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Publishing Murder on a Horse Trail on justiceforchandra.com
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rd



Joined: 13 Sep 2002
Posts: 9273
Location: Jacksonville, FL

PostPosted: Thu Apr 14, 2005 5:07 am    Post subject: Publishing Murder on a Horse Trail on justiceforchandra.com Reply with quote

May 1, 2005 is approaching. That will be four years from when Chandra disappeared, almost three years from when her skeleton was found in Rock Creek Park. We have laid out many answerable questions, with no answers forthcoming, and are met only with total silence from all corners. Clearly, no one is being asked any questions about the circumstances surrounding Chandra's disappearance. Everyone who could get those questions answered just wanted this to go away from the beginning, and it has.

A year ago I spent the winter chronicling our analysis of this disappearance, wanting to have a book ready for May 1. I did get Murder on a Horse Trail: The Disappearance of Chandra Levy ready for that date of her disappearance, and in the process tried to write it as a murder mystery worthy of a good read as many murder mysteries are. Only this was real. A writer in Hollywood couldn't make up the circumstances that actually happened, yet they happened. A real woman is dead, but the mystery is just as compelling as any fictional account of a woman's death, more so by miles, I must say.

And so I approached the book publishers, paperback publishers, and agents, but still benign neglect reigned over Chandra Levy's disappearance. No one was interested. It was not for them. Chandra Levy was old news, and no one cared what the story ripped from the headlines was. They all knew more than they cared to know. A lot of people have been killed since Chandra Levy disappeared. Those were naive days, and we are all grown up now.

With no prospect of getting the book into bookstores, no possibility of paperbacks that people could take to the beach and fill in the missing picture not captured by the headlines, and with Condit's lawsuit against Dominick Dunne approved to go forward, I published Murder on a Horse Trail myself to get that story out there, with kind help from our wonderful members here at www.justiceforchandra.com. I hoped to sell enough to pay for publishing it, I didn't, but it was worth every penny.

During this last year Scott Peterson was convicted, fulfilling one of the quests for justice this board had, focused as it was on Modesto, a focus that Modesto I'm sure never wanted and doesn't want, yet Modesto women disappeared and Modesto men were silent. A precedent was being set that if a man can make a woman disappear without leaving a trail of blood, he gets away with murder. That precedent couldn't be set, and Stanislaus County successfully stopped it in its tracks. The information on our board about Laci Peterson and her child Conner are just background information now. Successfully stopped, but they are gone.

So this post is to talk about the past and the future. To wrap up the past, for May 1 this year I am publishing Murder on a Horse Trail on our site, to remain on the site for visitors to read. I also donated a hardcopy to the Modesto Library, and of course we have sent copies to all we felt may be interested in this story as never put together anywhere before. The publishing industry's embargo on open cases and a Washington police force that never wanted this case, along with the inability to self-publish and distribute lower priced paperbacks, ensures that very few people would ever see this murder mystery played out. Publishing it on this site will ensure that anyone who cares to read this murder mystery, can. Murder on a Horse Trail will still be available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble and other sites to put on that true crime spot on your shelf as well, a true crime not allowed to be published, but yet, here it is.

Hopefully some will register here and add their thoughts, perhaps shed light on the potential answers, perhaps shed light on whether a grand jury would get the answers from those not taking the Fifth, perhaps just read a good mystery. I think an investigation of Chandra's case could go in different directions based on how some of those questions are answered, but it is an inexcusably cold case until then. Perhaps the answers are simple, but there have never been such a collection of coincidences in Washington as the circumstances surrounding this intern's disappearance.

Going forward, amidst getting this book out, job hunting, and selling my house, I have spent the last year retraining in a newer computer technology. I just completed writing Double Deck Pinochle in Java and will be hosting it here, if nothing else, as a demo of my programming. More importantly, I will then be moving on into writing software to host here that could be useful for many things, some related to helping solve crimes. I will write some pieces first and host up on the board to then have something that can be discussed and taken advantage of. Of course it will take time, but this board will continue to have purpose.

rd

click to read the online true crime mystery novel Murder on a Horse Trail: The Disappearance of Chandra Levy

www.justiceforchandra.com home page
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laskipper



Joined: 17 Sep 2002
Posts: 1232
Location: Northern Ohio

PostPosted: Thu Apr 14, 2005 7:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

You did a great job on the book, rd. It's the cast of characters that is the stumbling block in the area of publication (IMO), not your subject matter.
You missed you calling. lol

The onlline book is a great idea and I can't wait to see the game. I've never played Pinochle- sounds like fun.

Also, I'm curious about the software that could be useful for crime solving. Must be links to info sites?

ls
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rd



Joined: 13 Sep 2002
Posts: 9273
Location: Jacksonville, FL

PostPosted: Thu Apr 14, 2005 8:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

A motley crew to be sure, skipper. I sure couldn't make up anything like that. But we'll see if we end up doing anything worth chronicling again. I hope so.

