Outliers Writing University Podcast Series

CRIMINAL MISCHIEF 8: Mood and Tone in Crime Fiction

Setting the mood and tone in crime fiction should b https://anchor.fm/dashboard/episode/e988ri e done up front.
The opening passages tell the reader the type of world they are entering and what they can expect.
The opening might give character insights, setting, and the basics of the crime—and reveal the voice.
What’s the difference between mood and tone?
Tone is the author’s attitude
Mood is the atmosphere and emotion the author creates
So, tone reflects the author’s attitude while mood is how the reader feels about the story. 
Mood and Tone can be revealed through word choice, sentence structure, formal vs informal writing, point of view, objective vs subjective, rhythm, setting, action, dialog, voice—in short, all the tools of storytelling.
Like other fiction, mood and tone in crime stories runs the gamut—dark, light, noir, cozy, suspenseful, humorous, quirky, creepy, supernatural, you name it. 

CRIMINAL MISCHIEF 7: Famous and Odd DNA Cases

Famous and Odd DNA Cases:
Colin Pitchfork: The Beginning
http://aboutforensics.co.uk/colin-pitchfork/
 
Timothy Wilson Spencer, The Southside Strangler” First US DNA Conviction
(David Vasquez—first to be exonerated by DNA)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_Wilson_Spencer
http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/352011
 
Brown’s Chicken Murders:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown%27s_Chicken_massacre
https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2018/01/08/browns-chicken-massacre-25-years-anniversary/
 
Lonnie Franklin, The Grim Sleeper: Familial DNA
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grim_Sleeper
https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/grim-sleeper-serial-killer-everything-you-need-to-know-252246/
 
James Lynn Brown: Familial DNA
https://www.ocregister.com/2012/12/04/family-members-dna-solves-1978-killing/
 
Gary Ridgway, The Green River Killer
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Ridgway
 
Pierre G: Kiss DNA Foils Jewel Thief
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/10616806/French-jewellery-thiefs-fate-sealed-with-a-kiss-after-conviction-from-DNA-on-victim.html
 
David Stoddard: Dog Bite DNA Case
https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/local-news/akron-canton-news/dna-from-dogs-mouth-solves-barberton-home-invasion-suspect-david-stoddard-also-charged-with-murder
 
Maggot DNA Case:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22971153
 
Willow Martin Arson Case and Potato DNA:
http://www.courant.com/breaking-news/hc-strippers-arson-drugs-0713-20160712-story.html
https://www.mycitizensnews.com/news/2018/05/woman-sentenced-to-8-years-for-arson/

GET TO KNOW Best-selling Author Heather Graham

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Heather Graham, majored in theater arts at the University of South Florida. After a stint of several years in dinner theater, back-up vocals, and bartending, she stayed home after the birth of her third child and began to write. Her first book was with Dell, and since then, she has written over two hundred novels and novellas including category, suspense, historical romance, vampire fiction, time travel, occult, sci-fi, young adult, and Christmas family fare. 
She is pleased to have been published in approximately twenty-five languages. She has written over 200 novels and has 60 million books in print. Heather has been honored with awards from booksellers and writers’ organizations for excellence in her work, and she is the proud to be a recipient of the Silver Bullet from Thriller Writers and was awarded the prestigious Thriller Master Award in 2016. She is also a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from RWA.  Heather has had books selected for the Doubleday Book Club and the Literary Guild, and has been quoted, interviewed, or featured in such publications as The Nation, Redbook, Mystery Book Club, People and USA Today and appeared on many newscasts including Today, Entertainment Tonight and local television. 
Heather loves travel and anything that has to do with the water, and is a certified scuba diver. She also loves ballroom dancing. Each year she hosts a Vampire Ball and Dinner theater raising money for the Pediatric Aids Society and in 2006 she hosted the first Writers for New Orleans Workshop to benefit the stricken Gulf Region.  She is also the founder of “The Slush Pile Players,” presenting something that’s “almost like entertainment” for various conferences and benefits. Married since high school graduation and the mother of five, her greatest love in life remains her family, but she also believes her career has been an incredible gift, and she is grateful every day to be doing something that she loves so very much for a living. 
https://www.theoriginalheathergraham.com/

CRIMINAL MISCHIEF 6: Modern Crime Fiction

Is It Harder To Write Crime Fiction Today?
 
