Outliers Writing University Podcast Series

GET TO KNOW Award-winning Author Andrew Welsh-Huggins

Andrew Welsh-Huggins, of Columbus, is the Shamus, Derringer, and ITW-award-nominated author of the upcoming thriller The Mailman, featuring Mercury Carter, a former federal agent turned freelance courier. Publishers Weekly said of The Mailman: “With full-throttle pacing from start to finish, this will have Jack Reacher fans hoping Carter is back in action soon.” Welsh-Huggins is also the author of the standalone thriller, The End of the Road; the Andy Hayes Private Eye series; and editor of Columbus Noir. Andrew’s short stories have appeared in multiple magazines and anthologies, including Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Alfred Hitchcock Magazine, and The Best Mystery Stories of the Year 2021 and 2024.
Website: https://www.andrewwelshhuggins.com/

GET TO KNOW Best-selling Author Allison Brennan

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. A fifth-generation Californian, she moved with her family to Arizona in 2019 where she enjoys hiking, baseball Spring Training, and (of course) reading. Allison is best known for her long-running Lucy Kincaid FBI series, and her Quinn & Costa thrillers. Her new Angelhart PI series launches the summer of 2024.
https://www.allisonbrennan.com/

CRIMINAL MISCHIEF 67: Special Guest True Crime Author Caitlin Rother

Caitlin Rother is the author and co-author of 15 true crime books that delve into the minds of some of Southern California's most notorious killers and mysterious, high-profile deaths. She is an award-winning investigative journalist and a New York Times bestselling author. She writes both fiction and nonfiction stories, with a new fiction series currently in the works.
https://www.caitlinrother.com/

CRIMINAL MISCHIEF 66: Special Guest Forensic Psychologist Jeffrey Smalldon

Curious about what it’s like to sit face-to-face with one of America’s most infamous serial killers? Download a free chapter from That Beast Was Not Me and dive into Dr. Smalldon’s unforgettable first encounter with John Wayne Gacy on death row. This isn’t sensationalized true crime—it’s an unfiltered look at the thin line between normalcy and monstrosity, told through the eyes of a forensic psychology student. 
 
https://jeffreysmalldon.com/

CRIMINAL MISCHIEF 65: Special Guest Criminal Defense Attorney and Former GA State Legislator McCracken Poston

McCracken Poston, Jr. is a practicing criminal defense attorney and former state legislator in the Georgia House of Representatives. He is a graduate of The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and received his law degree from The University of Georgia. He gained national attention for his handling of several notable cases that were featured on CNN Presents, Dateline NBC, A&E's American Justice, and Forensic Files. He lives in Ringgold, Georgia.
https://www.mccrackenpostonjr.com/

CRIMINAL MISCHIEF 64: The BTK Killer: A discussion With Dr. Katherine Ramsland

Dr. Katherine Ramsland teaches forensic psychology and behavioral criminology in the graduate program at DeSales University, where she is Professor Emerita. She has appeared as an expert on more than 250 crime documentaries and was an executive producer on Murder House Flip and A&E’s Confession of a Serial killer: BTK. The author of more than 1,800 articles and 73 books, including The Serial Killer’s Apprentice and How to Catch a Killer, she pens a regular blog for Psychology Today. She has also written a fiction series based on a female forensic psychologist, Annie Hunter, who consults on death investigations.

CRIMINAL MISCHIEF 63: Serial Killer Types with DP Lyle, MD and Katherine Ramsland. PhD

Serial killers aren't always Ted Bundy types, or Hannibal Lecter. Their motives vary greatly.
DP Lyle is the Amazon #1 Bestselling; Macavity and Benjamin Franklin Award-winning; and Edgar(2), Agatha, Anthony, Shamus, Scribe, Silver Falchion, and USA Today Best Book(2) nominated author of 27 books. He hosts the Crime Fiction Writer’s Blog, the Criminal Mischief: The Art and Science of Crime Fiction YouTube/podcast series, and is co-creator of the Outliers Writing University He has worked with the writers of TV’s Law & Order, CSI: Miami, Monk, House, and other shows.
Website: http://www.dplylemd.com
Dr. Katherine Ramsland teaches forensic psychology and behavioral criminology in the graduate program at DeSales University, where she is Professor Emerita. She has appeared as an expert on more than 250 crime documentaries and was an executive producer on Murder House Flip and A&E’s Confession of a Serial killer: BTK. The author of more than 1,800 articles and 73 books, including The Serial Killer’s Apprentice and How to Catch a Killer, she pens a regular blog for Psychology Today. She has also written a fiction series based on a female forensic psychologist, Annie Hunter, who consults on death investigations.

