Events

On Oct. 22, Alan Beaman and his lawyer Jeffrey Urdangen will come to Illinois State University to share his experience of being wrongfully convicted of murder. The 7 p.m. event at Braden Auditorium is free and open to the public. I will moderate the conversation with Beaman and his longtime lawyer.

I enjoyed my time this morning with the audience at Living Well United in LeRoy. I shared some highlights from my time as a crime and legal affairs reporter at The Pantagraph and WGLT.

It’s amazing how many of the court cases I have covered that people still recall and want to talk about.  Our conversation about the Jamie Snow case included an exchange with two people in the audience who were related to the victim in that case, Bill Little. Their opinion on his innocence claims is relatable: if he’s guilty, he should stay behind bars but no one, including them, wants an innocent person to be kept in prison.  People were also familiar with the Amanda Hamm and Maurice LaGrone cases. When tragedy strikes a small town, everyone knows someone who is affected.

Good discussion at Champaign Public Library Event

Our presentation to the audience at the Champaign Public Library generated a wide range of questions.  We talked about how The Unforgiven  was written and the challenges authors face in their efforts to remain unbiased.  We also explored some of the evidence in the two police investigations leading up to the two murder trials.  The crowd also heard from my co-author Steve Vogel about his journey to the publication of his New York Times best seller, Reasonable Doubt.  He shared the details of writing about a murder case he had covered as reporter and the ongoing success of the book. Thanks to everyone who attended the event!

Mark your calendars: Champaign Public Library Visit

We will be at the Champaign Public Library on Wednesday, Sept. 18 from 6:30 -8 p.m.  The event is part of the library’s author series an opportunity for readers (and writers) to learn about new books and how writers put together their projects.

Coming this week:

We will be at the Bloomington Public Library at 7 p.m. June 6 to talk about The Unforgiven. We will take questions and sign books after our presentation.  Looking forward to seeing you there!

Upcoming Event for The Unforgiven: Normal Public Library in Normal, Illinois, sponsored by the Normal Public Library Foundation. The date is June 2, 2019 in the Community Room from 2:00 – 3:30 PM. Address is 206 W. College Ave., Normal, IL 61761. Normal Public Library

COMING MAY 5, 2019 Bobzbay Book Store – Bloomington, Illinois