Welcome to Speed City Sisters in Crime

Speed City Sisters in Crime is the Indiana chapter of the world-wide mystery/crime writers' association Sisters in Crime. The Speed City chapter was founded in 2005. Find out more about Speed City Sisters in Crime.

Upcoming in 2023

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May 2023 Speaker

Acquisitions Editor for Recorded Books Brian Sweany talks about Everything You Need to Know About Audiobooks

Saturday May 27 at Noon on Zoom and in person at the Lion's Gate Condo Complex Clubhouse (8686 Jaffa Court West Drive, Indianapolis, IN)
​An Indianapolis native, Brian Sweany currently serves as Director of Acquisitions for Recorded Books, the largest independent audiobook publisher in the world. In his 24 years with the company, Brian has acquired the audio rights to many notable mystery and crime writers, including Patricia Cornwell, Carl Hiaasen, Charlaine Harris, Craig Johnson, C.J. Box, Elizabeth Peters, Laurie R. King, Nevada Barr, Lawrence Block, and Ace Atkins. Brian’s debut novel, BUY THE TICKET, TAKE THE RIDE, was published by Rare Bird Books in 2016.​

See Brian's talk on YouTube.

Monthly Meetings

​Speed City Sisters in Crime meets online via Zoom monthly on the fourth Saturday of each month from January to November. There is a critique group meeting at 9:00, followed by the regular business meeting at 11:00 and a guest speaker at 12:00. 
MORE ABOUT MONTHLY MEETINGS  >
Upcoming Events​​​​​
  • Saturday 27 May 2023 - Business Meeting + Speaker Brian Sweany || Everything You Need to Know About Audiobooks
  • Saturday 24 June 2023 - Business Meeting + Speaker 
  • Saturday 29 July 2023 - Business Meeting + Speaker 
  • Saturday 26 August 2023 - Business Meeting + Speaker 
  • Saturday 23 September 2023 - Business Meeting + Speaker 
  • Saturday 28 October 2023 - Business Meeting + Speaker 
  • Saturday 18 November 2023 - Business Meeting + Speaker 

​​In-Person Meeting Locations

2023 Meeting dates and locations
These meetings will be hybrid and be both in person and on Zoom. The following are for the in person locations. ​​
  • Saturday 27 May 2023 10:00am-2:00pm Lion's Gate Condo Complex Clubhouse (8686 Jaffa Court West Drive, Indianapolis, IN)
  • Saturday 24 June 2023 10:00am-2:00pm Glendale Public Library (6101 N Keystone Ave, Indianapolis, IN)
  • Saturday 29 July 2023 [FIFTH SATURDAY] 10:00am-2:00pm Glendale Public Library (6101 N Keystone Ave, Indianapolis, IN)
  • Saturday 26 August 2023 10:00am-2:00pm Irvington Public Library (5625 E Washington St, Indianapolis, IN)
  • Saturday 23 September 2023 10:00am-2:00pm Beech Grove Public Library (1102 Main St, Beech Grove, IN)
  • Saturday 28 October 2023 10:00am-2:00pm Beech Grove Public Library (1102 Main St, Beech Grove, IN)
  • Saturday 18 November 2023 [THIRD SATURDAY] 10:00am-2:00pm Lawrence Public Library (7898 Hague Rd, Indianapolis, IN)

Past Chapter Events

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April 2023 Speaker
L.C. Hayden
​Show, Don’t Tell
​Saturday, April 22 2023 at Noon
Online and In-Person at the Beech Grove Public Library (1102 Main St, Beech Grove, IN)

You’ve heard it before: show, don’t tell. But what does that mean? How can you tell if you’re telling instead of showing? Is it ever wise to tell instead of show? Award-winning author L. C. Hayden will address all of those points and more. When you finish this workshop, your writing will go up several notches.​

Watch Event on YouTube.
March 2023 Speaker
Barbara Shoup
​Revision: The Delicious Part
​Saturday, March 25 2023 at Noon
Online and In-Person at the Nora Public Library (8625 Guilford Ave, Indianapolis, IN)​
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Barbara Shoup is the author of eight novels for adults and young adults, most recently An American Tune and Looking for Jack Kerouac, and two books about writing, A Commotion in Your Heart: Notes about Writing and Life and Novel Ideas: Contemporary Authors Share the Creative Process. Fellowship. Her creative nonfiction has been recently published in Atticus, Ocotillo Review, and Another Chicago Magazine. She is the Writer-in-Residence at the Indiana Writers Center and a faculty member at Art Workshop International.

