RESEARCHING by Deborah Elliott-Upton Many writers swear they enjoy researching a story even more than the actual writing. I’m more of a seat of the pants writer who likes to find out what’s happening just before the reader does (except for the ending, the who, and the why that a mystery writer probably always has […]

BLISSFUL BLANKS by Deborah Elliott-Upton After all the wonderful craziness of the scurrying around for the holidays and right before the New Year officially begins (along with those pesky resolutions!), I’ve learned to take time to breathe. Usually, I am content to sit quietly and read. Today I find myself feeling more like an empty […]

REGIONAL MYSTERIES by Deborah Elliott-Upton This is certainly a season to gather with old friends and family, but also to meet new people—who are usually friends or family of those we already know. Something about cocktails and new acquaintances bring interesting conversation topics to the forefront. I thrive in social settings. Those like me are […]

HO, HO, HUMBUG by Deborah Elliott-Upton Holiday themed cartoons, movies and sitcoms are rampant this time of year. “Scrooged” starring Bill Murray has been listed on at least one channel every night for a few weeks and last night it was back-to-back on the same channel. Isn’t it time someone wrote a new Christmas-themed story? […]

READING TO WRITE by Deborah Elliott-Upton Writers face consistent pressure to produce a certain amount of pages per day. Talk about performance anxiety! Sure, we force this stress on ourselves as often as we accept deadlines, but that doesn’t make it any less traumatic. For those of us who write every day, you’d think the […]

HOLIDAYS MAKE FOR A MURDEROUSLY GOOD TIME FOR READING by Deborah Elliott-Upton Crime doesn’t take a holiday. In fact, many books have been written on this theme, including Holiday in Death by J.D. Robb and Nora Roberts (huh? Isn’t this the same person?), No Holiday for Crime by Dell Shannon and of course, the anthology […]

FEEDING THE SPIRIT by Deborah Elliott-Upton “You know that just before that first Thanksgiving dinner there was one wise, old Native American woman saying, ‘Don’t feed them. If you feed them, they’ll never leave.’” —Dylan Brody Right about this time, I’m thinking I ate too much turkey and dressing and I haven’t even sliced a […]