Do modern forensic science and police investigative techniques make creating compelling crime fiction more difficult? Are there simply too many balls to keep in the air? Too much to consider? Or is now little different from then?
 
The Past, the present, and the future
 
Forensic Science timeline—-a fairly knew discipline
 
Basic Science, then Medicine, finally forensic science
 
Personal ID
Visual
Bertillon
West Case
Facial recognition
Behavioral Profiling
Prints, ABO type, DNA, DNA Phenotype
 
Fingerprints—-then and now
 
Vucetich—the Rojas case
Stella Nickell Case
Touch DNA
Touch Toxicology
 
Toxicology
From arsenic to GC/MS
 
Blood Typing
ABO can exclude but not ID
 
DNA
Nuclear
Mitochondrial
Familial—Grim Sleeper case
Phenotypic Analysis
 
Electronics—cell phones, computers, emails, texts, VMs

CRIMINAL MISCHIEF 5: Making Characters Compliant

Coercion and Threat
 
Leverage
 
Trauma:
 
Trauma is time limited
Unconscious vs Pain/Fear of death
 
Drugs:
 
Drugs have variable timelines
Drugs don’t have timers
 
Alcohol and Mickey Finn
 
Narcotics and sedatives
 
Date Rape Drugs
Rohypnol
GHB—Gamma Hydroxybutyrate
E, Ecstasy, MDMA—3.4-Methylenedioxy Methamphetamine
Ketamine
 
Links:
Date Rape Drugs: http://www.dplylemd.com/articles/date-rape-drugs.html
ROHYPNOL: https://www.drugs.com/illicit/rohypnol.html
GHB: https://www.drugs.com/illicit/ghb.html
ECSTASY: https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/mdma-ecstasymolly
KETAMINE: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/302663.php
Andrew Luster: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Luster
Dr. Grant Robicheaux: http://www.newser.com/story/264806/calif-surgeon-girlfriend-may-have-raped-hundreds.html

GET TO KNOW Best-selling Author Boyd Morrison

Boyd Morrison is an actor, engineer, Jeopardy! champion, and the #1 New York Times bestselling author of fourteen thrillers, including six collaborations with Clive Cussler in the Oregon Files series. His debut novel, THE ARK, was an Indie Next Notable pick and has been translated into over a dozen languages. Before becoming a writer, he worked at Johnson Space Center, RCA/Thomson, and Microsoft’s Xbox group. His latest thriller THE LAST TRUE TEMPLAR is the second book in the Tales of the Lawless Land series of historical adventures co-written with his sister, expert medievalist Beth Morrison.
 https://boydmorrison.com

GET TO KNOW Best-selling Author Allison Brennan

New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Allison Brennan believes that life is too short to be bored, so she had five kids and writes three books a year. She lives with her family in Arizona where she enjoys hiking, baseball Spring Training, and (of course) reading. Best known for her long-running Lucy Kincaid FBI series, Allison is currently writing the Quinn & Costa thrillers (Make It Out Alive, Jan 2026) and Angelhart Investigations (Don’t Say a Word, Sept 2025). Her first romantic mystery, Beach Reads and Deadly Deeds, will be out June 17, 2025
https://www.allisonbrennan.com/

