I guess maybe sometimes crime does pay, at least according to Herodotus, whose name was recently invoked by both Steve and Rob. Here the Father of History ’splains it. —JLW THE GREAT EGYPTIAN TREASURE CAPER by Herodotus of Helicarnassus (c. 484 B.C. – c. 425 B.C.) Translated by George Campbell Macaulay (1852-1915) This king [Rhampsinitos1], […]

PANTIES HALF OFF by Leigh Lundin The above caption was an advertisement earlier this week. Some of you would have been disappointed if this ad hadn’t caught my eye, but hey– that’s my job. The advertisement and one of those persistant spam eMails started me thinking about words, their meanings, and this around, their sounds. Consider […]

I MADE IT UP by John M. Floyd I’m climbing onto the wagon a little late, here, but the recent Criminal Brief columns on the subject of truth and falsehoods in fiction got me to thinking. Does truth matter? Do readers really care? How much leeway do we, as writers, have, between fact and fantasy? […]

MAPPING FICTION by Steve Steinbock Last month fellow Criminal Briefer John Floyd shared some thoughts on plotting in a Mississippi Mud column, “Map Quest.” I enjoy that topic, and I enjoyed John’s column. In fact, it generated a lot of behind-the-scenes discussion among us CD columnists as James Lincoln Warren explored nodal structure maps of […]

GIVING UP by Deborah Elliott-Upton In 1924, a book was published by Scribner with the title, How to Write Short Stories. The author was Ring Lardner and it wasn’t an instruction book at all, but a collection of his short stories. The preface stated the book was to provide “boys and gals who wants to […]

Robert Lopresti wrote an article for today, but it was lost during its transit through the aether, and like the completely self-absorbed egotist that I am, I utterly failed to notice it was missing. This is rather embarrassing, as I endeavor never, never to miss anything written by Rob. So in his stead, I have […]

Melodie asked previous Criminal Brief contributor and award-winning journalist Kathleen Sharp to fill in for her today. Melodie should be back next week. —JLW CAN’T TAKE A JOKE by Kathleen Sharp Parody is on life support and I’m holding a vigil. What prompted this is the recent emotional reaction to a few mild-mannered stabs at […]