BOOKS THAT STAYED WITH ME by Melodie Johnson Howe I was thinking about the books I chose for John’s column and why I chose them. These books are like people from my past who have touched me, helped me, made me cry, made me see things differently. They opened up worlds that in my youth […]
KINDLED by Melodie Johnson Howe My son, Geoff, gave me a Kindle for Mother’s Day. His boss gave it to him for Christmas. He decided since he is loaded down with Apple this and Mac that he had no use for it. And now I have it. He spent the afternoon getting me connected. The […]
THE PERFECT OBIT by Melodie Johnson Howe The actress Yvette Vickers has died. She starred in two 1950s horror cult films: “Attack of the Fifty Foot Woman” and “Attack of the Giant Leaches.” She was a Playboy Playmate, had an affair with Cary Grant and a 15 year relationship with Jim Hutton, who played Ellery […]
SNAPSHOTS OF THE EDGARS AND NEW YORK by Melodie Johnson Howe James Lincoln Warren strode through the ballroom of black-clad guests wearing a white dinner jacket, his red silk handkerchief dripping from his chest pocket like blood. It was nice to hear the acceptance speeches from the Edgar winners. Most were gracious, witty and thankful. […]
FIRST DRAFTS by Melodie Johnson Howe I am packing to go off to the Edgar Awards dinner in New York. I have paired down my closet to one color: black. This way I decided I would never get a clothes attack and have a tizzy about what to wear. Also, I’ve discovered that the older […]
EGOLESS by Melodie Johnson Howe Director Sidney Lumet died earlier this month at the age of 86. The April 11th issue of the Los Angles Times had a thoughtful appreciation of the director’s films from his first, “Twelve Angry Men” in 1956, to his last, a little known film titled “Before the Devil Knows You’re […]
THE X FILES by Melodie Johnson Howe I have files and files of ideas for short stories on my computer. I knew I should organize them, say, like my closet. So I decided to sit down and go through them and clean out what I don’t need and keep what I do. I discovered there […]