November Dinner—No Program

Wednesday
November 11, 2009
6 p.m.
Romano’s Macaroni Grill
93rd and Metcalf
Overland Park, Kansas

Friends, food and books—arguably the best things in life! Please join the board of Partners in Crime at 6 p.m. at Romano’s Macaroni Grill (93rd and Metcalf ) to discuss the proposed evolution of the chapter into an informal mystery discussion group that would meet without a program on an occasional basis. We have enough money left in the treasury to give an amount (undetermined) to each paid member for his/her dinner. (Lisa has a list of paid members.) If we have any money left, we’ll decide what to do with it. (A donation to the library is one choice. If you have others, let Jill know.)

This get-together (separate checks) will be the last meeting of PIC in 2009. If you can’t come to the meeting but would like to contribute to the discussion, send an email to jilldraper@att.net.

RSVP (yes only) for the dinner to bsmith1900@aol.com. Indicate if you are a paid member. Please respond by Tuesday, November 10, if you can attend.

October Meeting

Wednesday
October 14, 2009
7 p.m.
Borders Books and Music
91st & Metcalf
Overland Park, Kansas
Speaker: Giles Fowler

Giles Fowler will discuss his new book Deaths on Pleasant Street: The Ghastly Enigma of Colonel Swope and Dr. Hyde. The book is based on the 1909 true crime story about the wealthy Swope family of Independence, Missouri, which captured national headlines 100 years ago.

Based on court transcripts, national newspaper coverage and personal memoirs, Fowler pieces together the suspicious deaths of three Swope family members, including Colonel Thomas Swope, millionaire donor of Kansas City’s Swope Park. The book presents evidence from the trial of Swope’s nephew-in-law, Dr. Bennett Clark Hyde, charged with the alleged poisoning.

Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Fowler began his career in journalism working for The Kansas City Star as a reporter, film and theater critic ,and editor of the paper’s Sunday magazine. He taught at Iowa State University’s Greenlee School of Journalism and has contributed academic articles and short fiction to various publications.

The meeting is free and open to the public.

Dinner
We meet at 5:30 at Romano’s Macaroni Grill before the meeting (just south of Border’s in the same shopping center). Please join us. Ask for the Partners in Crime table. No reservations required, and the restaurant gives us separate checks.

September Meeting

Wednesday
September 9, 2009
7 p.m.
Borders Books and Music
91st & Metcalf
Overland Park, Kansas
Speaker: Judge Robert Berger

Judge Robert Berger of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Kansas, will talk about Bankruptcy and Bankruptcy Crimes. Judge Berger says bankruptcy filings increased nationwide more than 35% last fiscal year and were up a comparable percentage the year before.

The meeting is free and open to the public.

Dinner
We meet at 5:30 at Romano’s Macaroni Grill before the meeting (just south of Border’s in the same shopping center). Please join us. Ask for the Partners in Crime table. No reservations required, and the restaurant gives us separate checks.

Longview Literary Festival
Longview Literary Festival
Friday and Saturday
October 2 and 3, 2009
10 a.m. to 7 p.m. both days
Longview Community College
500 SW Longview Road
Lee’s Summit, Missouri 

This is a two-day celebration of literature and panel discussions on writing. For more information, contact Susan Satterfield at Susan.Satterfield@mcckc.edu or phone 816.524.4852.

Featured Speaker:
Richard Jennings, writer and co-founder of Rainy Day Books

Confirmed Guests:
Al Beck
Andrea Caspari
M.C. Chambers
Lewis Diuguid
Charles Gusewelle
Katie Horner
Lindsay Martin-Bowen
Mary-Lane Kamberg
Brad Meehan
Stephen Francis Murphy
Carlos Perez
Jerry Plantz
Missi Rasmussen
Eric Reynolds
Susan Satterfield
Catherine Stang
Ana Victoria Wackeria
Maryfrances Wagner

Confirmed Writers’ Groups
Kansas City Horror Club
Kansas City Metropolitan Verse, the Kansas City Chapter of the Missouri Poetry Society
Kansas City Science Fiction and Fantasy Society
Kansas City Writer’s Group
Kansas City Writer’s Place
Missouri Writers Guild
Summit Scribes Writers Group (Lee’s Summit, MO)

August Meeting

Wednesday
August 12, 2009
7 p.m.
Borders Books and Music
91st & Metcalf
Overland Park, Kansas
Speaker: Stan Hamilton

Stan Hamilton will speak on his book, Machine Gun Kelly’s Last Stand. Stan has a degree in Journalism from KU. He worked for The Kansas City Star for seven years as a reporter and copy editor and then moved to Washington, D.C., where he covered Congress and also worked as a copy editor. He was with the National Press Club for 12 years.

Stan was featured in a recent article in the Lawrence Journal World.

The meeting is free and open to the public.

Dinner
We meet at 5:30 at Romano’s Macaroni Grill before the meeting (just south of Border’s in the same shopping center). Please join us. Ask for the Partners in Crime table. No reservations required, and the restaurant gives us separate checks.

