PASSION IS EVERYTHING by Deborah Elliott-Upton At a writer’s conference, an agent said, “The more passion you have for your writing project, the easier it is to sell to an agent or editor.” She was absolutely right, but your writing better be pretty good, too. I know many writers whose work is so/so, but they […]

SALUTE TO THE UNKNOWN NARRATOR by Robert Lopresti I have just received my author’s copies of the April issue of Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, containing my new story “The Hard Case.” And, wow! For the first time ever my story is on the cover. And double wow, Joel Spector did a great job. It looks […]

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 […]

THE EDGAR NOMINATIONS by James Lincoln Warren The same week we lost a giant, Ed Hoch, Mystery Writers of America published the nominations for the 2008 Edgar Awards. Steve and Leigh have both written eloquently on Ed’s untimely demise, and I have nothing substantive to add to their tributes. But it is fitting that Ed […]

A DEATH in the FAMILY by Leigh Lundin NASA STS-51-L When at home, I make a practice of watching the space shuttle take off. From a distance, the shuttle looks like a pencil with a flaming eraser. Night launches can be spectacular and never look the same twice. When booster separation takes place, the fuel […]

LOST in TRANSLATION by John M. Floyd I realize I’m probably strange. Most fiction writers are. But I don’t think I act particularly strange, at least most of the time. Now and then, though . . . Now and then I do something that reminds me of a sitcom, when almost every action is either […]

Sad News for the Mystery Community by Steven Steinbock I was just putting finishing touches on the following column, when I received a phone call from Doug Greene informing me that Ed Hoch has passed away. I always thought that Ed, like his fictional creation “Simon Ark,” was immortal. In a writing career that spanned […]