I WAS MILES AWAY by Robert Lopresti Kate Long is an award-winning songwriter from West Virginia. She is also a journalist and you may have heard her commentaries on NPR. Last month she performed a concert in my part of the world and also conducted a creative writing workshop. With her permission I am going […]

GIVING IT AWAY by Robert Lopresti When I first started peddling my little masterpieces to paying magazines, I swore a mighty oath never to write for free. I believe that certain documents were signed in blood and goats sacrificed, but that could just be the flashbacks. Anyway, I have stayed true to my pledge so […]

WITNESSING I WITNESS by Rob Lopresti Today I’m going to plug one of my favorite books, which I see is available for less than three bucks on the web. Such is fame and glory. I, Witness is a collect of short pieces by mystery writers, but they are not short stories. They are all non-fiction […]

TAG, I’M IT by Robert Lopresti A year ago on this very date we began our collective folly here at Criminal Brief. Thanks to all of you who have come along for the ride. As a folkie friend of mine says “If you enjoyed the show half as much as we have, then we enjoyed […]

MOMENT of CREATION by Rob Lopresti You know what is the coolest thing about being a writer? Well, maybe it’s winning the Nobel Prize for Literature. Jean-Paul Sartre would probably say it’s turning down the Nobel Prize for Literature. Seeing your work in print is also pretty cool. And fan mail. But what rings my […]

BATHS OF DIOCLETIAN by Robert Lopresti An archaeology student I know is going off to Rome this summer. I urged her to go to one of my favorite museums, the Baths of Diocletian. What draws me to it is not that I am such a fan of baths (I generally prefer showers). Most of the […]

PROBLEM CHILDREN by Rob Lopresti I have a black plastic notebook on my desk with nine short stories in it. Each of these stories is a complete draft. Some have been revisited many times; one was first jotted down last week. All of them need more revision before they go out in the mail. I […]