CRIMINAL MISCHIEF 62: Special Guests Dr. Katherine Ramsland and Documentary Producer Tracy Ullman

Dr. Katherine Ramsland teaches forensic psychology and behavioral criminology in the graduate program at DeSales University, where she is Professor Emerita. She has appeared as an expert on more than 250 crime documentaries and was an executive producer on Murder House Flip and A&E’s Confession of a Serial killer: BTK. The author of more than 1,800 articles and 73 books, including The Serial Killer’s Apprentice and How to Catch a Killer, she pens a regular blog for Psychology Today. She has also written a fiction series based on a female forensic psychologist, Annie Hunter, who consults on death investigations.
Tracy Ullman is a documentary producer, director, and writer in Chicago. She has produced dozens of non-fiction television programs for Discovery Networks, Oxygen, AETN Networks, and PBS. Her most recent production is a six-part limited documentary series about serial murderer John Wayne Gacy and the new discoveries made in his case for NBC’s Peacock streaming service.

CRIMINAL MISCHIEF 61: Special Guest Forensic Specialist Jennifer Dornbush

After careers in journalism and teaching, I turned seriously to screenwriting where I began to connect my coroner world to my writing world. I sought out a degree at the Forensic Science Academy in Los Angeles to gain more forensic training and earn the friendship of LA’s top CSIs, fingerprint specialists, DNA scientists, and detectives. Through this experience, I authored Forensic Speak: How To Write Realistic Crime Dramas, used by not only showrunners and writers but also law enforcement.
TODAY, I WORK AS A SCREENWRITER, AUTHOR, SPEAKER AND FORENSIC SPECIALIST.
As a screenwriter… I’ve developed film and TV projects with Lifetime TV, Enspire, Echo Lake, Wolper Productions, Red Kimono, David Janolari Entertainment, Hoplite, and a host of others. I wrote the theatrically released film and novel, God Bless the Broken Road, a Netflix top 10 Faith-based Movie.
As an author… my mystery book series, The Coroner’s Daughter, first released in 2018; with The Coroner, and followed by Secret Remains. Last One Alive in 2023. Books 4 and 5 are slated for publication in 2024 and 2025. My true crime thriller, Hole in the Woods released in 2020 and optioned for TV.
I am a contributing author in a three book Murder, Music and Mystery anthology series from Blackstone Publishing: Hotel California, 2022; Thriller, 2023; and the pre-published, Back In Black, 2024.
In pre-publication are a true crime memoir, Raised By The Ice Man, that chronicles the lives of Merrick and Christin Kuklinksi, daughters of mafia killer, Richard Kuklinski. And an historical crime fiction novel, The Locard Principle, inspired by the doctor who instituted the world’s first crime lab.
I am also currently working on a YA mystery dramedy for publication and TV series.
As a speaker… I frequently speak internationally on crime fiction and forensics. And I host regular webinars through Writer’s Digest, The Writers Store and Script Magazine and dozens of others. I also teach for several universities and mentor aspiring writers from around the world. 
As a forensic specialist… I’ve consulted with TV writers on shows such as: Bull, Conviction, Hawaii Five-O, Leverage, Suits, and Rectify.)
 
https://jenniferdornbush.com/

CRIMINAL MISCHIEF 60: Special Guest Retired NYPD Missing Persons Squad Sergeant and Current P.I. John Ferriso

JOHN FERRISO
John Ferriso is a retired Sergeant New York City Police Department. He was a September 11th, 2001, rescue and recovery worker and sergeant assigned to the Internal Affairs Bureau. His last assignment in the NYPD was Sergeant Missing Persons Squad, supervising an office of 20 detectives, with 7,000 cases per year. A short story published online detailing what he witnessed on September 11, 2001, In a New York minute, an officer’s eyewitness account of the events of September 11, 2001. He is  a published author of short stories. All in a day’s work: an officer accounts 20 years NYPD. One of his short stories titled “what if the police called all your contacts, what would they say about you” was published in Psychology Today. 
John is a member of Sisters in Crime, New York chapter. He networks with other mystery writers answering authors’ questions regarding the actual steps within a police investigation.     
John Ferriso is the owner of Ferris Investigation’s a New York private investigators company that specializes in missing person investigations. He utilizes his skills with nationwide non-profit organizations who investigate and re-examine missing person cold cases. He has been featured on podcasts where his cold case investigations are brought to the attention of new audiences.  
John received a master’s degree from American Public University, Ancient History.  
John has worked as Security Supervisor Empire State Building. He currently works in private security for a New York City Wall Street firm.
John Ferriso is a married father of two children residing in Queens NY.