IN THE MOOD Part the First by James Lincoln Warren I’m not in a bad mood. But when I worked for Barnes & Noble, the manager used to drive me around the bend when she would speak thus: CUSTOMER: Where is the cookbook section? MANAGER: That would be on the second floor, to the left […]

CHRISTMAS PUZZLE– THE SOLVERS by Leigh Lundin with CJ Dowse Taking first place in our Christmas contest, CJ Dowse of South Africa submitted the first winning entry. I became aware of her after she submitted a puzzle to Criminal Brief, which tipped me she liked words and puzzles. For the game, my colleagues and I provided […]

OUTSIDE ASSISTANCE by John M. Floyd A few years ago my wife and I attended an “opening” of the residence of the late author Eudora Welty, here in Jackson, Mississippi. While there someone mentioned one of Miss Welty’s odd habits (a superstition, almost) regarding writing: she wrote the ending of each of her stories and […]

RING OUT THE OLD, RING IN THE NEW by Steve Steinbock What are you doing for New Years? One of my favorite traditions is watching lots of episodes of “Twilight Zone.” The SyFy channel runs a marathon each year. Starting at 8:00 am yesterday (Thursday, December 31) and running until 6:00 am tomorrow (Saturday, January […]