James and Cissy welcome former Milwaukee police sergeant and author Patrick O'Donnell to discuss his new book, Police Stories: The Rookie Years, and the real-life experiences behind his writing. Patrick shares gripping stories from his early days on patrol, including a near-shooting, a fatal stabbing case, and the realities of policing that often get misrepresented in fiction. The episode also covers indie authors being excluded from a new publishing prize, questions around Amazon's algorithm and Kindle Unlimited, and how writers can use expert communities to make their crime and police procedural details more authentic.

Key Talking Points

• The New Adult Book Prize and why excluding indie authors feels especially frustrating given indie publishing's role in building the genre.
• Ongoing questions around Amazon rankings, Kindle Unlimited borrows, page reads, and whether indie titles are being pushed down in the charts.
• Patrick O'Donnell's police career, from rookie officer to sergeant, and how those experiences shaped his nonfiction and fiction writing.
• A powerful real-life story from Patrick's rookie years involving a knife suspect, a fatal stabbing, and the emotional reality of first responder work.
• How the Cops and Writers community helps authors get police procedure, crime scenes, law enforcement culture, and investigation details right.

Links & Resources Mentioned

• ProWritingAid (Sponsor – code IWC15 for 15% off annual subscriptions): https://prowritingaid.com
• Cops and Writers Facebook Group: https://facebook.com/groups/copsandwriters
• Patrick O'Donnell – Police Stories: The Rookie Years: Available on Amazon
• Indie Writers Club / support page: https://learnselfpublishing.com/support
• LaunchPad course is open for enrolment: https://www.learnselfpublishing.com/launchpad