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
From Whence Comes The Inspiration?
After most literary programs I present. a common question is this: Where do you get ideas or the inspiration for your stories? With the newly revised edition of A Favor Returned the question is an easy one to answer. The book has a new jacket design and the event...
Murder- Is There A Deadline?
Now there is. My manuscript (1st rough draft) of Murder in a Small Town: The Tragic Death of Stacey Burns is sixteen chapters in length. It represents untold hours in travel, research, interviews, and writing. As mentioned in a previous blog, a time must come when one...
Amazon Rankings- Alway Humbling!
After a seemingly successful local book launch of the new, revised edition of A Favor Returned on Sunday, I was feeling rather good. Then, I checked the Amazon rankings of both the paperback and e-book versions of the book. Some of the euphoria left over from the...
A warning (or at least a “Heads up”)
By July 26, I will be contacting, by regular mail, Scott Gilbert of the New Hampshire State Police, Stuart Chase, Wolfeboro Police Chief, and Jennifer Haskell, Stacey Burns' attorney, with a request for fifteen minutes of their time. Each of them could verify (or not)...
A Fascinating Lakes Region Phenomenon
Perhaps the word phenomena should have been used here as there are two areas of interesting and, to me, surprising things going on. The first surprise is the non-response to an offer of a free program on my work with the Stacey Burns murder case. Here in Arizona, two...
Is the truth ever repetitious?
In what has been written in Murder in a Small Town: The Tragic Death of Stacey Burns thus far, I make what I believe is a fairly strong case for there being no such thing a degree of truth. Truth exists in its own realm without shadings. So, the answer to the question...
True Crime Neophyte?
According to Webster's New World Dictionary, a neophyte is, in turn, an amateur, a beginner, a novice. Perhaps, when one reads of a program given by a neophyte, the standard definition would be enough to keep that person from attending that program. After all, who...
Is There A Venue For The Truth?
Between September 27 and September 30, I will be in New Hampshire. Either I will be presenting a program or two or I will be trying to establish something new for my work on the Stacey Burns book. It would seem that there may be some out there in the "Live Free or...
Can a book be launched twice?
The answer, in my opinion, is a definitive yes! In May, 2000, the hard cover version of A Favor Returned was "launched" but in a way that was typical for the time when the launcher was an unknown writer with an unknown reputation. The launch was like the rocket on the...
The Scene of the Crime
For two and a half years, my primary writing project has been Murder in a Small Town: The Tragic Death of Stacey Burns. (a "working" title) Granted, the rewrite of A Favor Returned interrupted that over the last few months but now that the new version of that novel is...
Clarification of last Stacey Burns post
Some have expressed confusion over the recent blog which used an Ann Rule quotation in reference to the Stacey Burns murder case. I left two blanks and advised those reading it to fill them in as they saw fit. Here is a different way to look at this. In the Ann Rule...
A Favor Returned Arrives!
Late this afternoon, I received the author copies of the new edition of A Favor Returned. To say that I am pleased would be such a gross understatement. The new interior and exterior design and the tightening of the writing is something of which I am very proud....