Free Professional Photos, Videos and Audio

Do you write a blog?  Craft a newsletter?  Manage your own website?  Then you probably like to occasionally plug in photos or images to accompany your articles or maybe to add some pizzazz to the page.  Did you know iStockphoto, a site that sells professionally created photos and more, also offers free downloads?

I've purchased iStock photos for my blogs and websites. For example, I purchased the background of Colleen Collins Books (the vintage green typewriter illustration) from iStock.  I also purchased the image for my nonfiction book HOW DO PRIVATE EYES DO THAT?

​How Do Private Eyes Do That? by Colleen Collins

​How Do Private Eyes Do That? by Colleen Collins

What's cool is that iStock also provides free downloads, too.  Sometimes an image or illustration will fit something I'm writing about on a blog; otherwise, I save the image for later use.

The only requirement is you need to register with iStock to access their freebies.  To go to their website, click here. 

Examples of Free iStock Image Downloads

iStockphoto offers free downloads every week in each of these categories: Photos, Illustrations, Audio and Movies.   Below are two free photos I've recently downloaded - nice, huh?  Below these photos is a banner for my new book Secrets of a Real-Life Female Private Eye -- the photo of the woman's eyes is also from iStock, and although it wasn't free, it was very inexpensive (a couple of dollars).

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To go to book's Amazon page, click on above banner

To go to book's Amazon page, click on above banner

Writing a Psychopathic Character? The FBI Has Some Articles for You

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Dear Clarice, I have followed with enthusiasm the course of your disgrace...

Remember that letter from Hannibal Lecter to Clarice Starling in the movie Silence of the Lambs?  Lecter, the psychopathic shrink with a fancy for human flesh, was chillingly, frighteningly memorable. If you're writing a psychopathic character, here's a handy, free resource for you:  The July 2012 issue of the FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin is dedicated to psychopaths. The issue contains the following articles:

Psychopathy: An Important Forensic Concept for the 21st Century
Understanding the mind of psychopaths and assessing their personality and behavioral traits can help authorities design more effective interviewing strategies.

Looking Behind the Mask: Implications for Interviewing Psychopaths
With proper preparation, knowledge, and understanding of psychopathy, interviewers can recognize a true psychopathic personality.

The Language of Psychopaths: New Findings and Implications for Law Enforcement
A study using human coders found differences in the speech of psychopaths and nonpsychopaths.

All fascinating topics!  To read these articles, click here (article links are on right side of page).

SECRETS OF A REAL-LIFE FEMALE PRIVATE EYE is a part-memoir, part-reference nonfiction book based on the experiences of a professional private investigator and writer. Audiences: researchers, writers, detective-fiction fans, armchair detectives and those curious about the real world of private investigators. 

"This is a real eye opener... full of surprises and unexpected resources!" ~ Amazon Top Reviewer