View this event on YouTube.

February Guest Speaker
Richard Kammen
​Telling the Truth Through Fiction

During his career Richard Kammen was a criminal defense lawyer with his office in Indianapolis, Indiana. 

He graduated from Ripon College cum laude in 1968 and New York University School of Law in 1971.  Admitted to the Bar in 1971, he began his practice after service in the United States Army.

Rick  has represented clients charged with offenses ranging in seriousness from felony drunk driving to Racketeering and Capital Murder. 

Rick  has defended over two hundred homicide cases including approximately forty death penalty cases in both State and Federal courts. No client that Mr. Kammen has represented at trial has been sentenced to death.  

He was lead counsel on the defense team that represented David Camm who was exonerated and freed by acquittal, after being imprisoned for thirteen years, and two prior convictions of killing his wife and two children.

Until October of 2017, Mr. Kammen served as “Learned Counsel” in United States v. Abdul Rahim Al-Nashiri who is charged before a Military Commission at Guantanamo Bay Cuba. Al-Nashiri is alleged to have been a central figure in the bombing of the U.S.S. Cole in 2000 in Aden, Yemen. This is likely to be the first capital military commission. Mr. Kammen and other Civilian counsel withdrew from the case after the Commission refused to address possible intrusions into the attorney client relationship.

A frequent speaker and lecturer on criminal defense issues, Mr. Kammen has spoken in almost every state and federal circuit.  He has been a member of the faculty of the National Criminal Defense College since 1982 and the Trial Lawyers College since 2001.

Rick’s first fiction book, Tortured Justice: Guantanamo Bay has recently been published.  He has completed a second, Tortured Justice: South Carolina, and is working on a third, Tortured Justice: Ohio
January Guest Speaker
​National Sisters in Crime Chapter Liaison 
Kim Garnick Giarratano
Sisters in Crime Online Community and
​Getting the Most Out of Your Membership
​Kim Garnick Giarratano is the author of several mysteries for teens and adults. Her debut novel Grunge Gods And Graveyards won the 2015 Silver Falchion Award for Best YA. Before having kids, Kim taught English as a Second Language and was a Young Adult Librarian. Currently, Kim teaches GED prep classes at SUNY Orange County Community College, and she reviews YA literature for BookPage. She lives in the Poconos with her family and has been a member of Sisters in Crime since 2014.​
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Chapter Guest Speaker October 22nd:
Elaine Munsch:  A Brief History of Women Crime Writers
​Elaine Munsch is a native of Cleveland, Ohio, but has spent her adult life in Louisville, Kentucky.  She graduated from Nazareth College of Kentucky located outside of Bardstown and attended The Ohio State University for her graduate work. She has been a bookseller for fifty years working in both large and small, chain and independent. She opened the first Barnes & Noble in Kentucky where she set up a mystery reading group which is still active today. She also taught classes in the mystery genre for the Veritas Society and joined the local chapter of Sisters in Crime. 

​With Susan Bell, she co-edited MYSTERY WITH A SPLASH OF BOURBON, an anthology of bourbon related stories.
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​As E.M. Munsch, she writes the Dash Hammond series set on the shores of Lake Erie. The latest title, A HAUNTING AT MARIANWOOD, is set to be released at the end of October.

​Watch this speaker on YouTube. 
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Chapter Guest Speaker September 24th:
Forensic Expert Ashley Luther
Ashley Luther is Forensic Biologist and supervisor for the Indiana State Police Laboratory in Indianapolis.  She conducts casework in serology, DNA, and bloodstain pattern interpretation.  She has been with the ISP laboratory for 14 years and was a casework analyst for the Utah State Crime Laboratory for two years prior to hiring on in Indiana.  While in Utah, she was also a member of the Crime Scene Response Team.   She has testified more than 40 times throughout the state and has completed more than 1,000 cases.  She has presented at several conferences and trainings across the country and is the current training coordinator for the Indiana State Police Laboratory.   In 2020, she was selected as the Forensic Scientist of the Year for the Indiana State Police.   She obtained her Bachelor of Science in Biology from Loyola Marymount University and is currently pursuing her Masters in Forensic Biology from the University of the Southwest.  When she’s not working, she loves to spend time with her husband, three kids, three dogs, 2 cats, and her Swiss foreign exchange student.

