I LOVE TO WRITE by Deborah Elliott-Upton On my desk sits the 2007 Bylines Writers Calendar where I am featured during the week of`September 16-22. The new calendar for 2008 will be soon available, but unfortunately, I missed the deadline for submissions to be considered. The thing is, this calendar has been beneficial in more […]

REIGNING CATS by Deborah Elliott-Upton For Ursula I’m having a difficult time writing this column today. On the way to the vet, my daughter’s cat died. Ursula had become a part of the family and no one was more surprised than I about how much I’d come to love her. You see, up until a […]

NATIONAL AUTHOR’S DAY by Deborah Elliott-Upton Today is National Author’s Day. The date on my calendar listed the “holiday” to coincide with National Family Literacy Day and the birthday of Stephen Crane. I was surprised. I’d never heard of anyone celebrating authors on the first day of November in an official capacity. Accordingly, some bright […]

A LITTLE BIT PREGNANT by Deborah Elliott-Upton “Every time I agree with myself, I write an essay. When I disagree with myself, I know I’m pregnant with a short story.” — Amos Oz I’m a little bit pregnant today. My husband isn’t surprised and neither am I, but we don’t have to worry about bassinets […]

BELIEVING LIES by Deborah Elliott-Upton “In our openings, we are most likely to lie.” – Anton Chekhov It’s easy enough to lie. Criminals beat lie detectors every day. Lovers cheat and get away with it – at least for a while – and confessions written as a hypothetical version of what could have happened are […]

SCARY STUFF by Deborah Elliott-Upton It’s almost here – the scariest day of the year. And I’m not talking about Halloween. Sit, calm down and take a deep breath. This may not be the first time you’ve heard these words this year, but it still may be a shock. The holiday season is close. Really, […]

SAME BAT TIME, SAME BAT CHANNEL by Deborah Elliott-Upton An online writer’s group I belong to is in the midst of a discussion about blogs. The main question is whether they are or are not important to a writer and if readers care enough to return to read day after day, week after week. So […]