SEASONED CHARACTERS by Deborah Elliott-Upton The season of giving also brings out thieves in droves. Not just the burglars or pickpockets, but also those who are more covert in their actions. Is the man on the other end of the phone really collecting for the state troopers or is he “an army of one” out […]

DROWNING IN CATALOGS by Deborah Elliott-Upton The holiday season has always been a time of overflowing mailboxes filled with catalogs. Though postal costs have risen, catalogs are still arriving at the mere hint of a chance for retailers to make money the old fashioned way: through December sales. As a child, I awaited the Sears […]

A WRITER’S THANKSGIVING by Deborah Elliott-Upton I think it was our second year as the collective Criminal Brief group, that I figured out I would always have the Thanksgiving column. (Thursday’s Child sometimes has a blonde moment or two.) In honor of our national holiday, I would like to list a few of things I […]

DEFINING MYSTERY by Deborah Elliott-Upton While nursing a cold this past week, I found myself drawn to cuddling up in bed and doing nothing more vigorous than hitting the television’s remote button. With my head pounding, I wasn’t up to reading, but I knew I could listen to a movie. Of course, the problem with […]

COMMITTED by Deborah Elliott-Upton Not everyone appreciates art. Or at least, not the same artwork. This may be a good thing. Imagine how miserably dull life would be if we were all the same. Visions of “Logan’s Run” just flashed through my mind. All dressed alike, would mankind survive? I don’t think so or “Project […]

10 MYTHS ABOUT A WRITER’S LIFE by Deborah Elliott-Upton 1. It must be exciting to be a writer. Sometimes it is. I love getting an idea, jotting it down on a piece of paper and thinking about it until I can get to my computer. I love the excitement of my fingers not being able […]

CHILD’S PLAY CRIMES by Deborah Elliott-Upton Peter, Peter Pumpkin Eater Peter, Peter Pumpkin Eater Had a wife and couldn’t keep her He put her in a pumpkin shell And there he kept her very well. It seems Peter is at the very least guilty of imprisonment, and perhaps starving his wife – unless she is […]