TO BE CLONED or NOT TO BE CLONED by Deborah Elliott-Upton It’s been a decade since scientists cloned the first animal from an adult cell rather than an embryo. The result was worldwide headlines and a sheep named Dolly became more known than many heads of state. The cell used was a mammary cell and […]

KOSHER PIGS FLY WEST INTO THE SUNRISE: Film at Eleven by Robert Lopresti I first tried to get a story published in 1976. Since it was a mystery I sent it to the premiere publication in the field, Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine Since it was awful, they sent it back faster than a radioactive skunk. […]

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. […]

THE MYSTERY HOOK by James Lincoln Warren I write several kinds of crime stories. The first and most characteristic type is the traditional whodunit, so far always featuring independent 18th century insurance investigator Alan Treviscoe. These stories generally feature a lot of physical evidence requiring Treviscoe’s deductive prowess and a puzzle plot. They almost always […]

CAN-AM DICTIONARY by Leigh Lundin As mentioned before, I’ve been discovering more Canadian writers, thanks to friends north of the border and to Liz Ruch’s literary group in Winter Park. These (mostly) Southern ladies who meet monthly at the Morse Museum, feel a bond of the heart with Canadian writers, even if we below the […]

PICTURE THIS by John M. Floyd Time for a quiz. Take a look at the following list of movies, and see if you can spot what they have in common: “Rear Window” “Duel” “The Swimmer” “High Noon” “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” “Psycho” “A Christmas Carol” “1408” “All About Eve” “Brokeback Mountain” “The Snows […]

A MYSTERY COLLECTOR’S BOOKSHELF by Steven Steinbock My name is Steve Steinbock, and I’m a research geek. That should come as no surprise to regular Criminal Brief readers. Give me a simple project like finding the annual rice consumption of Guatemala, and before you know it I’m learning the grammar of the Q’eqchi’ and Xinca […]