CRIMINAL MISCHIEF 4: POV in Crime Fiction

POINT OF VIEW IN CRIME FICTION
Who is telling the story?Is he/she also the protagonist or an observer? 
Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird 
Nick in The Great Gatsby Is he/she reliable? 
How many POV characters is too few/too many?Which characters know too little to drive the story/or know too much and might spoil the story? 
TYPES:FIRST PERSON POV: The “I” CharacterAdvantages: Close tie to reader Narrator is the “Star” 
Good for mysteries-reader learns as the I character does
Disadvantages: I character must be present Can lead to
awkward plotting
Can’t supply suspenseful information to reader Not good for
thrillers
SECOND PERSON POV: The “You” character—very tricky to use
THIRD PERSON POV: The “He/She” Character 
SINGLE: Similar to First person except he/she is used Similar Advantages/Disadvantages as First Person 
MULTIPLE: Jumping from head to headAllows reader to get inside several charactersAllows reader to have “Superior Knowledge”--Suspense Great for thrillers 
CLOSE: Camera in character’s headDISTANT: Camera external and watching the actionThese distances aren’t either/or but rather a continuum. The “camera” can shift along a line from far behind or above the character to inside the character’s head. 
OMNISCIENT POV: The AUTHOR as GODJump from head to head at willCan be confusingRequires more writing skill than seems apparent 
MIX & MATCH: Can combine POVs if you are good and careful 

GET TO KNOW Best-selling Author Jon Land

JON LAND is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of over 60 books, including his Texas Ranger Caitlin Strong series. Jon has also taken over two of the most iconic legacy brands in mystery-thriller fiction, penning six titles in the Murder, She Wrote and two in the Capital Crimes series. Additionally, Jon has teamed with multiple New York Times bestselling author Heather Graham on a bestselling sci-fi series that includes THE RISING and BLOOD MOON. His next thriller series, written with fellow author Jeff Ayers under the pseudonym A. J. Landau, debuts in February of 2024 with Leave No Trace from Minotaur. The author of numerous, similarly acclaimed nonfiction titles, Jon has more recently turned his talents to ghostwriting with his first effort in that arena, WHITE ROBES AND BROKEN BADGES coming from Harper Collins in August of 2024.

CRIMINAL MISCHIEF 3: Time Of Death

DETERMINATION OF THE TIME OF DEATH
Determining TOD is criticalBoth an art and a science The sooner after death the more accurate the estimateChanges death variable and unpredictable. 
Physiologic TOD, Estimated TOD, Legal TOD
Always a best guessNone of the methods are very accurateBody temperatureRigor mortisLivor mortis (lividity) Degree of putrefactionStomach contentsInsect activity Scene markers 
 
BODY TEMPERATURE 
Normal body temperature is 98.6FBody loses or gains heat until it equilibrates with that of the surrounding medium. The formula is: Hours since death = 98.6 - corpse core temperature / 1.5Cold/wind/water increase heat loss Obesity, heavy clothing, warm still air, exposure to direct sunlight, and an enclosed environment slow heat loss. 
 
RIGOR MORTIS 
 
Spasm due to chemical reactions within the muscle cells after death. Loss of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) to adenosine diphosphate (ADP) causes the muscles to contract and stiffen.Later loss of rigidity from the putrefaction process. Rigor begins throughout the body at the same timeAppears first in smaller muscles- face, neck, and handsRelaxes in same patternGeneral rule for rigor mortis is 12-12-12Changes due to: activity, body temp, ambient temp,Cadaveric spasm 
 
LIVOR MORTIS (Lividity)
 
Purplish—exceptions for CO (carboxyhemoglobin), Cyanide (cyanohemoglobin), FreezingDependent areas—lying, sitting, hangingPale support areasGravity, then leaking into tissuesShifting vs Fixed—Onset 1/2 to 2 hours/fixed by 8 hoursMismatch of pattern and body position
 
THE RATE OF BODY DECAY
 
Time Since DeathPutrefaction—ambient temp/humidityInternal bacteria—sepsis hastensWater X2/BurialX4Ultimately skeletonizeFloatersMummification Adipocere-from chemical process called saponification-reaction between certain bacteria and the body’s adipose (fatty) tissues.
Stomach Contents
 
Stomach empties in 2-3 hours—protein, fatty mealsIntestine transient @ 24 hours
 
Insect ActivityForensic entomologistInsects help in two basic ways: Predictable developmental stages (blowfly); succession of insect speciesChanged by body location, weather, season, night
 
SCENE MARKERSIncludes information at the scene or from witnesses or family and friends. Missed appointments, uncollected mail or newspapers, and dated sales receiptsVictim’s clothing—dressed for work, or morning jog