Next Heartland Murder Ready for Fall

The next installment in former Williamson County Sheriff Harry Spiller's popular Murder in the Heartland series is at the printers and should be out at the end of September or early October.

This will be his third and possibly last book in this series that have focused on the region's late 20th Century murders. I talked with him today and he's ready to focus on something a bit more upbeat.

Still, don't expect "The Detective's Poetry Beat" to hit shelves anytime soon.

O'Shea Sets Book Signing at Cata's

Bill O'Shea will be doing a book signing for "The Advocate" on Saturday August 5, from noon to 2 p.m. at Cata's Books in West Frankfort.

All proceeds (both the store's and the author's) will go to benefit the new Women/Children's center here in West Frankfort.

'The Advocate' Focuses on the Child

Bill O'Shea's second novel has just come out. Titled, "The Advoate", O'Shea relies on his experience as a Chicago cop and a private investigator to flesh out the character of Lt. Diego Santucci as he searches for a serial killer to targets sex offenders.

"It’s about a police lieutenant, with a dubious background, who learns what terrors befall our children when they are preyed upon by monsters," explains O'Shea in his press materials. "Along the way he meets a five year-old who is already an adult in many ways and a headstrong DCFS supervisor who has her own agenda."

While taking his detective drama to the limit, O'Shea, who also volunteers as a Court Appointed Special Advocate for children, also pushes his agenda of promoting child advocacy focusing "on fostering, adoption, CASA and raising awareness of children’s problems."

O'Shea is donating his proceeds from the $19.95 book to area children's advocacy programs. The book is available online at AuthorHouse.com, and should be at Amazon.com shortly. It's available locally at Cata's Books in the VF Outlet Mall in West Frankfort and The Buzz on the square in Benton.

As a special note, Candice Lahr, owner of Cata's Books, is also donating her proceeds from sales of the book to child advocacy programs.

O'Shea also wrote "The Foot Post" which is a novel based on some of his own experiences as a foot patrol officer for the Chicago Police Department.

Illinois Writers Blog Debuts

Hello,

Welcome to the Illinois Writers Blog designed to cover both Illinois-based authors as well as authors from elsewhere who write about Illinois.

I am the owner of IllinoisHistory.com, a small publisher which focuses on Illinois and area history based in Marion, Illinois. My books include "Slaves, Salt, Sex & Mr. Crenshaw, the Real History of the Old Slave House and America's Reverse Underground R.R." and the upcoming "Bloody Vendetta of Southern Illinois" which is an updated and expanded version of Milo Erwin's 1876 account of the Vendetta.

I'm also a member of a Southern Illinois Writers Guild which meets at 7 p.m. the fourth Tuesday of every month at John A. Logan College in Carterville between Marion and Carbondale, and the Independent Book Publishers Association.