View this event on YouTube.
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Chapter Guest Speaker August 27th:
Author Terry Odell
How I Became A Writer By Mistake—Or What Happened When I Ran Out Of Room For Needlepoint Projects

Join Award-Winning author Terry Odell as she talks about her unconventional path to publication and what she’s learned along the way.

Topics will include:
  • Becoming an indie author
  • Her approach to social media
  • Her writing process​
View this event on YouTube.
​C. Hope & Gary W Clark
Writing Murder Right -- and Getting Paid for It
​A Conversation with mystery writer C. Hope Clark and her husband, retired investigator Gary Clark.

Hope and Gary will present a multi-faceted program. Hope is a mystery author who also publishes the Funds for Writers newsletter and website. Gary is a retired federal and state law enforcement agent. 

They will cover:
  1. Gary's tips on law enforcement
  2. How Hope and Gary work together to get the law enforcement aspects in novels correct
  3. Hope's Funds for Writers blog and tips she has for aspiring writers on getting published and getting paid

C. Hope Clark loves writing, reading, watching, studying the mystery genre. She's published 15 mysteries with two more in progress, one to be released late Fall 2022. Several of her stories have won awards from a finalist in the Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense to a twice winner of the Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award. Her most popular series is The Edisto Island Mysteries set on the very real Edisto Beach in South Carolina. She is also founder of FundsforWriters.com. The site has been recognized by Writer's Digest Magazine for its 101 Best Websites for Writers for the past 21 years, and the accompanying newsletter reaches 25,000 readers.

Gary Clark is a 30-year veteran of law enforcement. He has served in multiple capacities endorsing the law. He has been a revenue agent for Georgia Alcohol, Tobacco and Tax, a US Customs Border Patrol agent, a federal criminal investigator with the Inspector Generals of both the US Department of Agriculture and the US Department of Veterans Affairs. Post-retirement, he did background investigations for federal agencies, operated as a private investigator, and even served as an investigator for a defense attorney, what he calls going over to the dark side. He serves as technical advisor to Hope for all her novels. After all, they met on an actual investigation, and their compatibility and love for crime solving continues years later through Hope's tales.
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Chapter Guest Speaker May 28th:
Author Amy Crider
The Persistence of a Writer​
Amy Crider will speak on "The Persistence of a Writer," something which she knows from her personal experience. Her first novel, Disorder, was recently published after a 15-year journey.  

"Disorder" is a psychological thriller that follows graduate student Wendy Zemansky, who has just come off disability after starting medication for bipolar disorder. But when her roommate goes missing, Wendy plunges into an investigation that is roadblocked by everyone in her life. Amidst a swirling and uncontrollable mania, Wendy learns what it means to persevere when everyone is seemingly against you.

Publishers Weekly states, "The ingenious plot will keep the reader guessing." Grand Master Sara Paretsky termed the book "Riveting."

Amy grew up in Sauquoit, New York, and received her BA in Theater from Goddard College, where she also earned an MA in Education. She is a playwright whose work has been seen around the country.  Last year she won the Tennessee Williams One Act Play Contest. She has degrees in Theater and Education.   

Amy and her husband now live in Chicago.

You can now see this on YouTube.

​Chapter Guest Speaker April 23:
Author Dr. D.P. Lyle
Q&A on Forensics Issues in Your Writing

Dr. D.P. Lyle will talk about forensics—from fingerprint analysis to crime scene reconstruction — how the science works, how it helps in crime solving, and how you as a writer might use this technique in crafting your plot.​

DP Lyle, MD is the Amazon #1 Bestselling; Macavity and Benjamin Franklin Silver Award winning; and Edgar (2), Shamus, Agatha, Anthony, Scribe, USA Today Best Book Award (2), and Foreward INDIES Book of the Year nominated author of 22 books, both non-fiction and fiction, including the SAMANTHA CODY, DUB WALKER, JAKE LONGLY, and CAIN/HARPER thriller series, and the ROYAL PAINS media tie-in novels. His essay on Jules Verne’s THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND appears in THRILLERS: 100 MUST READS and his short story “Even Steven” in ITW’s anthology THRILLER 3: LOVE IS MURDER. He served as Editor for the Southern California Writers Association’s short story anthology, IT’S ALL IN THE STORY as well as contributing the story “Splash.” His short stories “Bottom Line” appears in th Sherlock Holmes inspired anthology FOR THE SAKE OF THE GAME and “Tonic” can be found in the anthology NOTHING GOOD HAPPENS AFTER MIDNIGHT. 

