We’ve had a really strange couple of weeks here at the “home office.” But, first, let’s go back a few years…

At BookLocker.com, back in 2014, we published Hunting a Psychopath: The East Area Rapist / Original Night Stalker Investigation – The Original Investigator Speaks Out. It’s available in paperback and hardcover, and as well as an ebook, and it has sold very well. The author is Det. Richard Shelby (ret.). He officially retired long ago but he continued to hunt down the East Area Rapist (a.k.a. the Original Nightstalker and the Golden State Killer).

After Det. Shelby’s retirement, and 20 years after the case went “cold,” he was contacted by his old employer, the Sacramento Sheriff’s Department. They had learned, through DNA analysis, that the East Area Rapist (EAR) and the Original Nightstalker (ONR) were the same person. And, they were re-opening the investigation.

Det. Shelby was later contacted by Russ Oase, the retired West Coast District Chief of Special Investigations for the federal government. Oase was also retired but he, too, was still pursuing an arrest and conviction of the serial rapist and murderer. He asked Det. Shelby to write down everything he recalled of the investigation. Shelby was once again involved in the active investigation and his notes eventually morphed into his book, Hunting a Psychopath.

As many of you may have heard on the news, a suspect was arrested on Wednesday after investigators obtained DNA while having him under surveillance. It was a match with items collected from past crime scenes.

Here’s how things got weird here at the “home office.”

1. Two weeks ago, I received an email from another author who was almost finished writing a book about the case.

2. The next email I opened was from a woman who said she thought her ex-husband might be the East Area Rapist.

Wait. It gets even more weird.

3. The VERY NEXT email I opened was from Det. Richard Shelby!

What?!?!

Naturally, I put that woman in contact with Det. Shelby, with his blessing. I also responded to that other author.

Fast forward two weeks…

Yesterday, I was sitting in the emergency room, scanning my iPad. (Our grandson, who just started toddling, had a minor mishap.) I tapped my finger to check the headlines, and discovered authorities had arrested the suspected East Area Rapist! After almost 40 years on the lam, and only two weeks after receiving that trio of back-to-back emails that had us baffled? What were the chances?!

Baby Jack was released, none the worse for wear (and with a huge grin on his face), so I raced back to the boat (the floating “home office”) to contact the authors and that woman.

I called Det. Shelby but he didn’t pick up so I left a message.

I emailed the other author, and anxiously awaited a response.

I then emailed the woman who suspected the East Area Rapist might be her ex-husband.

I then checked my email and we had received inquiries from the media. They all wanted to interview Det. Shelby, and were asking for his contact info. I immediately responded, and forwarded their emails to him.

The woman emailed me back first. No, the guy being charged is not her ex-husband (but she’s still convinced her ex is a serial rapist).

The other author then emailed me. He was thrilled with the arrest as well!

Det. Shelby called me back last night. He’s such a sweet guy! Softspoken, funny, and so very modest. He seemed shocked by all the attention he was receiving!

After the arrest yesterday, he was interviewed several times, and told me the Washington Post was flying a reporter to his location the next morning. This morning, I found several new articles quoting him!

Det. Shelby’s decades of investigation and gathering of evidence (both before and after his retirement) will be instrumental in bringing the perpetrator to justice! Before hanging up, I congratulated Det. Shelby, and thanked him for his decades of service. We are very proud to know him, and EXTREMELY proud that he allowed BookLocker to publish his book!

RELATED

• HUNTING A PSYCHOPATH: The East Area Rapist / Original Night Stalker Investigation – The Original
  Investigator Speaks Out
• From East Area Rapist to Golden State Killer: Early years of the investigation
  Richard Shelby, a retired Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department detective who was involved in the case from the start, said he and other officers continually worked the case for years, even after retirement.
• Authorities begin racking up cases against ‘Golden State Killer’ suspect, ex-cop turned mechanic
• Booklocker Author Chuck Waldron Lands A Traditional Contract!
• BookLocker Author Kevin Coolidge Lands a Traditional Contract!
• MORE from Angela’s Desk.

Got questions about Print On Demand and Self-publishing? Ask Angela Hoy.

About The Author

Angela Hoy is the publisher of WritersWeekly.com, the author of 19 books, and the co-owner of BookLocker.com (one of the original POD publishers that still gets books to market in less than a month), PubPreppers.com (print and ebook design for authors who truly want to self-publish), and Abuzz Press (the publishing co-op that charges no setup fees).

Angela has lived and traveled across the U.S. with her kids in an RV, settled in a river-side home in Bradenton, FL, and lived on a 52 ft Irwin sailboat. Angela now resides on a mountaintop in Northwest Georgia, where she plans to spend the rest of her days bird watching, gardening, hiking, and taking in all of the amazing sunrises.

WritersWeekly.com - the free marketing ezine for writers, which features new paying markets and freelance job listings every Wednesday.

BookLocker.com - According to attorney Mark Levine, author of The Fine Print, BookLocker is: "As close to perfection as you're going to find in the world of ebook and POD publishing. The ebook royalties are the highest I've ever seen, and the print royalties are better than average. BookLocker understands what new authors experience, and have put together a package that is the best in the business. You can't go wrong here. Plus, they're selective and won't publish any manuscript just because it's accompanied by a check. Also, the web site is well trafficked. If you can find a POD or epublisher with as much integrity and dedication to selling authors' books, but with lower POD publishing fees, please let me know."

Abuzz Press offers FAST and FREE book publication, but only accepts a small percentage of submissions, and only works with U.S. authors.

PubPreppers.com - "We Prep, You Publish!" Print and ebook design for authors who truly want to self-publish. Offers formatting and design services only, and then provides simple instructions for authors on where to sign up to have the print and ebook editions printed/listed/sold. Cut out the middle man. Keep 100% of what bookstores pay for your book!

Angela's POD Secrets Revealed Series can be found HERE.

Have a POD Book with another publisher? See if BookLocker can give you a better deal. (BookLocker offers "disgruntled author discounts" to those who want to move from other POD services.)

See BookLocker's publishing packages HERE.

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Angela is the creator of the Original 24-Hour Short Story Contest!
https://24hourshortstorycontest.com/

Read More Of Angela's Articles HERE

 

 

7.625 STRATEGIES IN EVERY BEST-SELLER - Revised and Expanded Edition

At this moment, thousands of would-be authors are slaving away on their keyboards, dreaming of literary success. But their efforts won’t count for much. Of all those manuscripts, trade book editors will sign up only a slim fraction.

And of those titles--ones that that editors paid thousands of dollars to contract, print and publicize--an unhealthy percentage never sell enough copies to earn back their advances. Two years later, most will be out of print!

Acquisition Editor Tam Mossman shares seven essentials every book needs to stay in print, and sell!

Read more here:

https://writersweekly.com/books/5635.html