Changing Times With Host Lynn Morris & Guest Synova Cantrell True Crime Writer www.synovaink.com
The video you provided, “Changing Times With Host Lynn Morris & Guest Synova Cantrell True Crime Writer www.synovaink.com,” is a show from AMG Broadcasting (Acts Media Group). Host Lynn Morris speaks with true crime writer Synova Cantrell about her work, her books, and her advocacy for crime victims.
Here is a summary of the key discussion points:
Synova Cantrell: True Crime Writer and Advocate
- Background: Cantrell is a best-selling, number one Southwest Missouri crime writer who focuses on true crimes [02:01]. She has published 15 books and has been involved in over 500 cases [03:00].
- Mission: Her primary goal is to ensure that cold cases are not forgotten and that families of victims stop suffering due to a lack of information [03:32].
- Publishing:
- Her first traditionally published book came out when she was 30 [05:05].
- She created her own company, Synova Inc Publishing, after learning that traditional publishers often do not market books and keep a large percentage of royalties [06:06].
- She also wrote a book, How to Build a Best-Selling Author Platform, which contains her coaching secrets for aspiring writers [07:55].
- She is a strong victim advocate and has written a life coaching book for trauma victims called Whispers of the Mind [08:37].
- Involvement in Cases: Cantrell says she has helped solve four cases by raising publicity to bring in leads for law enforcement, emphasizing that she is not a detective but a publicist for the cases [14:10].
- Media and Publicity:
- She runs a blog and utilizes 38 different social media platforms to raise awareness for obscure cases that need publicity [13:08]. Between her platforms and other advocates, she reaches 2.2 million potential viewers [13:44].
- She has appeared on the Discovery Channel to discuss one of the cases in her Dixie Mafia book [19:19].
- Her video series, Chasing Justice, is currently available on YouTube for free [38:25].
Focus on Cults: Mad Man or Messiah
The conversation centers on her upcoming book, Mad Man or Messiah: An Investigation into the Charisma and the Crimes of Cult Leader Joseph Jeffers [23:50].
Jeffers’ End: Jeffers died a month before he turned 90 of natural causes, and his death went largely unnoticed, which Cantrell found disturbing because the people he harmed never saw earthly justice [34:53].
Joseph Jeffers: Cantrell tracked Jeffers for 60 years through newspaper archives by following his scandalous headlines [21:50].
Activities: Jeffers operated everywhere, including Missouri in 1978–1979, where he built a pyramid in St. James [21:50]. His crimes and accusations included:
Stealing $5 million from a woman before she died [22:26].
Hiring a hitman to kill his wife [22:34].
Assault of a 14-year-old girl [22:41].
Causing the Jonesboro church war in the 1930s, which involved a shootout, riots, and the death of one man [25:12].
Coercive Persuasion: Cantrell stresses that cult leaders use tactics to manipulate people through coercive persuasion [24:59]. She debunks the idea that only vulnerable or unintelligent people join cults, noting that Jeffers was able to target affluent and successful people [27:38].
Red Flags: The key protection against cults is recognizing the red flags: isolation from outside information, control over what you learn, and exploitation [30:15]. The constant repetition of a lie can make a person question their own beliefs—a phenomenon called the “elucory truth effect” [29:17].
