I have two presentations: One is the story of the researching and writing of In Broad Daylight. In order to get the story, I lived in the small town where McElroy was killed for over two years. In the beginning I had a shotgun pulled on me, was bitten by a dog, and had my tires slashed. By the time I left, I was judging the dance contest at the annual Punkin’ Show. Using a slides and power point, I explore McElroy’s reign of terror, his killing, the nature and extent of the coverup, and the long lasting impact of his killing on the community. Will there ever by “Ken McElroy Days” in Skidmore? I update the story to the 30th Anniversary of the killing, July 10, 2011.
My second presentation is entitled: “Writing True Crime: The Art of Narrative Non-fiction.” I explore various aspects of writing true crime books, including story selection, interviewing participants, ethics considerations,personal safety, and the impact on the author of immersing himself in terrible crimes over the years. I also talk about the process of the actual writing and publishing of true crime books. I refer to the three books as examples. For example, as an ethical consideration I purposely omitted some of McElroy’s terrible conduct involving his female victims.In researching The Past Is Never Dead, I found myself so overwhelmed by the nature of Mississippi’s past that I had a difficult time continuing. In Once Upon A Time, I found myself having to deal with an effort by one of the major female participants in the story to seduce me.
I have appeared on Oprah, Larry King Live. Inside Edition, NPR’s Weekend Edition, Travis Smiley, C-SPAN Book TV and numerous other TV and radio shows. I have spoken in front of many national organizations, such as the National Association of University Women, and local community, fraternal and legal groups, such as the Rotary Club and the Colorado Defense Bar, as well various college writing classes.