2026 Event Dates 

January 24, 2026 noon — Kick Off the Year party

Quarterly Events — all day
March 7, 2026 ... Lone Tree Library ... 10:00am
June 27, 2026 ... Lone Tree Library ... 10:00 am
August 29, 2026 ... Lone Tree Library ... 10:00 am
October 17, 2026 ... Castle Rock Library ... 10:00 am

Details about these and any field trips will be posted as the dates get closer.

If you'd like to attend an activity to see if joining the Rocky Mountain High Crimes Chapter is for you, please come to one of our Quarterly Events or email the Programming Team for more info. 

Events 

We provide many educational and fun (usually both) events at Sisters in Crime-Colorado.

Since we are a statewide organization, we knew monthly meetings would be challenging for people to attend. So we decided to have Quarterly Events which are all day on a Saturday. They're not technically quarterly because we work around conference season and the holidays. 

Quarterly Events are held in a library conference room. The morning session is always a topic about the craft of writing or the business of being a writer. Then we break for lunch and chatter. Then the afternoon session is always a topic of interest to us as crime writers, emphasis on crime—we hear from police officers, FBI profilers, CSI investigators, psychologists, private eyes, arson investigators ... anyone who can teach us anything we can use in our fiction. After the event there is usually a small group who convenes at a nearby restaurant to hang out longer and rehash what we've learned.

If you're looking to learn about writing, or to dig into the minds of criminals and law enforcement, or just have tons of fun with like-minded writers, Sisters in Crime-Colorado is truly the place to be!  

Check out these past Quarterly Events!

Our Most Recent Quarterly Event: March 7, 2025

Thanks to our speakers!

Morning Panel

  • Kate Lansing is the author of the award-winning Colorado Wine Mystery Series. She lives in Broomfield, Colorado, with her husband, daughter, and two mischievous kitties. You can find more about Kate on her website at katelansing.com.
  • Barbara Nickless is the award-winning, WSJ and #1 Amazon Charts bestselling author of nine novels; her first and third series have been optioned for film and television. A teacher and activist, she teaches combat veterans and civilians in the U.S. and Ukraine.
  • Nichelle Seely is the author of two suspense novels for adults, following the adventures of private investigator Audrey Lake, as well as serialized fiction for young adults and adults. She grew up in Oregon, lived for ten years in Alaska and now lives in Colorado.
  • Cynthia Swanson is the NYT and USA Today bestselling author of three psychological suspense novels. She was named 2025 Indie Author of the Year by the Indie Author Project and has twice received the Colorado Book Award, among other honors.

Afternoon Panel

  • Ashley Simpson has nearly 15 years of experience in crime scene investigations in Nebraska and Colorado. She is a certified senior crime scene analyst through the International Association for Identification and a certified property and evidence specialist through the International Association for Property and Evidence. A Parker native, Simpson earned a master's degree in forensic science from Nebraska Wesleyan University, where she did research at the Human DNA Identification Laboratory. In her job with Parker PD, she manages the crime scene unit, the property and evidence warehouse, and the in-house forensic ID lab.
  • Chris Peters began his career with the Parker Police Department in 1999 and was recently promoted to deputy chief of the growing agency, which employs about 80 sworn officers and 40 full or part-time professional staff. Over his 27 years of service, Peters has served the community as a patrol officer, administrative officer, patrol sergeant, detective sergeant, lieutenant, commander and now deputy chief. He is a graduate of the Northwestern School of Police Staff & Command and the Police Executive Research Forum Senior Management Institute. Peters is one of Parker PD's two deputy chiefs and is responsible for the patrol division. His areas of expertise include accident reconstruction.

2025 Events

  • October 4, 2025 - I want to start a podcast. Now What? and The Real CSI. Not That Stuff on TV
  • August 9, 2025 - Book Brush Tools for Author Success and Murder in Westminster
  • June 14, 2025 - Developing Quality Panels and A Three-Decade Journey to Justice: The Roger Dean Homicide Investigation
  • February 15, 2025 - Meet! Greet! Speak! and You’re Not Going to Believe What I Saw Today

2024 Events

  • November 16, 2024 - Sit and Be Fit” and Captain Joel White of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office
  • August 10, 2024 - The Psychological Health of Writers and Witness Statements
  • June 8, 2024 - Book Launches and Polygraphs
  • February 17, 2024 - Artificial Intelligence As It Impacts Writers and The Psychology of Police Officers/Dealing with Dangerous Individuals

