CATS AND COMPOSITION by Janice Law Is it just by chance that writers are so often photographed with cats? From Colette to Hemingway to yours truly, writers pose with their favorite felines. Dogs are lovely, but lets face it, a good dog lives on a much higher ethical plane than most of us. Loyal, kindly, […]

BOWLED OVER by Leigh Lundin Earlier this week, I read news about a freshly minted teen tenpin champion that suprised me as I read his story. So, you might ask, how does a story about Tim Wolchko, a student and bowling hero, relate to crime? Here’s how. Wolchko’s feat provides interesting sports news, but by […]

THE SAME OLD STORY by John M. Floyd Something that we don’t often see is a rewritten version of a previously published novel or short story. (It does happen, of course: one example is the longer edition of Stephen King’s The Stand, which appeared twelve years after the original.) But a remake of an old […]

FURTHER RUMINATIONS ON A DOG’S TALE by Steven Steinbock As I begin writing this week’s installment of Bandersnatches, I doubt I’ll be discussing dogs. If you feel that the title of today’s column misled you, I humbly apologize. Midway through last week’s column I shared some thoughts on Fredric Brown. Midway is actually a good […]

CAN I JUST SAY NO TO THE SYNOPSIS? by Deborah Elliott-Upton I know one writer who swears she enjoys writing the synopsis for a novel. I’m not sure if it’s because she’s written so many of them herself, read so many as an editor, or if she’s just so talented that it comes easier to […]

ASKING WHY, TELLING “WHY” by Rob Lopresti It’s always a great pleasure when I get a story published. For the past few years one part of that happy experience has been the chance to write about it here at Criminal Brief. Today it’s more of a mixed event. My story “Why” is in the current, […]

ANTICIPATION by Melodie Johnson Howe The sun is pushing through thick clouds, bullying its way through my office window and onto my desk. I can see my reflection in the monitor, on the “new page.” There is nothing as white as a new page. Wedding gown? Angel’s wings? First snow? First communion dress? No. This […]