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.

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Upcoming in 2024

September 2024 Speaker

John F. Allen
Foundations of Fiction
​John F. Allen is an author/writer and visual artist who was born and resides in Indianapolis, IN.  He is a founding and active member of the Speculative Fiction Guild, and a faculty member of the Indiana Writers Center. John studied Liberal Arts at IUPUI with a focus in Creative Writing and Art, received an honorable discharge from the United States Air Force and is a current member of the American Legion. John’s debut novel, The God Killers was published in 2013, followed by a spin-off novella series titled, Codename: Knight Ranger. He also penned the novelization of respected screenwriter, Demetrius Witherspoon’s short film, Submerge: Echo 51.

​This workshop is designed to breakdown and identify the Foundations of Fiction so that they can be used to strengthen your story writing. The Foundations of Fiction may be applied to ALL genres of fiction. We will also cover why an understanding of the Foundations of Fiction is instrumental to good writing at any stage of the writer’s journey. 

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We will be meeting on Saturday 28 September 2024 on Zoom and in person at the Carmel Public Library Meeting Room C (425 E Main St, Carmel, IN 46032). Business meeting starts at 11:00 AM and our speaker will start at Noon. 

Join us afterwards for lunch at Juniper on Main at 1:30 pm. 

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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 Noon. 

MORE ABOUT MONTHLY MEETINGS  >

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Upcoming Events​​​​​​​

• Saturday 24 August 2024 11:00 AM -  2:00 pm - Business Meeting + John F. Allen | Foundations of Fiction

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​​In-Person Meeting Locations

2024 Meeting dates and locations
These meetings will be hybrid and be both in person and on Zoom.

All of the in-person meetings on the fourth Saturday of the month, (except for May and December), and will be held at:
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We are currently trying to find a location to meet at in person. Stay tuned. 

For the 24 August 2024 meeting we will meet in person at the Carmel Clay Public Library (​425 E Main St, Carmel, IN 46032).

The following are dates of our monthly meetings:​​​​​

• Saturday 28 September 2024 11:00 AM -  2:00 pm
• Saturday 26 October 2024 11:00 AM -  2:00 pm
• Saturday 23 November 2024 11:00 AM -  2:00 pm

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Past Chapter Events

September 2024 Speaker

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August 2024 Speaker

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July 2024 Speaker

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June 2024 Speaker

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May 2024 Speaker

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April 2024 Speaker

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March 2024 Speaker

February 2024 Speaker

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January 2024 Speaker

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November 2023 Speaker

Leslie Budewitz -- Building Characters

​ Leslie Budewitz blends her passion for food, great mysteries, and the Northwest in two lighthearted mystery series: the Spice Shop Mysteries, set in Seattle, and the Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries, set in northwest Montana. Her books focus on strong women who share her passions and have a talent for finding trouble!
As Alicia Beckman, she also writes moody suspense.
Leslie is a three-time Agatha Award winner: 2011 Best Nonfiction for her guide for writers, Books, Crooks & Counselors: How to Write Accurately About Criminal Law & Courtroom Procedure; 2013 Best First Novel for Death al Dente (making her the first author to win Agatha Awards for both fiction and nonfiction); and 2018 Best Short Story (in a tie) for “All God’s Sparrows,” her first historical fiction. Her work has also won or been nominated for Spur, Derringer, Anthony, and Macavity awards.

A Montana native, Leslie graduated from Seattle University and Notre Dame Law School. After practicing in Seattle for several years—and shopping and eating her way through the Pike Place Market regularly—she returned to Montana, where she practiced civil litigation and employment law, with an unhealthy dose of criminal law. Killing people —on the page—is more fun.

Leslie recently finished four years on the national board of Mystery Writers of America. She served as president of Sisters in Crime in 2015-16, and is a founding member of the Guppies, the SinC chapter for new and unpublished writers. She is also a member of the Authors of the Flathead and Montana Women Writers.

Leslie loves to cook, eat, hike, travel, garden, and paint—not necessarily in that order. She lives in northwest Montana with her husband, Don Beans, a singer-songwriter and doctor of natural medicine, and their gray tuxedo, officially named Squirt but affectionately called Mr. Kitten.

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October 2023 Speaker

​Lori Rader-Day, Lincoln Square, Chicago, 2021. Photos by Justin Barbin Photography

See Lori on YouTube. 

Lori Rader-Day
​Liars and Thieves, and These are the Good Guys: How to Create Conflict-Driven Characters People Still Want to Read

​Lori Rader-Day is the Edgar® Award-nominated and Agatha, Anthony, and Mary Higgins Clark award-winning author of The Death of Us, Death at Greenway, The Lucky One, Under a Dark Sky, The Day I Died, Little Pretty Things, and The Black Hour. She lives in Chicago, where she is co-chair of the mystery readers’ festival Midwest Mystery Conference (fka Murder and Mayhem in Chicago) and served as 2019-2020 national president of Sisters in Crime. She teaches creative writing for Northwestern University’s School of Professional Studies.

