Albert Tucher
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Spinetingler
November 29th, 2017 16:07 by Albert Tucher
The fall 2017 issue of Spinetingler magazine is out, with short fiction, interviews and articles. Included is my Diana Andrews story Illusions. Diana is in her new career as president of Litvinov Associates, a body guarding and security firm, but her old friend, retired detective Dale Tillotson, recruits her for his investigation into the murder of a part-time prostitute in 1964. Yes, it's the Mad Men era, and it's the coldest case of Diana's career.
Available here from Down And Out Books, also from Amazon.
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Crime Bake!
November 1st, 2017 15:16 by Albert Tucher
On the topic of conferences, one of my favorites is coming up this Veterans Day weekend. I first attended the Crime Bake in 2006, when it was held in Lowell, Mass. The organizers moved it to Dedham for ten years, but this year we will be at a new venue in Woburn. Wherever they hold it, I'm there!
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Bouchercon!
October 18th, 2017 19:30 by Albert Tucher
I just registered for Bouchercon 2018, to be held next September in St. Petersburg. I had planned to go to Toronto this year, but I kept letting the deadlines pass without acting. This year I resolved to eliminate passive aggression and just do it.
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Introducing Officer Jenny Freitas.
August 19th, 2017 21:21 by Albert Tucher
Jenny is a young patrol officer with the Hawaii County Police and a supporting character in the world of Detective Errol Coutinho, who is in turn a supporting character in the world of prostitute Diana Andrews.
With me so far?
I focus on Jenny in several short stories, the first of which, Sensitivity Training, appears in the anthology Busted: Arresting Stories From the Beat from Level Best Books.
The nice folks at Mysteristas interviewed me recently about the story and Jenny. The result appears here
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Dipping my toe ...
July 11th, 2017 18:17 by Albert Tucher
... Into audio books. Just a tidbit for now. My friend Elaine Ash/Anonymous-9 is not just a great writer. Here she shows her voice-over chops.
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The Place of Refuge update
January 31st, 2017 20:00 by Albert Tucher
It's now available!
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Diana's back.
October 31st, 2016 13:56 by Albert Tucher
In Share the Wealth, Diana loses her professional detachment with a client. When he becomes the suspect in his wife's murder, she has to investigate as only she knows how. The story appears in the brand new anthology A Dose of Murder, Mystery and Mayhem from House Of Erotica:
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Agnes comes through!
July 20th, 2016 15:56 by Albert Tucher
My friend Elaine Ash aka Anonymous-9 once told me, "You have more series characters than Diana has condoms." The immediate provocation for this accusation was a story about criminal defense attorney Agnes Rodrigues on the Big Island of Hawaii.
Agnes has come through for me in a big way. She stars in The Forgettable Man, which has just been named the runner up in the 2016 Lawyerist short fiction contest.
I plan to return to this website, which is by lawyers, for lawyers, about lawyers. Much of the material published there is also useful to crime writers.
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Mr. Moderator!
June 11th, 2016 13:42 by Albert Tucher
A few weeks ago my friend Trisha Vanderhoof popped up with a request. She wanted me to moderate a panel discussion of plot twists and red herrings in mystery/crime fiction. My panelists were to be Jeffrey Somers, Michael Daigle, and Michael Ransom, none of whom I had met. The venue was the Parsippany-Troy Hills Public Library, and it all happened last Saturday, June 4.
I said yes and immediately went into a frenzy of preparation and flat-out nerves. I had participated in panels before, but I had never been responsible for keeping the discussion relevant and interesting. I had to fill two hours, which was a longer period than any panel I had ever experienced.
In the end it went well. My authors were all articulate and eager to listen to each other as well as offer their own insights. The hosts were pleased, and Trisha warned me that she will ask me again.
Gulp.
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Selena!
May 2nd, 2016 14:38 by Albert Tucher
I just wore my index finger out swiping through the ebook edition of Selena, by Greg Barth (All Due Respect Books), and I'm doing further damage to my digit with the sequel, Diesel Therapy. Selena is five feet and a hundred pounds of kick-assery and attitude. She's also a prostitute, which is what piqued my interest in the first place. The plotting creaks a bit, and some motivations are a bit doubtful, but the page-turner test is the important thing, and these books pass with room to spare.
As I read, I reflected on what I have learned in writing about my prostitute character, Diana Andrews. Women in this business run the gamut. Some are outlaws through and through, while others are utterly conventional except for the one thing they do to pay the bills. Selena is way out on the outlaw fringe, while Diana would stay closer to the other extreme, if people would only let her. Both characters are completely plausible, and that's why I love them both.
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