In The Maltese Falcon, Sam Spade famously says, “When your partner gets killed, you’re supposed to do something about it. Doesn’t matter what you thought of him.” The following story includes a crime, a trial, and an execution; as such I suppose you could call it a crime story. But the reason I chose it […]

THE ART OF THE SHORT STORY by James Lincoln Warren Here’s the presentation I gave to the Orange County chapter of Sisters in Crime on Sunday, August 15, 2010. It is essentially the same presentation I gave in tandem with Melodie Johnson Howe last year at the California Crime Writers Conference, but without Melodie’s contributions, […]

FLORIDA NEWS by Leigh Lundin Florida’s leading gubernatorial candidate is a handsome probable billionaire named Rick Scott who … wait for it… if commie conservative liberal libertarian leftist pinko court documents are to be believed, engineered not only the largest Medicare fraud ever, but the largest fraud in our proud Florida history, a state that […]

UNDERAPPRECIATED by John M. Floyd Everyone likes the blockbuster novels, the ones that attract millions of readers. We usually even know beforehand that we’ll like them, either because we’re familiar with the authors or because we’ve seen the reviews or heard the buzz. You know the ones I’m talking about: Jaws, The Godfather, The Prince […]

SURFIN’ SAFARI by Steven Steinbock This week I’m bereft of any original thoughts or themes to share with you in this week’s edition of Bandersnatches. Almost bereft. Anyhow, a common form of blog column consists of annotated links to interesting and relevant websites. Allow me to share some of the gleanings of my web-surfing forays. […]

HEADLINE NEWS by Deborah Elliott-Upton “All I know is just what I read in the papers, and that’s an alibi for my ignorance. ” —Will Rogers I am reminded how easily ideas sprout like wildflowers in the oddest of places. In reading the newspaper headlines this morning, I found my own inventive stories popping into […]

DOCTOR WATSON, IN THE CONSERVATORY, WITH A CHAIN SAW by Rob Lopresti If this piece seems familiar it means that 1) you subscribed to MURDEROUS INTENT MYSTERY MAGAZINE in 1999 and 2) your memory is excellent. Congratulations. A while ago I heard Earl Emerson, one of my favorite mystery writers, speak in my local bookstore. […]