Albert Tucher
-
Hitchcock!
April 21st, 2019 22:24 by Albert Tucher
After numerous attempts going back, I believe, to 2003, I have finally sold a story to Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine. Officer Jenny Freitas of the Hawaii County Police is on the case in "J.D.L.R." (Hint: that's cop shorthand for "Just Doesn't Look Right.") No publication date yet, but I will report as I learn more.
-
Weighing in on the great issues of our time.
March 6th, 2019 22:14 by Albert Tucher
Plotter versus pantser--I'm an extreme pantser, meaning I find the story by writing it. I have never been able to write an outline, and I doubt I ever will.
Coffee shop versus solitude--You be the judge. Today I finished my writing stint in Barnes & Noble and only then noticed that what looked like an entire middle school had taken over the cafe. I hadn't noticed them at all. And we're talking about 12-year-olds here.
Tuning out the commotion helps me concentrate. I know other writers must have solitude and silence, but I'm not one of them.
-
Retirement!
February 10th, 2019 19:05 by Albert Tucher
My retirement became official on February 1, although I started drawing down vacation time just before Christmas.
I started work at the Newark Public Library on January 2, 1986. For six years before that I worked as a cataloger at the East Orange Public Library, and before that I worked for three years as a pre-order searcher (an arcane and thankfully obsolete clerical library job) at the Princeton University Libraries.
I joined the workforce part-time in the summer of 1969. I’d say I put in my time. If anyone disagrees, I’m frankly not interested.
I’m still feeling my way into retirement, with adjustments large and small. One small one: I’m doing about a third the amount of laundry I used to do. A larger one: only now that I have stopped commuting can I face how degrading it was to disembark from the train in Penn Station and join a thousand other commuters as we inched down the stairs from platform to station floor. The resemblance to cattle going to the slaughter is too vivid for comfort.
That’s all past. I am writing more and contributing more to the writing and publishing community. I recently was elected to the board of the New York chapter of Mystery Writers of America, with responsibility for the chapter’s bi-monthly readings at the KGB Bar in New York.
More to come!
-
The return of my Technical Consultant
December 14th, 2018 16:50 by Albert Tucher
She hasn't literally returned, but lately I have been replaying some of our conversations in my mind. She told me, for instance, that she sometimes worked on major holidays, because some of her clients had no one to spend the day with, or they did but wanted to get away from everyone. Holidays also put them in a tipping mood. I thought about that until I came up with The Best Gift of All , which puts Diana in a motel room with a client on Christmas Day. Appropriately enough, that story will appear in Shotgun Honey on December 25, 2018.
My TC also told me about a client who wanted her to come to him wearing a blatant hooker outfit consisting of a halter top and Lycra short shorts that didn't even cover her butt. She refused, saying, "You may not worry about what your neighbors think, but I have to. They can complain to the police about me and complicate my life."
This led to another story, which is currently in progress. As usual when I use one of her experiences, I upped the stakes. Diana agrees to get out of her car and strut up to the client's front door, but she's wearing even less than the hooker outfit. In fact, she's wearing nothing but stiletto heels. The client swears his neighborhood is deserted during the work and school day, and he promises her four times her usual rate.
Need I add that nothing goes according to plan? Stay tuned.
-
The Honorary Jersey Girl
November 27th, 2018 20:16 by Albert Tucher
The next book in my Hawaii series will be The Honorary Jersey Girl. Detective Errol Coutinho gets a bit of a rest in this story, which features criminal defense attorney Agnes Rodrigues. Someone is trying to kill Agnes's client Hank Alves, who was acquitted of killing a cop's wife. Nobody will take on the job of protecting Hank until Agnes persuades ex-prostitute Diana Andrews and her team of bodyguards to come to Hawaii from New Jersey. Mayhem ensues!
Due out in July 2019.
-
Beatrice Winser!
September 21st, 2018 15:51 by Albert Tucher
The anthology Shhhh ... Murder , edited by Andrew MacRae, is just out from Darkhouse Books. It includes my story The Patience of the Dead, in which redoubtable librarian Beatrice Winser discovers that one of the many deaths in Newark during the influenza epidemic of 1918 is murder. Miss Winser keeps some excellent company in this anthology, which is well worth a look.
-
Back from Bouchercon
September 13th, 2018 18:59 by Albert Tucher
I'm just back from Bouchercon 2018 in St. Petersburg, and I'm starting to recover. I already knew I could sustain my conference personality for three days, but B'con adds up to four days. I did it, but damn, it was tiring. But also worth it. I reconnected with friends Nadine Nettmann, Jay Shepherd and Ray Salemi, and I met quite a few people who had been online friends for years, including Kristen Lepionka, Charles Todd, Michael Bracken and Dana King. It's such a huge conference that I never laid eyes on several people I knew were there.
I sold one copy each of THE PLACE OF REFUGE and THE HOLLOW VESSEL--a personal conference best. A high point was giving the toast to Nero Wolfe at the Wolfe Pack banquet. Many thanks to Jane Cleland for the opportunity.
Today I had recovered enough to register for Bouchercon 2019 in Dallas.
-
Cover reveal!
July 2nd, 2018 18:41 by Albert Tucher
Ron Earl Phillips just unveiled the cover for The Hollow Vessel, the next novels in my Errol Coutinho/Big Island of Hawaii series. Bad Fido has done it again!
-
All of a sudden ...
June 1st, 2018 15:02 by Albert Tucher
... I'm writing historical fiction. All but one of my Hawaii County Police stories are set before the current volcanic eruption, which from what I can see has made major changes in the whole Puna region. And who knows when I'll be able to go see for myself? The county government is rightly discouraging visitors to the area until the crisis is over.
And the goddess Pele will take her own time with that.
-
Welcome back!
May 21st, 2018 17:30 by Albert Tucher
To this positive review of The Same Mistake Twice, which originally appeared in Long And Short Reviews.
-
