THEORY OF THE CRIME by James Lincoln Warren In science and in law, a theory is an explanation for observed phenomena. The theory of evolution, understood by most people to refer to Charles Darwin’s theory of speciation through natural selection, is a case in point; likewise Newton’s law of universal gravitation, which explains why and […]

LITERARY NEWS by Leigh Lundin Lots of news is happening in the world of writing. Let’s get started. The Visitor Nevermore? For six decades, a mysterious visitor left roses and a bottle of cognac at Edgar Allan Poe’s grave in Baltimore. However, for the second year in a row, the phantom mourner failed to appear, […]

STORIES FOR SALE—NEW & USED by John M. Floyd There are two tasks you must perform if you’re to be a published author. Obviously, one of them is to write the manuscript. The other is to sell what you write. The marketing phase can’t be done without the writing, and published writing can’t be done […]

POSERS AND DEPOSERS by Steven Steinbock I’d hoped to get back to my beloved Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine collection so that I could share some of the lost treasures and forgotten gems discovered therein. But my reading and writing time has been usurped by other responsibilities. Perhaps next week, possibly next month, I hope to […]

LET YOUR CONSCIENCE BE YOUR GUIDE? by Deborah Elliott-Upton “There is no witness so terrible, no accuser so potent, as the conscience that dwells in every man’s breast.” —Polybius Recently, I stumbled upon the 1928 movie version of “The Tell-Tale Heart”, the earliest acknowledged adaptation to film of Edgar Allen Poe’s classic story of a […]

POPCORN PROVERBS by Rob Lopresti With John’s kind permission I have decided to slip into his territory (a Floydian slip? Rimshot…) with a column featuring quotations from fifty of my favorite crime movies. They are arranged in order by the title of the flick. Answers begin next week. Enjoy. 1. –You hear that Gina? Your […]

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH by Melodie Johnson Howe An editor responded to a section of a well-known author’s work by writing in the margin, “Less is More.” The author (alas, I cannot remember his name at the moment) wrote back to her and said, “Less is Less. More is More. And Enough is Enough.” His words […]