July Meeting

Wednesday
July 8, 2009
7 p.m.
Borders Books and Music
91st & Metcalf
Overland Park, Kansas
Speaker: Pepper Jaso

Investigator Pepper Jaso will talk about Scams and How to Protect Yourself. Pepper is an investigator for the Economic Crimes Unit and was Johnson County District Attorney Steve Howe‘s Trial Assistant when he was an Assistant District Attorney building the unit. She has a paralegal degree from JCCC.

Join us for dinner before the meeting at 5:30 at Macaroni Grill, across the parking lot from Borders.

June Meeting

Wednesday
June 10, 2009
7:00 p.m.
Borders Books & Music
91st & Metcalf
Overland Park, Kansas
Speaker: Suzanne Arruda

Visitors Welcome. Please join us!

Every crime story needs a bad guy! Our June speaker will be Suzanne Arruda, president of the Border Crimes chapter of Sisters in Crime and author of five mysteries set in 1920s Kenya, featuring main character Jade del Cameron, animal wrangler, photojournalist and neophyte pilot. Suzanne will talk about creating villains in mysteries.

Suzanne’s novels include Mark of the Lion, Stalking Ivory, The Serpent’s Daughter, The Leopard’s Prey, and Treasure of the Golden Cheetah, which will be published in September 2009.

Dinner
We meet at 5:30 at Romano’s Macaroni Grill before the meeting (just south of Border’s in the same shopping center). Please join us. Ask for the Partners in Crime table. No reservations required, and the restaurant gives us separate checks.

May Meeting

Wednesday
May 13, 2009
7:00 p.m.
Borders Books and Music
91st and Metcalf
Overland Park, Kansas
Speaker: Mary Stephenson

Visitors Welcome. Please join us!

Mary Stephenson has been practicing criminal law for the past 14 years, including 8 years as an assistant district attorney in Johnson County and the past 6 years as a criminal defense attorney in Miami County. She’ll talk on some of the highlights of being both a prosecutor and a defense attorney and a few of her more interesting cases.

Newsletter
Partners in Crime also puts out a great newsletter full of recommendations and reviews of recent mysteries. Our latest issue has a nice list of historical mysteries, a list of Miss Zukas books by Jo Dereske (featuring an intrepid librarian), local scams to be aware of, and a description of the arrest of the month.

Author Event
Author Lee Child will talk about his new book, his life, his work, answer audience questions and he will autograph copies of his new book purchased from Rainy Day Books.
7 p.m.
Tuesday
June 2, 2009,
Unity Temple on The Plaza—Sanctuary
707 W 47th Street
Kansas City, Missouri 64112

Admission Package: $27.00 plus Tax, includes from Rainy Day Books, One (1) Stamped Ticket, One (1) Guest Ticket (if needed) and One (1) Copy of Lee Child’s new book, Gone Tomorrow (Hardcover), to be autographed after the author presentation.

Visit the Rainy Day website for more details.

Rainy Day is finalizing details for fall appearances by Michael Connelly and Sue Grafton, please watch our web site for additional details.

We’re on Meetup.com!

Our very smart president, Jill Draper, has registered Partners in Crime on Meetup.com. Go to our Meetup page to register, find out who else has registered, and see who has said they’re definitely coming to our April 8 meeting.

April Meeting

Wednesday
April 8, 2009
7:00 p.m.
Borders Books and Music
91st and Metcalf
Overland Park, Kansas
Speaker: Thomas Fox Averill

Visitors Welcome. Please join us!

Tom Averill, award-winning author and Writer-in-residence and Professor of English at Washburn University in Topeka, will talk about his novel, The Slow Air of Ewan McPherson, with an additional discussion on plots and plotting.

Tom won the O. Henry Award for his short stories. His story collections include Ordinary Genius, Seeing Mona Naked, and Passes at the Moon. He has written two novels, Secrets of the Tsil Cafe and The Slow Air of Ewan McPherson, as well as numerous poems and articles. Tom helped to found and was the first director of the Washburn Center for Kansas Studies. He has edited several books and, as his alter ego, William Jennings Bryan Oleander, is a commentator on Kansas Public Radio at the University of Kansas.

March Meeting

Wednesday
March 11, 2009
7:00 p.m.
Borders Books and Music
91st and Metcalf
Overland Park, Kansas
Speaker: Suzanne Lieurance

Visitors Welcome. Please join us!

Kansas City author and writing coach Suzanne Lieurance will present “Taking the Mystery Out of Freelance Writing.” Suzanne is the author of over twenty books, both fiction and nonfiction, including Shoeslaces, School Projects for Pennies, The Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster, and her latest middle grade historical novels, The Locket and The Lucky Baseball. She has written hundreds of articles, essays, and columns and as The Working Writer’s Coach uses her broad knowledge of the publishing industry to help other writers develop their own careers. Suzanne has created websites to help writers in different genres and broadcasts several weekly internet radio shows on writing. Suzanne will give us tips on making a living as a freelance writer.

Contest
The Kansas Author‘s Club, District 2, is now accepting entries for the 2009 Annual Writing Contest. The contest is open to all writers and includes four prose categories and four poetry categories. Closing date for entries is March 31. Further information is available at www.kansasauthors.org under “Districts” then “District 2 News” then click on “2009 Writing Contest.”