On September 3rd, 2011 there was a brutal double murder in my VERY small town where crime is practically non-existent despite some drug activity. It shook the area to its roots and it was nearly six weeks before the subjects were apprehended. It was a female and a male and makes for an interesting tale that is definitely captivating my town, county, and even state.
I was hoping to possibly write a true crime book about this. I grew up with the victims and know the family relatlively well. My mother (this sounds so tacky) was locked down for 24 hours a day with the female accused for one week and the girl basically opened up to her.
My wife is calling me crazy, but I think it would make a damn fine book and shed some light on people like this girl. She was more or less not involved in the crime other than driving and was by all accounts a really good person. She seems to have been dominated by the male party; there is possibly more than just mental abuse. I hope the tell the story of the girl, who grew up on 8 Mile Road, and the story of the man. They met on the internet and the rest is awful history.
Advice? Is this crazy? What am I missing?
I do not really have much financial interest here or the idea of being the next Ann Rule. I just am interested in the case and could use it as excuse to write one hell of a book.
I don’t think it’s crazy. It is certainly do-able…there’s a seven-year-old crime in my neck of the woods that I pondered writing about at one point. In fact, we are in the same area (I guess since you mention 8 Mile) but it’s a different crime. :o)
I do believe the first step would be figuring out if you can get access and cooperation from the principles involved, especially the girl you mention. That would certainly increase your chances of getting an agent/publisher substantially.
Seems like a rather lengthy and time consuming project that my wife does not seem to support. She is very well educated, but had a very close minded view of taking risky ventures. For some reason, she seems to deem this crazy, thus making it risky.
You know what I’m saying? What do I need to do to convince her?
I believe that she would be very cooperative. I base this belief on how willing she was to open to my mother while in jail. She seems to want people to understand that she is not a monster, however my mother pointed out that she rarely spoke of the victims, if it all; the signs of remorse are just not there.
What methods would I go about to contact the accused? Start off with a letter? The jail they are BOTH being held in is only 15 minutes from my home. Also, should I seek the permission of the victim (who I know personally) before initiating contact?
Well, What are her specific objections? Are you going to quit a paying job to do this?
If not, I guess I’m not sure what the risk is. I mean, if you can write, it seems you may have some unique access and this could end up being at least somewhat lucrative for you. Even if money is not your primary motive, being a published author would be cool. People like true crime books.
Does she at least find the subject interesting? Maybe if you could convince her to help you with research, that might help?
I don’t know. It just depends on why she’s against it, I guess.
I think the reason she is against it as that she was in law enforcement before her current job. She knows everyone in the sheriffs department and since it is such a small town she probably feels like people would judge her for, you know, “writing a book about dem dere crimnalz.” We grew up here, I own a business here, and she is a psychologist in the same town. I don’t know, but it does really upset me that she seems to think this is such a far fetched idea when True Crime has such a large part in modern literature.
Also, if you’re serious about this - have you read a lot of true crime books (besides Anne Rule)? I’d really suggest doing so, to get an idea of how to structure a book. Also many true-crime writers have websites and forums that can be really helpful.
I contacted you back asking if you would like to chat on im or something and bounce some ideas back and forth. Also, I’ve read a lot of true crime/forensic type books. My wife is published, but not on the subject, so I have a editor at the ready.