TITLE FIGHT by Rob Lopresti Simple question: What makes a great mystery title? It ought to catch the eye, intrigue the mind. It should also have some telling connection to the plot of the story. Some authors seem to have an endless supply of great titles. Some of my favorite authors never come up with […]

SHORT STORY TRAILERS by Douglas Grant Johnson, R. T. Lawton, and Stephen Ross Most of you have probably heard of “book trailers”—short animations on the web meant to advertise books in the same manner that “Coming Attractions” advertise movies in theaters. Our good friend R. T. Lawton, whose “Mystery Masterclass” column from August of 2007 […]

MY LIST O’ LEXICONS by James Lincoln Warren Some people shoot heroin, some play the ponies, some drink caffeinated beverages, and others rent DVDs. Me, I’m a dictionary junkie. I don’t know how many dictionaries I own. I honestly don’t. But for a writer, having dictionaries hardly qualifies as a vice. Of the many I […]

BLACKOUT by Leigh Lundin Among many mystery writers, realism is important. Stories have been written involving events going awry when authors try to simulate similitude. Wednesday, I entered the ranks of those writers, albeit unintentionally. My contribution to research realism was to pass out on a restroom floor. And– it wasn’t anything like I’d been […]

TOTALLY LOST by John M. Floyd Not long ago one of my writer friends told me she’d be glad when she finished working on her current novel so she could start reading again. “So you can what?” I asked. “So I can start reading again,” she said. “I never read fiction while I’m writing fiction […]

REFLECTIONS FROM THE LOOKING-GLASS by Steven Steinbock Rather than subjecting you to lexical leanings and morphological meanderings, I’m giving the dictionary a rest for the week. Instead, I here are few links, photos, and videos to share with you. Signing in the Walden Books Last month while I was at Malice Domestic, Parnell Hall took […]

HOT, HOT, HOT! by Deborah Elliott-Upton ”I feel like a wet seed wild in the hot blind earth.” – William Faulkner. I’m sitting alone in my hairdresser’s reception area. A coffee machine is gurgling, a Coke machine is humming a bit too loud, but stops abruptly as the air conditioning kicks into high gear. From […]