2023 Events

  • October 21, 2023 - Eight Weeks to a Complete Novel and The Mind of a Hunter/Mercenary vs. Contractor
  • September 30, 2023 - Special Event with Hank Phillippi Ryan
  • August 5, 2023 - Complex Villains and The World of Art Theft and Forgery
  • June 3, 2023 - Great Characterization: More Than Description and Murder in the Kitchen
  • February 4, 2023 - Finding and Wrangling Historical Research and Writing Believable Fight Scenes

2022 Events

  • November 12, 2022 - Marketing for Authors and True Community Policing
  • August 13, 2022 - How to Write a Synopsis and Character Workshop: The Life and Writing of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
  • June 11, 2022 - Editing Fiction for Content and Being a Mitigation Attorney and Saving Someone from the Death Penalty
  • February 12, 2022 - Exploring Short Stories and What I Learned in Jail

2021 Events

  • November 6, 2021 - Setting and Writing the Law: A Guide to Avoiding Landmines
  • October 9, 2021 - A Day with Author Ellen Byron
  • August 14, 2021 - 8 Weeks to a Complete Novel and So You Found A Body, Now What?
  • June 19, 2021 - A Season to Play Mindfully, Write Miraculously and CSI: The Real Story (Not That TV Show)
  • February 27, 2021 - Self-Publishing in 2021 – Tips for Finding Success in the World of Self-Publishing

2020 Events

  • November 7, 2020 - Beating Writer’s Block
  • August 8, 2020 - 14 Tips for Writing Suspense
  • June 6, 2020 - From Manuscript To Masterpiece
  • February 1, 2020 - Social Media 101: A Tutorial for Authors and NecroSearch International: Murder, Mayhem and Mysteries

2019 Events

  • November 16, 2019 - Stand Out Submissions: What Makes a Literary Agent Say “Yes” (or at the very least, “Maybe”) and True Crimes and Presumptions of Guilt
  • August 17, 2019 - Creating Complex Characters and The Craft of Writing Q&A/Brainstorming Session
  • June 8, 2019 - Kathy Fish: “Setting the Tone: Skills to Borrow from the Flash Fiction Toolbox” and Laura Manuel: “Underutilized Forensic Evidence in Fiction”
  • February 9, 2019 - The Nuts and Bolts of Blood and Guts for Writers

2018 Events

  • Nov 17, 2018 - Nail Your Research: A Writer’s Guide to Disasters, Drug Dens and Other Surprising Sources and Behind Bars: What it’s Like to Be an Inmate, Deputy, or Research Scientist in the Denver County Jails
  • Aug 11, 2018 - Writing a Successful Series and Interviewing without a Badge
  • July 14, 2018 - A Day with Author Nancy Pickard
  • February 24, 2018 - No Pain, No Gain: Increasing Conflict In Your Story and The Groomer: The Story of Ronald Stanley and Those Who Brought Him to Justice

2017 Events

  • October 28, 2017 -Writing Compelling Characters panel and Private Eye Stories and Secrets panel
  • August 5, 2017 - Becky Clark, Karen Docter, Rebecca Martinez: “Take Two Beckys and Call Your Docter: Plotting Panel” and Human Trafficking 101 and Then Some
  • June 10, 2017 -The ABCs of Author Branding/Giving Your Book A Voice and Anatomy of an Arson
  • February 11, 2017 - PR 101: Promoting and Branding Your Book to The Masses and Homicide for Writers, Not Criminals

2016 Events

  • November 12, 2016 - Communications Director for the Colorado Bureau of Investigation
  • July 30, 2016 - Book Trailers as Marketing Tools
  • July 9, 2016 - Firearms: What Crime Writers Should Know
  • June 25, 2016 - Networking
  • April 24, 2016 - Top Ten Medical Pitfalls When Killing Your Characters
  • January 9, 2016 - Criminal Profiling with an FBI Profiler

2015 Event - Our Very First!

  • October 3, 2015 - Let’s Talk Stalking


Check out these past Field Trips!

Our most recent field trip - March 14, 2026

Past Field Trips

  • Afternoon Tea and Book Swap
  • Krav Maga martial arts for self-defense and writing fight scenes
  • Gun Range
  • “Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder” play
  • Soldiers of Fortune/Close Quarters Battle training with private security agents
  • Colorado Bureau of Investigation Crime Lab Tour
  • The Clue Room Escape Room
  • Demonstration—Sherlock Hounds Detection Canines, “The Power of a Drug Dog’s Nose”
  • The International Exhibit of Sherlock Holmes and The Power of Poison at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science

At Left Coast Crime Denver, we put on a Carnival Extravaganza!

Join us today!