TECHNOLOGY IS OUR FRIEND by Deborah Elliott-Upton I used to be computer literate. I’m not sure what happened, but something called dll has caused me more trouble than I ever imagined. I’ve run across this despicable (thank you Daffy Duck – and Mel Blanc – for such a delicious word and visual to pop into […]

THE ART OF REGIFTING by Deborah Elliott-Upton I love hearing holiday songs, especially the old ones (or even the old ones made new again by someone like Michael Buble.) One of my favorite movies is “It’s a Wonderful Life” and I enjoy watching it again every December. To paraphrase the old song sung by Brownies […]

STRANGER THAN NONFICTION by Deborah Elliott-Upton Ireland, one of my writing buddies, decided she wanted to try her hand at fiction. A character popped into her head one night in the middle of her ritual hour-long bubble bath before bed. (Said bath is where she usually reads.) The character wouldn’t leave her alone, and she […]

WHERE NOBODY KNOWS MY NAME by Deborah Elliott-Upton It’s good to have a place where everybody knows your name, but sometimes, being anonymous is what soothes my soul. I love visiting places where I know nobody knows my name, which sounds strange. Isn’t one of my dreams for readers to clamor for my next short […]

SMALL TOWN SECRETS by Deborah Elliott-Upton Friends should always show up for their friend’s events, and if they are writers, be a sport and buy their book! A frequent Criminal Brief comment provider, Alisa Dollar, is one of my former students. Although the classes with Alisa were online and we have met in person at […]

LOVE ’EM OR ’HATE ’EM, IT’S THAT TIME AGAIN by Deborah Elliott-Upton Dear Abby hates them. Geneologists and historians love them. As a self-confessed snoop, I adore them and as long as Aunt Mac Elaine still wants one, I write an annual Christmas newsletter. My newsletter doesn’t go out en masse, just to a select […]

TRADITIONS by Deborah Elliott-Upton “When our relatives are at home, we have to think of all their good points or it would be impossible to endure them.” – G.B. Shaw, “Heartbreak House”, 1929 “Relations are simply a tedious pack of people, who haven’t got the remotest knowledge of how to live, nor the smallest instinct […]