Crime Fighters, Crime Writers
After attending a local writer’s conference this year, I was inspired to start a new blog series for some of the writers that I was privileged to learn from at the conference, and which may be expanded to other participants in the future. This series is “Crime Fighters, Crime Writers” and will feature real life policemen/emergency services workers who are also authors.
I had such a great time at the conference playing with emergency equipment, handling weapons, and hearing stories of their service, I had to share them with you too!
This post is the first in the Crime Fighters, Crime Writers series. More to come!
Crime Fighter: Detective David Sweet
DAVID SWEET is an active-duty Homicide Detective with the Calgary Police Service with twenty years on the job. He has worked in the Drug Unit and the Organized Crime Section, and he teaches new recruits and presents at law enforcement conferences and various community groups.
SARAH KADES GRAHAM spent a decade as an archaeologist before becoming a cultural translator for Indigenous communities and oil companies eight years ago. She sits on the board of directors of When Words Collide, an Auroa-award winning reader and writer festival, and writes action adventure romantic fiction under the pseudonym Sarah Kades.Crime Writer: Skeletons in My Closet
Skeletons in My Closet is an unorthodox police memoir taking readers on a ride-along like no other, revealing poignant truths about life and death, and how we can all work and live together. Danger and grit pair with humour and compassion in this gripping, fresh read. Dave Sweet, a conservative, veteran homicide detective has teamed up with Sarah Graham, a liberal, optimistic author to write this universal life-lessons book.
Excerpt
More than a year ago, I was sitting around a pool in Palm Springs, California, watching my kids play while I stretched out on my lounger, cold drink in hand. I had just finished an investigation where a young mother had been murdered, her half-naked body dumped in a drainage ditch, not to be found for months. Her little boy was left to be raised by strangers, the father had been sentenced to life and now sat in a jail cell for the senseless crime.
This case was no more horrific than others. It was the culmination of them that had me reflecting on my own mortality, my family, my career. We get good at handling the darker sides of human behaviour. Sometimes cases float (or catapult) into our awareness long after the reports are filed and verdicts in. This career has given opportunities for me to reflect both on my own success and family, and to realize how lucky I am. So many go through tragedy, strife, and unfortunate circumstances.
My kids live in a world where they are provided the things they need and a lot of the things they want. As I watched them play with such carefree happiness, I wished to share with them an understanding of what others go through, and the lessons many of these situations have taught me. I wanted to write a book that talked about these things, lessons from Dad that they could turn to as they grew older. My father, from whom I learned so much, passed away during this project. Everything hit home even harder.
I began outlining ideas:
‘staying out of dark places keeps you safe’,
‘just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should’,
‘not everyone lives behind white picket fences’,
‘always leave people in a better place than you found them’.
Det. David Sweet, Skeletons in my Closet
Where can I get it?
Want to get your hands on Det. Sweet’s book? Of course you do!
| Free prequel | Preorder Now |
