HEADLINE NEWS by Deborah Elliott-Upton “All I know is just what I read in the papers, and that’s an alibi for my ignorance. ” —Will Rogers I am reminded how easily ideas sprout like wildflowers in the oddest of places. In reading the newspaper headlines this morning, I found my own inventive stories popping into […]

IT’S POISON, I TELL YA by Deborah Elliott-Upton An article in the Bartlesville, Oklahoma, newspaper said the police suspected their agency’s drug dog had been poisoned. An officer noticed the dog had been lethargic, so they took him to a Bartlesville veterinarian and a Tulsa animal clinic, both of whom diagnosed advanced kidney failure. The […]

TICK, TICK, TICK by Deborah Elliott-Upton 1 Time keeps ticking along whether we have enough of it or not. If I could have one wish, it would probably be for more time. (I know, you thought I would ask for something involving Captain Jack’s portrayer, but I like to shake things up a bit every […]

IN SEARCH OF A PERFECT NAME by Deborah Elliott-Upton One thing about being a mystery writer is nothing is a chance encounter. Anything could lead to a crime and most important, people are most interesting when they don’t realize I’m a writer who is taking mental notes for future reference. I don’t write a character […]

WHEN REAL BAD GUYS TALK by Deborah Elliott-Upton “I didn’t want to hurt them. I only wanted to kill them.” – David Berkowitz a.k.a. The Son of Sam. I occasionally set up shop in my favorite easy chair with a cup of coffee (or a cooler beverage during the summer months) and read bits and […]

THE SALAD DAYS by Deborah Elliott-Upton We’re going to a backyard barbecue tonight and I’m asked to bring potato salad. The first time I remember taking it for a crowd was at a beach party by the seawall of the North China Sea on Okinawa. All the soldiers were young in both years and rank. […]

IT’S NOT ALL ABOUT ME? by Deborah Elliott-Upton Summer elbowed my favorite season out of the way and it was too hot to want to be anywhere except in a pool or in front of an air conditioner. My family abandoned me for the week with pursuits of their own out-of-state and out-of-country and I […]