Sheriff Pastor currently serves as Sheriff of Pierce County, Washington. The Pierce County Sheriff’s Department consists of 307 law enforcement officers, 314 Corrections Officers and 112 civilian personnel serving in Washington State’s second largest County.

Prior to taking this position, he served as Chief of the Department’s Operations Bureau in charge of all law enforcement operations (1996 – 2000), Undersheriff for the Clark County Washington Sheriff’s Office (1993 – 1996) and Chief of Police for the city of Everett, Washington (1991 – 1992). From 1986 to 1991, he served at the rank of Inspector for the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department.

So come and hear from one of Western Washington top law enforcement officials while also enjoying time with fellow mystery writers.

WHEN: Saturday February 11th, 6-8 PM

WHERE: Duke’s Chowderhouse, Southcenter

WHO: Pierce County Sheriff, Paul Pastor

If you plan on coming, please take two minutes to register at eventbrite so we can get an accurate count. Please feel free to bring guests as well, as we welcome non-members to our meetings.

See you there!

We’re also going to be trying out a new location in the north end of the Sound this time, at the Celtic Bayou in Lynnwood, a great Irish/Cajun bar with a good selection of both types of food as well as a good list of beers and other drinks. A map for Celtic Bayou in Lynnwood can be found at our registration page and as you’ll see, it’s a straight shot down 196th off of I-5.

So get your 2012 off to the right (or write) start with an evening of great conversation with fellow mystery writers, good food and a fascinating talk with Seattle’s own Jon Talton. If you would like to come, please take 1 minute to register here for you and your guests so we can have an accurate count of attendees.

See you there!

What: An evening with Jon Talton

Where: Celtic Bayou

When: 6-8 PM on Saturday, January 14th

Please take one minute to register for a free ticket so we can let the restaurant know how many to expect. See you there!

Now is your chance to ask a true expert!

Our speaker for November’s NW MWA meeting (please note, our meeting is on November 19th, the third Saturday of the month, not the normal second Saturday) will be Riley Eller, world renowned expert on network security, hackers, and Internet communications.  Riley Eller is coauthor of the book, “Stealing the Network: How to Own an Identity”, and contributor to “Hack Proofing Your Network: Internet Tradecraft”.  Riley is a well known speaker and expert on Internet security and blackhat techniques, having been central to DEFCON’s Capture Your Flag contest for many years. He is also a patent holder and expert in developing network communications frameworks and protocols and currently is a VP of technology for a mobile networking company.

So register now and come and hear Riley talk about the world of Internet security, hackers and cyber warfare.

WHEN: Saturday, November 19th at 6 PM

WHERE: Duke’s Chowderhouse at Southcenter

HOW: By registering here! Remember to register if you plan on coming so we can give an accurate count to Duke’s.

See you there!

So please register if you are planning to come (simply click here and register – it only takes 30 seconds) and come mingle with other mystery fans and writers, eat good food, and enjoy a visit with David Rood.

On Saturday, September 10th, the chapter will be heading to Portland to award our third annual Willo Award, the award named after Willo Davis Roberts, and honors those which make exceptional contributions to the Northwest mystery writing community.  This year’s recipient is none other that Phillip Margolin, one of most popular and successful mystery writers in the Northwest.

In addition to our award, the MWA/NW chapter board will be in Portland, OR to present the “Atta Mystery Bookstore Award” to Murder By The Book (MBTB) bookstore.

We’d love for members of MWA NW, friends of Phil Margolin, as well as Murder by the Book fans to join us Saturday, September 10th to celebrate Phil and one of the best bookstores in the Northwest. Pat Harrington and the rest of the board of MWA will be coming to town, as well as many other MWA members.

The day’s agenda looks like this:

5:30: Gather at Murder by the Book (at 3210 SE Hawthorne Blvd.) and award an “Atta Mystery Bookstore Award”.

6:30: Walk around the corner to Bazi’s (at 1522 SE 32nd Ave) and have the Willo Award Dinner for Phillip Margolin.  Pat Harrington will MC and the format will include a schmooze/drink, dinner and a small awards ceremony.

That’s it. See the links above for directions.  If you do plan on attending, please quickly RSVP here so we have an idea of how many are attending. Tickets are free and RSVPing takes all of two minutes, so please do so if you can!

Once again, we look forward to seeing you on September 10th in Portland!

This one will be great, with MWA’s own President, Pat Harrington, giving a fascinating presentation entitled History Meets Mystery.  So make sure to join us for networking with other mystery writers, food and drink, and an entertaining presentation about history and mystery!

Please register here for your free ticket if you plan to attend (it takes just two minutes and is necessary for headcount).  Meeting is open both MWA members and non-members.

Here are the details.

Title: History Meets Mystery

When: June 11th

What: MWA Northwest President Pat Harrington will give a compelling presentation that not only entertains by encapsulating the story within Harrington’s own amateur sleuth mystery, Death Stalks the Khmer, but educates about the fascinating history of Cambodia.  The mystery features Bridget O’Hern, consultant and non-profit volunteer, who seeks bliss along the Oregon coast, but can’t help but stumble over dead bodies along the way.

In real life, the author also consults with non-profits helping those on the fringes of mainstream society.  And Pat has written over 55 million dollars in funded grants for these groups.

