A few days ago I was contacted by L. Sue Durkin of Weaving Dreams Publishing, a small press in Illinois, and politely asked if I would post the following letter. As regular readers of this blog know, Criminal Brief does not generally allow promotional messages, but I will always make an exception for a legitimate […]

ANAGRAMS by Leigh Lundin This week, we return to one of our favorite topics, word play, where we take on anagrams. Anagrams a decimal point   I’m a dot in place a gentleman   elegant man a telescope   to see place animosity   is no amity astronomer   moon starer clothespins   so let’s […]

MY OWN V OF POV by John M. Floyd It seems so simple, this viewpoint thing. First person, third person — how hard can it be? Well, the truth is, it can be a stumbling block for writers who are unaware of the rules. According to Pat Kubis and Bob Howland in their book The […]

THE TASTE OF QUEENS by Steve Steinbock The turkey is in the oven, and I’ve been enjoying the Thanksgiving thoughts of my colleagues Rob Lopresti and Deborah Elliott-Upton. Being in a festive mood, I’d considered doing a Thanksgiving-themed column as well. But by the time this column goes up, the turkey, cranberries, yams and stuffing […]

A WRITER’S THANKSGIVING by Deborah Elliott-Upton I think it was our second year as the collective Criminal Brief group, that I figured out I would always have the Thanksgiving column. (Thursday’s Child sometimes has a blonde moment or two.) In honor of our national holiday, I would like to list a few of things I […]

PRE-TURKEY SPECIAL by Rob Lopresti I’m thankful that some editors like my stuff. I’m thankful for word processing software that means I don’t have to rewrite a page by hand every time I find a typo. I’m thankful for the First Amendment. I’m thankful that Edgar Allen Poe didn’t drink or drug himself to death […]

New Jersey police chief and Shamus-nominated EQMM author David Dean returns with the second of two columns ruminating on cops, fiction, and cops & fiction. You can read Part 1 here. SAINT MICHAEL AND FRIENDS – PART 2 by David Dean In my experience, the average police officer is not big on reading. Beyond a […]