I would categorize some of what I plan on doing as more along the lines of searching on data and notification. I just have to take it one step at a time though and just work on it everyday.

rd
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rd



Joined: 13 Sep 2002
Posts: 9273
Location: Jacksonville, FL

PostPosted: Tue Apr 19, 2005 9:22 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Murder on a Horse Trail is now published on the site. This thread is for online publishing discussion so the Murder on a Horse Trail - Discussion thread can focus on the book and the case.

thanks,
rd
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rd



Joined: 13 Sep 2002
Posts: 9273
Location: Jacksonville, FL

PostPosted: Fri Apr 22, 2005 8:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

An email I sent to a reporter:

With May 1 coming up let me update you on what I did on my site for Chandra and Laci, www.justiceforchandra.com.

My book Murder on a Horse Trail: The Disappearance of Chandra Levy has been out a year now after I was unable to get Random House among others interested in publishing it. I self-published it POD to have it out there for May 1 last year and for background info on Dominick Dunne's case.

I continued to seek a paperback publisher, with no success mostly due to their policy against publishing about open cases but maybe I'm a lousy writer, who knows? So given that it will never be published, I will just take the loss of what I spent to write and publish it. I have just published it on my web site with color maps and pictures which is the way I wanted to do in the POD but couldn't.

I hope true crime fans get a chance to take a look at it and read a pretty interesting murder mystery, maybe the only way it can be done with publishers refusing to entertain open cases.

I don't have any advertising so I make no money on this. I am spending my time now on developing software which I will host on my site with which I hope to further enable interested people in collaborating on following cases in the future.

regards,
Ralph Daugherty
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rd



Joined: 13 Sep 2002
Posts: 9273
Location: Jacksonville, FL

PostPosted: Sun Apr 24, 2005 3:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Getting word out about Murder on a Horse Trail has been tough. A plus is now a link here to the Murder on a Horse Trail forum lets anyone read the whole thing. Maybe I just should have done that last year without spending money to publish it, but I really thought it would make a terrific paperback. The screen just doesn't have the same page turning feel, but on the other hand I can now add color maps and pictures I couldn't in the book.

Also sending books to the media and law enforcement figures I thought would make a difference. Oh well, I gave it a year, lost some money, but glad it's in book form but because I published it myself I can now publish here on the website.

Quite frankly, I wrote it as a whodunit with answer yet to be determined. Questions have to be answered to move off the status quo. I was unable to get any questions answered in my research, but it's a roadmap to get those questions answered.

rd
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rd



Joined: 13 Sep 2002
Posts: 9273
Location: Jacksonville, FL

PostPosted: Tue May 03, 2005 1:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I posted this on ezboard's bookchatcentral:

Free online publishing of Murder on a Horse Trail

I posted here last year about my book Murder on a Horse Trail: The Disappearance of Chandra Levy but the thread is gone.

Anyway, for true crime mystery lovers, I've published my book on my web site www.justiceforchandra.com unabridged with extra color maps and pictures.

No advertising on my site, I make nothing on this, but I couldn't get it published in a paperback novel because it's an open case, so enjoy.

regards,
rd
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rd



Joined: 13 Sep 2002
Posts: 9273
Location: Jacksonville, FL

PostPosted: Wed May 04, 2005 1:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Posted to www.writers.net:

Hi guys. I'm back to say that I wasn't successful getting an agent and can't get Murder on a Horse Trail published as a paperback because a few publishers, agents, and writers have told me that true crimes have to be a closed case before anyone will publish it.

I will say agents were responsive and nice, but they just weren't interested.

Anyway, for true crime mystery lovers, I've published my book Murder on a Horse Trail on my web site www.justiceforchandra.com, unabridged and with extra color maps and pictures.

No advertising on my site, so enjoy.

regards,
rd
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rd



Joined: 13 Sep 2002
Posts: 9273
Location: Jacksonville, FL

PostPosted: Sun May 15, 2005 2:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Posted to Washington's www.WJLA.com ABC channel 7 news site under the story they have today mentioning Chandra's unsolved case among the More Than One-Thousand Murder Cases in The District unsolved in the past ten years:

Here's a tip for readers. I just published online my true crime murder mystery book, Murder on a Horse Trail: The Disappearance of Chandra Levy on my site www.justiceforchandra.com.