Where: Duke’s Southcenter. Get directions here.

Schedule:

5:30 Officers arrive

5:30-6:00 Speaker arrives.

6:00-6:30 light conversation, drink orders (schmoozing/networking)

6:30-7:00/7:15 Speaker’s presentation.

7:00-7:15 to 7:30-7:45 Q & A

7:30-7:45 until we have to give the room back (used to be 8:00 PM) more schmoozing/networking

Registration: Reserve your free ticket here.

See you there!

The meeting will be on Saturday, May 14th from 6-8 PM at Duke’s Southcenter.

So, if you want to hear from a Seattle Detective and have some dinner and drinks with fellow mystery writers, make sure you make it this May.

See you there!

So then, you’ll not want to miss this month’s meeting, entitled “Please Don’t Eat the Daisies . . They’re Poisonous”

Our speakers, Karla Stover and Frances Snyder, will give a history of plants being used since early days to current times in real life and mystery stories to “do away” with folks.  Sometimes this was accidental, and of course, some deliberate.

This is a powerpoint presentation in color that also shows some “famous” gardens dedicated to just growing poisonous plants and open to the public in England and America. Karla and Frances will also have note cards featuring some of the plants, pretty ones, available for modest cost.

So, details:

Where: Dukes Chowderhouse, Southcenter (map here)

When: 6-8 PM, April 9th

Who: Poisonous plant experts Karla Stover and Frances Snyder

It’ll be a fun time kibitzing with fellow mystery writers and learning about poisons for your next (or current!) novel. See you there!

Greg is recently retired from the Tacoma place department, where he served 31 years, and he is currently working for Port of Tacoma Security and acts as the Executive Director of the Hilltop Action Coalition where he continues to work with Tacoma area residents on neighborhood safety issues.

Robert is the Community Liason Officer for the Tacoma Police Department, where he has worked for 16 years. Over the past 12 years, Robert has been instrumental in driving out gang and drug activity (reducing crime by 60%).

With a combined 60 years of experience between these two long-time police officers, Greg and Robert have alot to share about fighting crime in a major urban market like Tacoma.

If you’d like to attend, please RSVP here at Eventbrite (doing so helps us prepare by knowing how many will attend).

When

Saturday, March 12th at 6:00 PM.

Where

Duke’s at Southcenter. (Find a map here).  Remember to RSVP if you plan to attend.

Speaker Bios

Greg Hopkins

Greg Hopkins recently retired from the Tacoma Police Dept after 31 years of service. During his career he was assigned to Patrol Division, School Liaison Division, where he had “Harvey the Talking Motorcycle” speaking to over 30,000 elementary school children about safety, and was assigned to Community Liaison Division, starting and coordinating the Drug House Elimination Task Force where he worked for 15 years dealing with gang and narcotics problems. This problem solving model has been replicated across the United States in helping communities deal with drug and gang problems.

He received numerous unit commendations and awards and also was awarded the Tacoma Police Dept Medal of Valor for heroism.

He is currently working for the Port of Tacoma Security Dept and is also the Executive Director of the Hilltop Action Coalition continuing to work with neighborhood residents on community safety issues.

Robert Luke

Robert Luke is currently working for the Tacoma Police Dept with 16 years of service; he also worked for the Kirkland Police Dept for 9 years prior to Tacoma and the Eagle County Sheriff’s office (around the Vail area) for 5 years before that, totaling 30 years of law enforcement experience

During his career he was assigned to Patrol Division, firearms instructor, field training officer and was assigned to the Community Liaison Division. During the past 12 years Robert has crafted the Neighborhood corrections initiative ( partnership between DOC and Police), Rewrote the SODA, SOAP orders and had the lead on the Housing first program

For the past he 12 years he battled in Tacoma’s  Hill Top area driving out the deeply rooted gangs and drug activity,  reducing crime by over 60%. This problem solving model and tenacity has creating a better living environment for thousands of people..

Also, for this month’s meeting we are returning to our old haunt, Duke’s at Southcenter.   See you there!

Here are the details. As always, remember to one-click register for the event at Eventbrite (it helps us to get an accurate attendee count).

The Changing Northwest Publishing Scene

Speakers: Rosemary Jones & Phoebe Matthews

Description: Regional and small press publishing is exploding. More writers are inspired to work with local publishers and some are even venturing into the business themselves. Explore the opportunities for new markets as well as a possible home for old works. Rosemary Jones is the web editor for Book Publishers Northwest (www.bpnw.org), a 30-year-old trade association for publishers in Washington, and a professional member of Science Fiction Writers of America. She has written two novels for Wizards of the Coast in their best-selling Forgotten Realms line while her short stories have appeared in a half dozen anthologies in the past two years.  Phoebe Matthews is the award-winning author of the Mudflat series and the upcoming Turning Vampire series. Her novels have been published by Scholastic, Dell, Avon, Silhouette, Holt, and others. Together Jones and Matthews co-authored a series of books on collecting books published by Schroeder and are partners in Lost Loves Books, a new e-publisher.

Location: Duke’s at Southcenter (map here)

Date and Time: Saturday, February 12th, 5-7 PM

Please register here if you plan to come (it takes two seconds and it gives us accurate attendee counts)