​Chapter Guest Speaker March 26:
Author Mary Roach
A Conversation

Mary Roach is the author of the New York Times bestsellers STIFF, SPOOK, BONK, GULP, GRUNT, and PACKING FOR MARS. Her new book FUZZ: When Nature Breaks the Law, debuted in September 2021. Mary has written for National Geographic, Wired, and The New York Times Magazine, among others, and her TED talk made the TED 20 Most Watched list. She has been a guest editor for Best American Science and Nature Writing, a finalist for the Royal Society's Winton Prize, and a winner of the American Engineering Societies' journalism award, in a category for which, let's be honest, she was the sole entrant. More at MaryRoach.net

​Chapter Guest Speaker February 26th:
Cyber Crime Authors Panel
​Folding Cybercrime into Your Fiction

12 Noon
Join online meeting at Eventbrite

​Doyle Groves is a Staff Data Scientist at one of the largest providers of corporate information security.  There he studies things like characterizing the evolving threat landscape, communication behavior of malware in the wild, and ongoing efficacy of their sizable detection machinery.  Mr. Groves also serves two labs at Indiana University as Data Specialist and Teaching Assistant, where they apply text mining research to find signals in social media data, to further support public health and crisis management.

Steve Lodin is the Senior Director of IAM and Cyber Security Operations in Corporate Security at Sallie Mae.  Mr. Lodin is focused on managing identity and access management, perimeter security, endpoint protection, application security, vulnerability management, and threat intelligence to reduce risk and ensure compliance.  As an accomplished information security professional, Mr. Lodin has been published in numerous information security publications.  He has been a speaker at many security conferences, and one author conference.  He has a Master’s degree in Computer Science from Purdue University where he was a member of the COAST/CERIAS program.

Judy Copek was born in Montana, raised in Colorado, educated in Texas, and lived in suburban Chicago for years and now even more years in suburban Boston where she became a Red Sox fan, a Patriots fan, and a writer. An information systems nerd for years, she’s a survivor of Dilbert-like projects and other high-tech horrors. In her writing, she likes to show technology’s humor and quirkiness along with its scary aspects. She belongs to Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime and The Short Mystery Fiction Society. 

Russ Eberhart writes as Ross Carley. Ross’ fifth novel, The Three-Legged Assassin, just released, introduces Lance Garrett, a Middle East veteran and computer hacker who becomes an assassin to make ends meet.  It’s a different take on murder and mayhem in the world of international organized crime sex trafficking. Things are fine until he accepts a contract to kill a mob boss's daughter. What could possibly go wrong? Russ moderates the Speed City Chapter critique group. He is a Professor Emeritus of Electrical and Computer Engineering at IUPUI and a consultant in artificial intelligence and machine learning.
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​Janet Williams, moderator the cybercrime panel, is an award-winning journalist who has worked as a reporter and editor for newspapers in Pittsburgh and Indianapolis in a career that has lasted for more than four decades. She has also worked in corporate communications and retired at the end of 2020 as executive editor of TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website staffed by Franklin College journalism students. Most recently Janet serves as president of Speed City Sisters in Crime, writes about legislative redistricting for IndianaCitizen.org, a nonprofit news website, teaches a journalism class at Franklin College and serves on the board of the Indianapolis Press Club Foundation.

Chapter Elections

Welcome our 2023 Board Members!
President: Diana Catt
Vice President: Jon Burroughs
Secretary: Janet Williams
Treasurer: Brigitte Kephart
Program Director: Stephen Terrell
Membership Chair: Hawthorn Mineart
Media Chair: Elizabeth SanMiguel
Speed City Sisters in Crime have a table at the Hamilton East Public Library Author Fair. We look forward to seeing you!