Deb Lambert -- Director, Collection Management
Indianapolis Public Library

Ms Lambert will be speaking about the challenges facing librarians across the country from political attacks and efforts at censorship of books in library collections. She will also talk about how libraries select books for their collections and what authors can do to encourage libraries to select their books.
Passionate about building equitable and relevant collections, Deb Lambert uses data and trend analysis, ongoing education, open communication with her team, and communication at all levels to build and sustain relevant physical and electronic resource collections. An outspoken advocate for libraries, she actively works with vendors to develop awareness and tools for library needs. As Director of Collection Management at IndyPL, she encourages her team to utilize data analysis and technology to streamline processes, collaborate efficiently, and communicate effectively with the staff, public, and community partners of a large library system.
Her experience includes extensive automation, administration, supervisory, circulation and collection management experience in academic, special and public libraries, including large multi-branch systems. Her specialties include: Diversity and Equity in library collections, Library Automation (ILS, RFID, EDI, AMH), E-books in libraries, Collection Management, Acquisitions, Cataloging, System Administration, Vendor Relations, Electronic Resources, Process Evaluation and Improvement, Team Development, Project Management, Budgeting, Strategic Planning, Policy Development, Education/Training.

See Deb on YouTube.

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August 2023 Speaker
IMPD Sgt Lance Dardeen
Language and Body Language: How Police Really Deal with Crisis Situations

Online Zoom meeting and in-person at Irvington Public Library (5625 E Washington St, Indianapolis, IN) Saturday, June 24th 2023 at Noon.

Sergeant Lance Dardeen joined the IMPD in 2009. He graduated with a Public Relations degree from the University of Southern Indiana in 2002 and with a Master’s degree in Justice Administration from Faulkner University in 2016. Dardeen served as a North District Patrol Officer from 2010-2016 where he also served as a Field Training Officer and taught his fellow officers in numerous trainings as a “Train the Trainer”.

Through the years, Lance developed a passion for community policing and in the spring of 2016, he accepted the position of Behavioral Health Detective under the umbrella of the Community Engagement Office where he
assisted citizens with mental illnesses in receiving the appropriate services they need. After earning a promotion in 2018, Sergeant Dardeen now serves at the direct supervisor for the BHU and M-CAT units and serves at the CIT Coordinator for the IMPD.

Sergeant Dardeen serves the community and the department in a variety of ways. He is a Fair and Impartial Policing Instructor, CIT for Adult and CIT for Youth Instructor, a state certified instructor, an IMPD Mentor, a member of the BRG, a Field Training Officer, Mental Health First Aid instructor, and became an E.M.T in 2014. Lance graduated from the IMPD Leadership Academy in 2014 and is the current President of the IMPD Leadership Academy Alumni Association.

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July 2023 Panel -- AI: Promise and Peril

Artificial intelligence, once the stuff of fantasy and science fiction, is now a reality and the technology is advancing so rapidly that what you thought you know yesterday will change by tomorrow. Join the Speed City chapter of Sisters in Crime at noon (EDT) on Zoom or in person on Saturday, July 29, for a timely discussion of artificial intelligence – AI: Promise and Peril. The question isn’t if but how AI will change the work of writers and graphic artists. Is AI an evolutionary leap in technology comparable to the internet? Or will it render the work of creators obsolete? 

Join our discussion with our expert panel moderated by Speed City Sisters in Crime member Janet Williams.

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​Panelists include:

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Russ Eberhart is an artificial intelligence and cybersecurity consultant. He is Professor Emeritus of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Purdue School of Engineering and Technology, Indianapolis. He is author or co-author of four books in the artificial intelligence field, including the award-winning book Swarm Intelligence co-authored with Jim Kennedy. He is the inventor or co-inventor for seven U.S. patents, and author or co-author of more than one hundred refereed journal articles and conference presentations. Russ, who writes under the pen name Ross Carley, has been selected to make a special presentation on that topic at the 2023 Killer Nashville Conference in August. He and Francie split their time between Indiana and Florida. www.RossCarleyBooks.com, Instagram @RossCarleyAuthor 

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​Reece Hirsch is the author of six thrillers that draw upon his background as a privacy attorney. His first book, The Insider, was a finalist for the International Thriller Writers Award for Best First Novel. His most recent books, Black Nowhere and Dark Tomorrow, feature FBI cybercrime investigator Lisa Tanchik. Former Department of Justice cybercrime prosecutor Chris Bruen is the protagonist of The Adversary, Intrusion, and Surveillance. Reece is a partner in the San Francisco office of an international law firm and co-chair of its privacy and cybersecurity practice. He is also a member of the board of directors of the Valentino Achak Deng Foundation (www.VADFoundation.org). He lives in the Bay Area with his wife and an ewok-like Brussels Griffon. His website is www.reecehirsch.com.

