Welcome! I’m Duke Southard, an author, retired educator, and lecturer.
I have published seven novels, a commissioned history, and an anthology of
award-winning short stories and essays.
Please check out my blog where I write about true crime and a wide ranging variety of literary and everyday subjects.
My Programs
My programs are offered free of charge to any schools, public libraries, and educational/community groups.
Free Book
Grab a free copy of my book, The Week from Heaven and Hell
My Books
View a list of my published books, including Tainted Justice.
Recent Posts
Relections of Trust
Our pastor this morning used the phrase "failure to trust" as a lynchpin in his sermon. I started thinking about how much my trust in so many things has eroded. His reference, of course, was to the trust we have or do not have in God. My thought drifted to another...
A Timeline
I throw this open for discussion-How long does one wait for justice to be done? By the time the tenth anniversary of the murder of Stacey Burns rolls around (May 10, 2019) I'll be 79 years old. My friends and some family are telling me it is time to give up my...
April, 2011-85 %
In April, 2011, I was told that the NHSP investigators in the Stacey Burns murder case (or at least one them) felt they had an eight-five percent chance of conviction in the case with a particular suspect (unnamed) at that time. It is six and half years since that...
A Prelude to Murder (cont.)
These two paragraphs complete page one of the first chapter of Murder in a Small Town: The Tragic Death of Stacey Burns. Stacey Burns could not have anticipated how the details of this last weekend of her life would be scrutinized through so many avenues, from police...
Murder in a Smalll Town . . .
As promised in the previous post, I will occasionally be sharing small segments of my unfinished and unpublished book, Murder in a Small Town: The Tragic Death of Stacey Burns. As everyone is aware, this book will never be finished because the...
Ouch! A Response
"In an open case, such as Stacey Ann Keane Burns, specific investigative steps that have been taken or have not been taken are not open for discussion. That includes who may have been interviewed or have not been interviewed." The above statement came in an e-mail...
In Good Conscience
"In good conscience" is a wonderful phrase, just recently used by John McCain as he explained his vote against the current health care bill in the U.S. Senate. It's like the "do no harm" phrase in the Hippocratic oath. If a person truly means it, in good conscience...
Eleven Days
It's been eleven days since I posted the "disillusionment" piece about what appears to be a lack of follow up to a tip about the Stacey Burns case that I sent to the NHSP. I'll admit that I didn't expect any response, not did I expect any response from the next post...
Five Hundred and Fifty
Last time I looked, five hundred and fifty people have read my last post regarding my disappointment/disillusionment that key people in a tip about the Stacey Burns murder I sent to the NHSP early in May had not yet been interviewed. This is the most in a long time....
Disappointed, Almost Disillusioned
Today, I found out that some people included in a tip about the Stacey Burns murder I sent to the New Hampshire State Police four months ago have not been interviewed. These people are part of group who I was sure would be contacted as a result of this tip. "Playing...
Stacey’s “Tipping Point”
We have all experienced "tipping points" in our lives. Stacey Burns no doubt experienced one when she made the decision to divorce her husband. It surely was not a decision made lightly but with careful considerations of all the factors at work in her life at the...
Amazon Reviews and Making Money
This post is really two topics in one but they might be related. Please don't think I am complaining. This is purely an informational blog post. First, every author will tell you that Amazon reviews of books is critical to the success of a good book. My five books...