TIME WARPED by Rob Lopresti Time is on my mind this week, though not on my hands, or on my side. So let’s spare it a minute or three. Zoning out As you may remember I was recently in Copenhagen. One of the interesting consequences of having easy wireless access in our apartment there was […]

TRYING NOT TO WRITE by Rob Lopresti So here we are in Copenhagen. This is a bit of a surprise. Not that we got on the wrong plane or anything like that, but Denmark was never on the to-do list, like Israel or Ireland have been. But the opportunity came up, unexpectedly, and like the […]

SHERLOCK HOLMES vs THE FAIRIES by Rob Lopresti (This is my vacation, sort of. I am recycling a column that appeared in MURDEROUS INTENT MYSTERY MAGAZINE in 1997. I hope you can cope.) Playing detective must be one of the biggest temptations for a successful mystery writer. If you can make up puzzles and solve […]

DOCTOR WATSON, IN THE CONSERVATORY, WITH A CHAIN SAW by Rob Lopresti If this piece seems familiar it means that 1) you subscribed to MURDEROUS INTENT MYSTERY MAGAZINE in 1999 and 2) your memory is excellent. Congratulations. A while ago I heard Earl Emerson, one of my favorite mystery writers, speak in my local bookstore. […]

NET LOSS by Rob Lopresti You may consider this a public service announcement. It has come to my attention that some of you are users of that dubious device known as the World Wide Web. It is my sad duty to inform you that some of the information found thereon is not reliable. (For example, […]

CHAT ROOM by Rob Lopresti 1 “Hi, Velma.” “Well, lookee who’s here. Hello, Bobby.” “Bobby?” “Short for Robert. That’s your name, isn’t it?” “Yeah, but I don’t go by Bobby. I prefer Rob or Robert.” “What’s wrong with Bobby?” “Nothing, I suppose. It’s just not—” “Bobby Sherman did okay. Bobby Goldsboro. Bobbie Gentry.” “I’m pretty […]

DEPARTMENT OF ODD SOCKS VIII by Rob Lopresti You can’t argue with success they say, so I suppose I have no business criticizing the working style of a man who manages to rip people off for three million bucks, but seriously. . . . If you were in the U.S and trying to pull off the Spanish Prisoner […]