Become a member of
​Speed City Sisters in Crime

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​Membership benefits include:
  • Networking with published authors in the mystery-writing community
  • Free or reduced cost writing workshops from visiting guest authors
  • Promotional opportunities at author fairs and book signings
  • Publishing resources and education
  • Monthly meetings
  • Critique group support
  • Opportunity to submit work to chapter anthologies and other creative projects
You can become a member online or via mail 
Speed City Critique Group
Members of Speed City Sisters in Crime can join our critique group that meets the fourth Saturday of the month before our regular monthly meeting and program. As with almost everything in our lives, the COVID-19 pandemic has moved the critique group to the virtual world. The group is led by Russ Eberhart, who also coordinates the Zoom meeting.

Find out how to submit your work, critique and attend the zoom meetings on our Critique Group page.
Submission are open for Speed City's next anthology!
See the submission guidelines for more information.

Speed City SinC Author Bios

Speed City Sisters in Crime members are talented writers and published authors and playwrights. Check out their author pages for information about their books, short stories, plays and other creative works.

See a list of published books by Speed City Sisters in Crime members
New event from author Crystal Rhodes
Art & Soul Festival
The Art & Soul festival is back to kick off Black History Month in Indianapolis, celebrating the theme of Kings & Queens. Each year, Art & Soul puts the spotlight on four emerging “Featured Artists,” and Speed City Sisters in Crime member, CRYSTAL V. RHODES, is proud to be one of those artists. The festival starts Feb. 3 at a FREE KICKOFF.  For more information, visit indyarts.org/about/art-soul and follow #ArtSoulIndy.  To find out more about author and playwright, Crystal V. Rhodes visit her website at www.crystalrhodes.com​.​
New book from author Janis Thornton
1965 Palm Sunday Tornadoes in Indiana​
Author Janis Thornton reveals the stories of a day in Indiana like no other. Palm Sunday 1965 started as the nicest day of the year, the kind of weather that encouraged Hoosiers to get out in the sun, fire up the grill, hit the golf course, or roll down their car windows and take a leisurely drive. That evening, however, throughout northern and central Indiana, the sky turned an ominous black, and storms moved in, quickly manifesting as Indiana's worst tornado outbreak. Within three hours, twisters, some a half-mile wide, ripped through seventeen counties, devastating communities and leaving death and destruction in their wake. When the tornadoes were finished with Indiana, 137 people were dead, hundreds were injured, and thousands more were forever changed.

Get your copy today!
The 1965 Palm Sunday Tornadoes in Indiana

Janis Thornton is an award-winning Hoosier author of history, mystery and true crime. Her works include three pictorial-history books in the Images of America series for Arcadia Publishing, two cozy mystery novels in the Elwood Confidential series and true crime books No Place Like Murder and Too Good a Girl. She is a member of Sisters in Crime, Speed City Sisters in Crime, the Author's Guild, Women Fiction Writers Association and the Indiana Writers Center. This is her first book for The History Press. ​

Speed City Member MB Dabney interviewed by Fox59 for Black History Month

Author MB Dabney appeared on Fox59's Indy Now program Monday morning, Feb. 21, in a three-minute segment from 10-11. to talk about his novel An Untidy Affair. 
Author MB Dabney
Author MB Dabney

Published August 15, 2021
Trick or Treats: Tales of All Hallow's Eve 
Speed City Sisters in Crime's 8th Short Story Anthology

The eighth short story anthology from Speed City Sisters in Crime - Trick or Treats: Tales of All Hallow's Eve.   Read more about our newest anthology.

Murder 20/20 - Our 7th Anthology
Read more about the anthology here!

Our Anthology Murder 20/20 launched in 2019! 
​The ebook and paperback are available for sale.
Published June 2020.
Edited by MB Dabney, Lillie Evans, and Shari Held.
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Speed City Sisters in Crime is the Indiana chapter of the world-wide mystery/crime writers' association Sisters in Crime. The Speed City chapter was founded in 2005.

Members of the organization are published mystery and crime authors, writers working on mysteries and thrillers, and readers and fans of the literary genre. There are currently 40+ members who live in Indiana or the Midwest.

Speed City Sisters in Crime hosts monthly meetings with speakers on topics of interest to mystery and crime writing. Past speakers have included police officers, prosecutors, investigative reporters, forensic specialists, weapons experts, researchers, and publishing and media professionals.

Visit our YouTube Channel for recordings of our monthly speakers!