MARKETING 101 by Deborah Elliott-Upton Like most readers, I had no idea how tough it was to become a published writer. I had never given much thought to what happens after a story had been written, but before it shows up in print. When I finished my first novel and I mentioned it to my […]
SOLOMON’S NIGHT SHIFT by Robert Lopresti They ask me: “Where do you get your ideas?†Well, how do you answer that? I could tell them about my day in court. Around 1970 I was a new driver and I had my first (and only, knock on plywood) serious accident. A simple matter of forgetting to […]
MALE MUSES by Melodie Johnson Howe All of my short stories, except for one, feature an aging actress called Diana Poole. It’s important to note that aging occurs much faster in Hollywood than it does, let’s say, in Kansas. It’s a phenomenon that only tiny, driven producers and cranked-up agents seem to understand. But I […]
WHAT’S IN A GENRE? by James Lincoln Warren To most people, the term “genre” implies a certain formulaic content: chick lit, mystery, science fiction, romance, historical adventure. But the word was originally applied to reflect method, not content, and is still used so by students of literature: novel, short story, lyric or epic poetry, drama. […]
FIRSTS by Leigh Lundin This is a column of firsts. It is a first column by a first-time writer, writing about first experiences. For those of you as new as I am, I’ll tell you first impressions of my first ever MWA banquet and Edgar awards. First, I’ll tell you a little about myself. Once […]
To inaugurate our “Mystery Masterclass” feature, we are pleased to present this year’s winner of the Edgar Award for Best Short Story, Charles Ardai. Not only is Charles one of the best writers in the business, but there’s a picture of him in the American Heritage Dictionary under the entry “Renaissance Man.” In a previous […]
FRUMIOUSLY SPEAKING by Steven Steinbock When I was first asked to participate in Criminal Brief, my first response was, “Why me?†I’m a reviewer, a collector, and an armchair scholar of detective fiction. I own a sizeable collection of mystery short-story anthologies, and magazines, I’ve had articles published in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, but I’ve […]