Life Stories ( Cont ’ d ) Unit , so I had my hand directly in a number of cases around the country . That was valuable experience to say the least .
Nearly thirty years in law enforcement was finally enough fun for me . I ’ d always wanted to use my degrees and experience to teach . I was hired as a full-time instructor at a small community college here in Colorado not long after I retired . A few years later , Pikes Peak Community College in Colorado Springs offered me a position as Criminal Justice Department Chair and Associate Professor . In a lot of ways , that was the best job I ever had !
During my thirteen years there I ‘ invented ’ the first class in profiling in the history of Colorado colleges . They ’ re still using my curriculum in colleges where they ’ re teaching it . Not many colleges are , because it ’ s not like a former patrolman can go from the street to teaching a class about how to profile a case . That ’ s one class where you definitely need the experience to back you up .
For a kid who grew up in a lower-middle income home and quit high school , I guess I ’ d have to say I acquitted myself pretty well . Some have called my life colorful , and indeed it was . Had I not been so bored in high school and applied myself , I suppose I could have been a doctor or lawyer , or some other high-level position . However , I think when people find out what I did with my life , particularly having been in the FBI , they ’ re probably more impressed with that . It ’ s a job with more than its share of mystique . People have all sorts of pre-conceived ideas from TV , but none of that is close to accurate . As I look back , I think I did all right in the final analysis .
I ’ m now writing a college textbook on “ Criminal Profiling although I don ’ t have the exact title yet . Because of the way I am , it will be anything but a ‘ traditional ’ college text . It ’ s going to be something more interesting and challenging than the garden-variety texts we all read in college . I ’ ll write it exactly the way I did my classes — give them the theory , then a case study and have them apply the theory in trying to profile the case . I also think many members of the public will enjoy it .
I write like I am – silly and irreverent . I see humor in most situations , but I ’ m not stupid about it . “ FBI Diary : Home Grown Terror ” is the first of my three books that is more serious than silly .
The first two cop-related books I recall reading were “ The New Centurions ,” and “ The Onion Field ,” both by Joseph Wambaugh who had been a sergeant on LAPD . After I read ‘ em I remember thinking to myself , I can do that . The idea was fomented in my middle twenties , but I had to go through a whole lot of career stuff and work as a college professor before I finally got published . The wait was worth it .
My advice to new authors is – write like you are . Don ’ t try to copy someone else ’ s writing style — it won ’ t work , and besides your style may be better than theirs . Be yourself . Things will flow a whole lot better then . I ’ m on Facebook as Pete Klismet and “ Pete Klismet Author FBI Series of Books .” Stop by and say hello !
WRITERS ’ TRICKS OF THE TRADE
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MAY - JUNE 2016