HOMELESS by Melodie Johnson Howe I walked into the kitchen to get my morning cup of coffee and my husband looked me up and down and said, “You’re dressed like a homeless person.” This coming from a man wearing his favorite sweatshirt that is frayed to shreds around the cuffs and neck. “I’m going to […]

WHO’S REALLY A NOVELIST? by Melodie Johnson Howe In today’s (I’m writing this on Monday) Los Angeles Times I read that screenwriters are taking the time, due to the strike, to write the novels they’ve always wanted to write. However, many of them are coming up against the stark reality of the publishing world. Money. […]

A BRIEF POTPOURRI by Melodie Johnson Howe I hurt my shoulder doing yoga. It’s my right shoulder which affects my right arm and my right hand. This makes trying difficult. I mean typing. So this will be a quick rambling blog today. First of all, does anybody know the name of the John Dickson Carr […]

EXCUSE ME, I’M TRYING TO WRITE by Melodie Johnson Howe I’m trying to write with Dr. Watson, an eighteen pound dog, in my lap. He’s snoring like old sot. I’m trying to write with the dog off my lap, but asleep in a chair. He’s still snoring. I’m trying to write with the dog outside. […]

I HATE ENDINGS/ I LOVE ENDINGS by Melodie Johnson Howe The dénouement or the denouncement. In whatever language you say it, the summing up in the mystery novel has always bothered me. I think it’s the weakest part of the genre. Even my favorite writers (do I dare say the name Rex Stout?) leave me […]

I HATE NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS — SO HERE ARE MINE by Melodie Johnson Howe I will try to write twenty pages a day. Okay, ten pages. Five is really doable. Actually one good page is better than five rambling ones. In fact a good paragraph is … yet one perfect sentence … even a single […]

EMILY DICKINSON and CHRISTMAS by Melodie Johnson Howe On this Christmas Day I would like to share a spiritual moment I experienced recently, even though I am not a spiritual person. Funny how many non-spiritual people have spiritual moments, isn’t it? My friend, Lenore, and I recently drove to Amherst, Massachusetts to visit Emily Dickinson’s […]