New York, New York (and the FBI)

I know I missed last weeks post. I was at the Romance Writers of America National conference.

We stayed at a hotel on Time Square. Here’s a view from our window.

On Sunday, before conference started, we went to a show and saw Cher. I’m not a Cher fan. I like the music but sometimes she’s a little over the top. However, the show was great. It showed Cher’s life and the challenges she faced and how she survived and changed to meet the times. The music was awesome. It was fast paced and kept you watching. No dozing through this performance. And now I admire Cher.

On Tuesday we had an all-day workshop at the FBI. Lots of good information for writing mystery and suspense, and even romance.  In the morning after we passed through security, we learned about The Counterintelligence Program and Couunterterrorism/Domestic Terrorism with SABT’s (Special Agent Bomb Technician’s).

We had a catered lunch as we couldn’t leave the building. Then in the afternoon it was the Violent Crimes squad in New York. They had some great stories and had been partners for about seven years. They slipped in that they were now married (there’s the romance). After that we learned about the Criminal Justice Information Service, and how the Identity History Summary Checks system works. It was really interesting. I learned fingerprints aren’t all equal. The pinky makes the worst fingerprint and then the thumb.  There is also the Registry for Individuals with Special Concerns. Police carry a mobile finger printer and can get an identity in seconds.

If anyone has any questions, let me know and I’ll check my notes.