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​Doyle Groves is a Staff Data Scientist at one of the largest providers of corporate information security.  There he studies the evolving threat landscape, the communication behavior of malware, and how emerging AI tools are impacting the field.  Mr. Groves also serves two labs at Indiana University as Data Specialist and Consultant, where they apply text mining research to find signals in social media data to in turn support public health and crisis management.  He has co-authored 12 peer-reviewed journal articles on these topics and holds six US Patents. 

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​Brian Foote is a computer scientist whose research interests include object-oriented programming, design, reuse, languages, frameworks, software architecture, patterns, reflection, metalevel architecture, and software evolution, for starters.

​John F. Allen is an author/writer and visual artist who was born and resides in Indianapolis, IN.  He is a founding and active member of the Speculative Fiction Guild, and a faculty member of the Indiana Writers Center. John studied Liberal Arts at IUPUI with a focus in Creative Writing and Art, received an honorable discharge from the United States Air Force and is a current member of the American Legion. John’s debut novel, The God Killers was published in 2013, followed by a spin-off novella series titled, Codename: Knight Ranger. He also penned the novelization of respected screenwriter, Demetrius Witherspoon’s short film, Submerge: Echo 51.

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May 2023 Speaker
Brian Sweany

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

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.​

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April 2023 Speaker
L.C. Hayden
​Show, Don’t Tell

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.

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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.​

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.

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​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.

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​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.

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Chapter Elections

Welcome our 2024 Board Members!
President: Diana Catt
Vice President: Janet Williams
Secretary: M.B. Dabney
Treasurer: Brigitte Kephart
Program Director: Janis Thornton
Membership Chair: Elizabeth San Miguel
Media Chair: John F. Allen

                       Submission Guidelines for Speed City Anthology #10
 
Anthology Info
Title: To Be Determined
Editors: MB Dabney, Janet Williams, and Brigitte Kephart
Theme: Indiana Landmarks
Number of stories in book will depend on the length of those accepted (60-80K total words)
To be released Spring 2026, self-published by the Chapter or Cardinal Publishing
 
Submission/Publication Timeline

1. Title – vote on title at August meeting
2. Artwork – guidelines to be posted by September meeting, due by December 31,2024
3. Submission deadline November 20, 2024
4. Initial judging complete, judges select stories December 31, 2024 and editors notify authors of their story’s status.
5. Notes for revisions to accepted authors by February 28, 2025
6. All revisions returned to editors by March 21, 2025
7. Send contract to accepted authors March 31,2025
8. And Accepted authors will submit a landmark 250-word essay on the landmark used in their story due by April 15, 2025
9. All final revisions due back to editors, signed contracts to designated person anthology committee. Book cover design due April 30, 2025. PDF file sent to person chosen to write forward.
10. Editors final review. Book cover selected and  sent to national for approval May 20, 2025
11. Formatting, proofing, approvals from national, printing July 5, 2025
12. Submission to Cardinal Publishing, final contract for publication if necessary for Cardinal
13. Publication date:  April 2026

 
Landmarks: In addition to suggested sites listed at the National Register for Historic Landmarks (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Register_of_Historic_Places_listings_in_Indiana) Landmarks can include any easily recognizable place or structure that may be of interest because of its structure or historical significance.
 
Submission Requirements
To submit a story, you must be a current member of Speed City Sisters in Crime and the national Sisters in Crime
One story submission per author
Indiana landmark settings required
All stories must have a mystery basis, but there does not have to be a murder in the story
All stories must include an Indiana landmark in some way
Any sub-genre of mystery – cozy, noir, thriller, suspense etc – is allowed.
Word count of individual stories: 2,500 to 6,000 words
Must be an original story, not previously published, no content generated by Artificial Intelligence (AI generated)
All stories must have made at least one pass through a critique group prior to submission
Submissions should be a cleanly edited version of your short story (see Formatting Your Manuscript below); forwarded to Elizabeth San Miguel ([email protected])
Intended to be a paid anthology, details to be included with contract, likely to be $25 after a minimum sales threshold
 
In addition:  Members will need to provide a 250-word factual account of their chosen landmark, upon acceptance of their short story for publication.
Members who are published in the anthology will need to commit to at least one in person event to promote the anthology.
 
