Upcoming Meetings
February 9th Meeting
The next RMMWA monthly meeting will be held February 9, 2023 at the Colorado Automobile Dealers Association (290 Speer Boulevard in Denver) and we’ll also broadcast a live, interactive hybrid meeting via Zoom. Please join us in-person or via Zoom for a presentation by Officer Kate Young of the Denver Police Department on Active Shooter Preparedness .
The meeting at CADA will start at 6:15 p.m. (MT) with drinks and networking, and dinner will be served at 6:30. Zoom attendees may sign on shortly before 7:00 for the start of the program. See the full agenda below.
To register to attend in person, please use the link below. Please sign up before Monday, February 6th to reserve your spot.
Zoom attendance is free and there is no need to register. Members will receive the meeting link via email. Non-members, please send an email to chapterpres@rmmwa.org to request access.
Dinner menu:
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Chicken Cacciatore
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Thighs and Drumsticks simmered in an herbed tomato sauce
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Creamy mashed potatoes
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Seasonal Greens Salad
- Bite-sized desserts
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- Beverages: Tea, coffee, and water included. Wine and beer are available for a suggested cash donation of $3.00 per drink.
Note: Please contact our Caterer Director directly if you have allergies or specific food issues. We will try to accommodate you if we can.
Meeting Agenda:
- 6:15 Networking and drinks
- 6:30 Dinner
- 7:00 Introductions and Member News
- 7:30 Mystery Minute
- 7:40 Program
Meeting Program:
Active Shooter Preparedness Training
by Officer Kate Young, DPD
Active Shooter Preparedness training covers:
- What is an active shooter?
- Run, Hide, Fight basics
- Red flags and warning signs
- What to do when Law enforcement arrives
- Recovery-short and long term
- Situational awareness
- See something, say something
- Considerations
Please note that this presentation contains two somewhat intense training videos.
Presenter Bio
Officer Kate Young is a Colorado Native, and grew up in Conifer. In high school she joined the law enforcement explorer program with Jefferson County Sheriff’s Dept, where she met her husband. She is the first Police Officer in her family, and has been with the Denver Police Dept (DPD) for 7 years. During her time with DPD, she has worked as a patrol officer, done homeless outreach, and is now enjoying engaging the community as a Community Resource Officer. In her off-time she enjoys spending time with her husband and two kids, reading (mainly true crime, and mystery novels), and kayaking. She’s also a certified wine Sommelier, so she enjoys doing wine tastings and food pairings for people.
Video from the latest
RMMWA Meeting
Special Announcements
2022 6-Word Mystery Winners!
The results of the 2022 Six-Word Mystery Contest sponsored by the Rocky Mountain Chapter of Mystery Writers of America (RMMWA) have been announced.
Overall winner:
Magician escapes gallows when witness vanishes
This entry, written by Rita Popp of Fort Collins, Colorado, was voted the winner over 25 final entries voted on by RMMWA’s members and announced at the chapter’s Mystery and Mistletoe holiday party held December 8th.
This year’s contest attracted 266 entries from 19 states. Writers submitted entries in five mystery categories including Hard Boiled or Noir; Cozy Mystery; Thriller Mystery; Police Procedural Mystery; and/or a Romance or Lust. Four contestants made the finals in more than one category.
According to legend, the first six-word novel was born in the 1920s when Ernest Hemingway at New York’s Algonquin Hotel or Luchow’s restaurant (depending on whom you ask) won a $10 bet by writing a six-word story. His dark and dramatic submission was: “For sale: Baby shoes. Never worn.” Urban legend or no, memorable, heart-breaking and sublime six-word stories have been penned ever since.
RMMWA Chapter President Lori Lacefield said, “This year’s creative entries on the fine art of whodunnit and how ranged from kissing to cat poison, to a folded fitted sheet, and to a prized blueberry pie. The entries made our judges laugh and groan. This year’s contest was great fun all the way around.”
Judges for this year’s contest included Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine Editor Linda Landrigan; New York Times best-selling author Anne Hillerman; award-winning author, lawyer and activist Manuel Ramos; literary agent Terrie Wolf, owner of AKA Literary Management, and John Charles of The Poisoned Pen Bookstore in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Popp won $100 for her winning entry and all category finalists received $25. All finalists will have their six-word stories featured on the RMMWA website and published in both Deadlines, RMMWA’s newsletter, and Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine.
Read on for the finalists and winners in all five categories. Category winners are indicated in bold:
RMMWA Member
News and Notes
What Rocky Mountain MWA Means to Me
by Stephanie Kane
A place to be myself. Where I don’t have to explain why I write crime books or took a break only to pick back up again. Where grey hair and fresh faces are welcome and respected. Where tales of the publishing wars are freely shared, victories are applauded and tips about everything from crafting villains to querying agents are generously exchanged. Where decent folks talk about indecent things and I can connect with old and new friends. read more…
November 2022 Mystery Minute
by ZJ Czupor
She Won the Edgar and Didn’t Know What it Was
1946 was a seminal year.
It was the beginning of the Baby Boomer Generation.
Harry Truman was our president.
Not unlike today, people worried about major shortages in jobs and shortages in housing, especially for those returning from WWII.
Winston Churchill gave his famous “Iron Curtain” speech in Fulton, MO.
Cher and Jimmy Buffet were born, along with Ted Bundy, Freddie Mercury, Dolly Parton, Steven Spielberg, Sylvester Stallone, George W. Bush, and Donald J. Trump.
The ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) was unveiled at the Univ. of Pennsylvania as the first general-purpose electronic computer. It ran on 18,000 vacuum tubes and several miles of wiring. It took up 1,800 square feet and weighed 27 tons.
AT&T announced the first car phones. They weighed 80 pounds and were marketed to companies rather than individuals.
Tupperware was sold in department stores and hardware stores and the bikini went on sale July 5th in Paris. The risqué two-piece swimming suit took its name from the recent atomic testing done by the U.S. at Bikini Atoll, a coral reef in the Marshall Islands.
Also, in late 1946, in New York City, The Edgar was born. read more…