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
4970 Sunsets Stacey Missed
A previous post in late October mentioned the sad fact that Stacey Burns had then missed 4922 sunsets since her brutal murder in May of 2009. Tonight, when the sun goes down over the beautiful snow-covered town of Wolfeboro, Stacey will miss her 4970th sunset. Will...
4922, But Stacey Missed It
When the sun rose this morning, it began the 4,922nd day since Stacey Burns stopped seeing sunrises. The sunrise also marks 4,922 days since the New Hampshire State Police began their investigation into her vicious murder, which is now on the list of cold case...
Tainted Justice-New Book
Tainted Justice, my newest novel, is now available on Amazon and other retail sources in paperback and e-book formats. See the book tab at the top of the page for a direct link to it on Amazon.
Friday night? Saturday morning? 13 Plus Years Ago
As mentioned in recent post, I am reading portions of Murder in a Small Town: The Tragic Death of Stacey Burns to the Green Valley Writers Forum, a small group of professional and beginning writers who act as a critique group. This week, I read the beginning of the...
Nine years, Four Months
In May, 2013, the Stacey Burns murder story and my efforts to write a book about it was featured in a front page article in our local paper out here in Arizona. At that time, I was immersed in writing Murder in a Small Town: The Tragic Death of Stacey Burns. When...
Revisiting “Murder in a Small Town: The Tragic Death of Stacey Burns”
I have removed the manuscript of "Murder in a Small Town" from the desk drawer where it has resided since it seemed hopeless that the Arrest/Trial/Convictions chapters would ever be written.I've begun sharing it with my Green Valley Writers Forum group. They are quite...
Stacey Burns-Approaching 5000 Days
I know it has been a long time since I posted here about Stacey Burns, but it doesn't mean I haven't thought about that terrible tragedy often as have many of you, I'm sure. It will soon be 5000 days since she was killed. I wonder how her killer views the approach of...
New Book-Tainted Justice
My new book, Tainted Justice, is now available on Amazon and other retail outlets. Ebook version will be available soon. This is my tenth published book since "retiring" from public education.
The Eight Party Line plus A Stacey Burns Response
Apparently, at least one other person, maybe two or three more, were interviewed in the spring by the detective working the Stacey Burns active (cold case) investigation. That would be about the same time I spoke with that same detective. Maybe there is some hope this...
A Short Story
This will be a change of pace but first a report on the "alibis" post of a week ago. I 've heard from one person regarding the "ongoing investigation" into the murder of Stacey Burns. A good friend (perhaps best?) of Stacey says she's been contacted once by phone...
Alibis Revisited
In reading through what I've written on Murder in a Small Town: The Tragic Death of Stacey Burns, I came across the chapter on alibis. Here is the opening paragraph. Chapter Thirteen (page 114) "An earlier chapter of this book addressed the issue of “degrees of...
Definition of Active
In June of 2013, I published a blog post here with my definition of the word, ACTIVE, as it applies to a murder investigation. In retrospect, it seems a bit harsh for the time. The reality is that seven years years had passed when in April of this year, a NHSP...