set, tramples a huge monster, even the Scorpion, standing upright on his eye and breast." In medieval and later literature, this "trampling of the monster" was associated with God's words to the serpent at the ultimate life-changing event, Adam and Eve's expulsion from the Garden of Eden: "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel."

The tarot deck contains 21 Major Arcana-cards whose symbols and names represent significant forces at work in the universe. Number 13 among the Major Arcana is Death, usually depicted as a variant of the Grim Reaper. Despite its fearsome appearance, this thirteenth card does not represent actual death. Instead, it heralds a significant transformation in the questioner's life-one so momentous that the questioner may feel as if his or her old life has "died" so that a new one can be born. (Minus the Major Arcana, the tarot deck eventually became what we know as modern-day playing cards: the four suits of hearts, spades, clubs and diamonds, with 13 cards each.)

The Songkran festival, celebrated as New Year's Day in Thailand, begins on April 13th. Its name comes from the Sanskrit word saṃkrānti, or "astrological passage." The most obvious celebration of Songkran is the throwing of water. Thais roam the streets with containers of water or water guns, or post themselves at roadsides with a garden hose and drench passers-by. The water, sometimes laced with fragrant herbs, is meant to wash away all the bad of the past year. Water-throwing began as a way to pay respect to people, by capturing water that had been poured over temple or household Buddhas for cleansing and then pouring it on the shoulders of elders and family members in order to bring them good fortune. The holiday evolved to include dousing strangers with water to relieve the heat; April is the hottest month in Thailand, when temperatures can rise to over 100°F or 40°C on some days.

In general, Songkran is a time for cleansing and renewal. Some people make New Year's resolutions, to refrain from bad behavior, or to do good things. Others take the "cleansing" aspect more literally; besides washing household Buddha images, many Thais use the festival as an opportunity to give their homes a thorough cleaning.

We'll see you in about 2-1/2 months!!  

LOVE-ingly (and alphabetically),

Hanley, Luisa, Marlene,  

Silvia, Susan, Terri & Wally