Formatting Your Manuscript
All manuscripts should be between 2,500 and 6,000 words, double-spaced, 12-point font, Times New Roman, with one-inch page margins, and Microsoft Word format. Fiction and nonfiction should be double-spaced.
The author’s name, address, telephone number, and email address should be typed at the top of the first page (This will be removed for blind submission stage and forwarded to editors).
Contributors are asked to include a brief 100-word biographical note with the return of their signed contract, which will be used in the final publication.
 
Cover guidelines need to be update:
https://www.speedcitysistersincrime.org/cover-submission-guidelines.html

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Letter from our President Diana Catt

Welcome to the Speed City Indiana Chapter of Sisters in Crime. I’m thrilled to take on the role once again as President of the chapter. This year, we are planning and preparing for a hallmark anniversary that is approaching fast. This year, 2024, will be our 20th anniversary as a Chapter! Wow, time flies! We have some special events planned to celebrate. We will have an anniversary anthology that just came out at the end of 2023 (Amber Waves of Graves), a play is being written by an enthusiastic group of SinC members for the 2024 Indy Fringe (The Catphish Seat), and a members-only retreat weekend is being planned with an exciting guest speaker. 

I’ve been involved with this chapter since 2006 as a member, an officer, or a board member. We have an extraordinary group of talented individuals and a very active chapter. If you are a writer looking for a like-minded tribe, or are a reader who loves mystery and crime, please think about joining Sisters in Crime. But, you are here and reading this, so you found us! Welcome!

I’d like to tell you about some opportunities that you will have as a Speed City Indiana SinC member. 

• First and foremost: Camaraderie and networking – we support each other, encourage each other, and rejoice in each other’s successes (and there have been so many!)
• We have a no-nonsense critique group – our chapter has a members-only critique group that currently is meeting by Zoom every month. You will receive (and learn to give) thoughtful, insightful, and helpful comments on the pages submitted for critique. I am an absolute believer that a good critique group can improve one’s writing!
• Attend and participate in monthly Chapter meetings (open to the public) – each month we have a hybrid business meeting. Over the pandemic years of forced Zoom, something amazing happened. People who reside too far away to attend our monthly meetings in person were now able to join in and the Zoom feature allows us to invite speakers who are not local and wouldn’t ordinarily be able to join us. What a surprising bonus to come from an otherwise horrible time! We also invite SinC members from other chapters to join us on Zoom for our outstanding speakers and panel discussions.  Our meeting dates, locations, and Zoom link are listed here on our website. Our past speakers are recorded and available on our YouTube channel. You can access them from the Monthly Meeting tab on our website.
• Because our anthologies are chapter fund raisers, if you like, you will have the opportunity to submit a short story to our anthology, act as an editor or judge for the anthology, submit cover art for a proposed anthology, gain hands-on experience with self-publishing, marketing, or sales, while learning from experienced members.
• Our chapter has sponsored conferences such as Magna cum Murder, Prime Crime, and Midwest Writers Workshop where we have a lot of fun hosting a flash fiction contest for attendees and continue our networking.

Please check our website often for monthly updates! We are also on Facebook. Now that the world has opened up again, look for us at libraries, book stores, and other events were books are sold. Please stop and say hi!

Sincerely,
Diana Catt
Speed City Indiana Chapter President

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Amber Waves of Graves Anthology News

RURAL INDIANA – A PLACE WITH ACRES AND ACRES OF FARMLAND TO HIDE DEAD BODIES

The rural Indiana landscape seems so bucolic, from the gently rolling hills of the south to the easy sway of cornfields in the north. Who knew those picturesque barns could hide criminal activity as well as livestock, or those rustic cemeteries be rife with murder victims as well as those who died of old-age? The members of the Speed City Sisters in Crime chapter, that’s who!

In these seemingly peaceful rural settings, our authors uncover criminal deeds, unearth long dead secrets, provide justice for the wronged, and thwart the plans of the wicked. Sixteen tales testify that from the wide-open farmland to the small farming towns, the opportunity for mayhem and mischief is ever-present.

Come along with authors Leanne Edelen, Roberta Barmore, Diana Catt, Joseph Walker, Andrea Smith, Ramona Henderson, Shari Held, Jon Burroughs, P.K. Richard, Mary Bischoff, Carol Paddock, Elizabeth San Miguel, Ross Carley, Norm Campbell, Stephen Terrell, and Elizabeth Perona as they explore the dark and deadly mysteries hidden within the fertile soil of rural Indiana.

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Become a member of
​Speed City Sisters in Crime

​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 

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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.

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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​.​

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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

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.

Buy ebook from B&N

Buy paperback from B&N

Buy eBook from Amazon

Buy Paperback from Amazon

Paperback ISBN-13: 9780996309271

Ebook ISBN-13:
9780996309288

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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.