G. Miki Hayden won the Edgar for her short story “The Maids” in 2004, which appeared in the MWA anthology Blood on their Hands, for which JLW had the honor of serving as a judge. Miki is also the author of Writing the Mystery and The Naked Writer (a style and composition book for all […]

IN PRAISE OF EQMM by Steven Steinbock We interrupt our regularly scheduled list of lucky thirteen mystery anthologies to bring you this tribute, this commendation, this laudatory rant. It’s my love letter to Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine. For sixty-six years, Fred (Dannay), then Eleanor (Sullivan) and now Janet (Hutchings) gather the best short mystery and […]

BEING DIFFERENT by Deborah Elliott-Upton I love writing exercises, especially the “what if” questions. At the Frontiers in Writing conference this past weekend, I attended Melanie Rigney’s “Creative Corner” sessions. I had no idea what the workshop would involve, but I love Melanie’s free spirit mingled with her sharp editor’s mind. As Melanie’s conference host, […]

MISERY LOVES STRANGE BEDFELLOWS by Robert Lopresti On the night the Derringer Awards were announced I found a familiar character sitting at my kitchen table. He is in his fifties, thinning on top, with bushy eyebrows and his body shape suggests that he is fonder of good food than exercise. He looked at me with […]

NUM LOCK by Melodie Johnson Howe There is a key on my computer keyboard called Num Lock. I only use it accidentally. Usually when I’m scrolling and glancing at my hard copy at the same time. When I look back at my screen I find: 8888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888 I love this key. I love its name. I […]

WATCH WORDS by James Lincoln Warren My good friend screenwriter and short story author Paul Guyot has made occasional forays into the blogosphere, first with his very popular but now long-defunct blog Ink Slinger, which dispensed advice to screenwriters, and more recently as a former bi-weekly guest contributor to Murderati, where he touched upon more […]

ADD by Leigh Lundin The title James awarded me isn’t just frivolous, I really am ADD. At one time, ADD was thought to be mainly a male disorder, particularly the hyperactive component, ADHD, but someone finally noticed that young boys, frogs, things that explode, and hyperactivity tend to go together. I don’t have the hyperactive […]