No advertising, no cost, so I make no money on it, but since Chandra's case is still open paperback publishers won't publish it, so I will. :) The link is:

Murder on a Horse Trail: The Disappearance of Chandra Levy
http://www.justiceforchandra.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=32

enjoy,
rd
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rd



Joined: 13 Sep 2002
Posts: 9273
Location: Jacksonville, FL

PostPosted: Mon May 30, 2005 7:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

posted on www.buzzmachine.com:

On the feel of reading books on a computer screen, I agree. I'm here to post details of my online book, Murder on a Horse Trail: The Disappearance of Chandra Levy, but I can tell you that as I have posted on my site www.justiceforchandra.com, web pages just don't have that page turning feel experience like reading the real thing. Still, it's the next best thing and I can insert color maps, pictures, and links I can't in the POD (Print on Demand) book I've had out for the last year.

Saw BuzzMachine.com in Howard Kurtz's column and coming here to take a look, saw this topic on books and bloggers. I just published Murder on a Horse Trail at
http://www.justiceforchandra.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=32

I would like to think there's some power of blogging in that effort. The book has several illuminating posts from interested people who posted their insights on Chandra's case on the web, information covered in much better detail than the press is able to do.

And in the end, my book on a noted true crime case couldn't get published as a paperback because of publishers' policy against publishing on true crime cases, or at least I didn't have the name power to hurdle that barrier. So while incorporating populist offerings to the analysis of this case, it then itself is made a populist offering.

Does this have any lessons to offer? Just that Jeff's basic contention is right. The web blog does offer a power to get around institutional blockades to be heard that didn't exist before outside of handing out local flyers.

People will vote with a click to or fro as to what is worthy, what is responsible, what is interesting, and surely new more dynamic layers will spring forth to cull the best from bloggers that institutions will likely tap into, but no longer control.

rd
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benn



Joined: 19 Sep 2002
Posts: 2136
Location: Sacramento, CA

PostPosted: Wed Jun 01, 2005 10:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I am not sure I know what a blog is. Oh well, sometimes it does not pay to be too smart. :)

I am writing because I sent a feedback to the Reuters news article that was featured today in the google news alerts about Gary Condit. Some day a reputable news source, or police source, will for some unknown reason take an interest in one of these letters, generated by me or by one of many other interested individuals, and who knows maybe we will find a deep throat in the Chandra Levy case.

benn
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rd



Joined: 13 Sep 2002
Posts: 9273
Location: Jacksonville, FL

PostPosted: Wed Jun 01, 2005 10:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

A blog is just a more personalized version of what we do here, benn. We basically blog, which is a shortened version of weblog, or writing a journal on web pages. Blogs are not nearly as interesting to read as a good site forum from what I've seen.

Anyone can blog, the key was the same for this site when we put it out for the public. How would anyone know about it, and would they be interested? It's even a little tougher for bloggers because it's more about them than the main focus of the site, although most bloggers usually have some focus, often politics.

But basically we blog here, we just have a better format with forums.

rd
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rd



Joined: 13 Sep 2002
Posts: 9273
Location: Jacksonville, FL

PostPosted: Wed Jun 08, 2005 9:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Posted to the Washington Post's Book World (attempted anyway):

Here's a tip for your readers. I just published online my true crime murder mystery, Murder on a Horse Trail: The Disappearance of Chandra Levy on my site www.justiceforchandra.com.

Since Chandra's case is still open paperback publishers won't publish it, so I will. :) The link is:

Murder on a Horse Trail: The Disappearance of Chandra Levy
http://www.justiceforchandra.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=32

I also sent a copy to the Washington Post Book Editor last year, but now the full, unabridged text with extra color maps and pictures is posted for all to read and discuss, so enjoy.

regards,
rd
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benn



Joined: 19 Sep 2002
Posts: 2136
Location: Sacramento, CA

PostPosted: Sun Jul 10, 2005 10:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hello rd, I mentioned in one of my pms to you that I was going to post a message about Murder on a Horse Trail. I don't know if you have done this or not, but I happened to run across this message from Google when I was looking at one of their ads.

>>>I'm an author. How do I add my books to the Google search results?

The best way to get your books included is to speak with your publisher and encourage them to join the Google Print for publishers Program. If you're self-published or the rights to your book have reverted back to you, you can join the program yourself by sending us your books or uploading them in PDF format. Please visit the Google Print publisher page to learn more about the program.<<<

That sounds good, rd, if you have not already done it.

benn
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rd



Joined: 13 Sep 2002
Posts: 9273
Location: Jacksonville, FL

PostPosted: Mon Jul 11, 2005 6:59 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yes, that does sound good for self-published authors. Google keeps coming through with innovative programs.

Fortunately another great company, Amazon, already places Murder on a Horse Trail in relevant Google search results. I still think this is a murder mystery more interesting than any story a writer can make up, a story many avid readers would be interested in if they knew about it.

But its clear not enough interest was generated to ever get any more insights into the questions surrounding Chandra's disappearance. It's just an interesting footnote in history now, and no one will be searching on Chandra Levy again unless her case makes the news again, an unlikely prospect at this point. It appears only lawsuits produce results.

rd
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