Recent content by KenGoddard

Yes, I'm the Ken Goddard who wrote 3 books for Tor/Forge. Typical author activity: we cheerfully migrate to whichever publishing company is willing to publish our next book ... and always hope that there will be a next one. :)

I agree with Dynamo1: Your age isn't an issue. You'll need the appropriate education for CSI or forensics lab work ... and you'd have to adjust to never smoking in the lab or at a crime scene.

This is really a question that a medical doctor or pathologist should answer (and I'm not); but in general, if you get bruising around a wound, its because the heart was actively pumping blood into damaged capillaries/tissues ... whereas you wouldn't see bruising if a cut was made on a dead body.

Really can't ... I haven't read any of his books and I never did run across him when I was writing for TOR.

It really doesn't matter where you start working at a crime scene. Ideally, if you're aware of what appears to be the suspect's entry point, you start there by placing numbered evidence location tags next to apparent items of evidence (footprints, tire tracks, pry marks, broken windows, spots...

Hi hmetter, xfcanadian is correct, while the show writers are perfectly capable of putting together a CSI script using the basic tools and technologies and techniques used by real crime scene investigators, they do consult 'outside experts' for information on specific topics. I've been one of...

You're welcome. The whole idea, of course, is to entertain. I'm getting a lot of entertainment (and insight into the shows) from Talk CSI, so fair is fair. :) Fact is, engaging with you folks almost makes me want to go back to working crime scenes. Almost. :rolleyes:

The basic rule (for writing these books) is that all of the main characters must stay in voice ... and in character ... and must survive 'intact.' So I can tell you that Greg did survive 'intact' to the very end of IN EXTREMIS. Did I 'harm' him in the process? Well, let's just say that he had...

Fair enough ... if they let me write a second book, Greg finds himself engaged in a serious gunfight. :)

You've very welcome.

Glad you enjoyed the 'lost' segment. And yes, the editing process --- done almost entirely by the publisher/editors, not the authors! --- tends to be painful at times. Kinda like the obstetrician telling you that your newborn child came out mostly okay, but the right ear just doesn't match ...

Yes, relatively easy ... and kind of you to say so. :)

Forgot to add that the issue gets more complicated when you examine samples from a sexual assault kit and have to take into account the victim's DNA (epithelial and white cell sources).

You don't need me on this one. As everyone seems to understand, the DNA strands are in the heads of the sperm cells.

Depending upon the agency (salaries for city, county, state and federal law enforcement personnel vary greatly), it's very possible that a CSI who is also a sworn police officer would make more than the 'bench-level' forensic scientist. The difference probably occurs (again, depending on the...