Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I was born in Tampa, FL, though I grew up on the outskirts of D.C. I earned a BA in English the first time around, and a BS in Operational Meteorology more recently. I now split my time between writing fiction and working as a global marketing director for a research and consulting firm. Prior to my current work, I also worked as a bookstore manager, a script ghost writer and reader for a film production company, a security guard, a baker, and a copywriter, to name just a few!
I live in Texas with my wife of 21 years, two dogs, and a few cats, the true number of which I will never reveal. SECRETS MY MOTHERS KEPT is my first novel.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My debut novel is called Secrets My Mothers Kept. It’s contemporary fiction in a similar vein to authors such as Marybeth Mayhew Whalen, S.D. Robertson, and Jodi Picoult. The story follows 21-year-old engineering student in the ten tumultuous weeks following her discovery of being adopted. In addition to dealing with the sense of betrayal and loss of trust with her parents, Austin also struggles with the impact this revelation has on her status within the Reform Jewish community, which has always been a source of strength for her. With the support of a new friend and romantic interest, Claire, and her rabbi and old family friend, Rivka, Austin searches for answers about her biological parents and her own origins.
I’m an adoptee and had been searching for my birthparents on and off for 20 years to no avail. There was a scant paper trail and it only led to dead ends. About six years ago, I had decided to take DNA tests to try and find my biological family. Many searchers recommend writing a letter to your birthmother so that your first contact is thoughtful and separate from the high emotions of the search and reunion. It’s also less intimidating for the person who has been found. I wrote a number of different drafts of this letter and, in doing so, spent a lot of time considering who my birth mother might have been and might be. I found myself wondering what kind of conversation we might have. I wrote out a scene, which eventually became the scene in the book with Austin and Elise speaking for the first time. The novel was still in editing when I found my birthmother’s family and discovered she had passed away. That scene became even more important to me, as it represented something that was no longer possible for me to have in my life, but that I would always have in the book.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I really like to write by hand for my first drafts, rather than type into the computer. Sometimes, I just write the first paragraph of each chapter. Other times, I write the whole book in a notebook first. This means two things; one – I have a tremendous love of pens and pencils and am always on the look-out for a new one, and two – I really hate trying to read my handwriting when I’m typing it in for the second draft.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I pick The Idiot by Dostoyevsky as my favorite book for a number of reasons. I first read it in college, about 25 years ago. I’ve read it almost annually ever since, not always in its entirety, but elements and chunks of it. Its appeal, for me, is in the sheer essence of humanity in the story and the three-dimensional characters and range of emotions. Dostoevsky had epilepsy; he knew of what he wrote when he described Myshkin’s seizures and feelings of the dreamlike states that follow them, his disconnection from others while also expressing extraordinary empathy and insight. Ten years after I read this novel for the first time, I was diagnosed with epilepsy as well and was able to understand, on a more visceral level, some of what Dostoevsky was expressing. The pure humanity that Dostoevsky works to express through his characters, the freedom and flaws, captured me so completely that their actions never cease to surprise me, no matter how many times I read the book.
A key author who has influenced me is Adrienne Rich, a poet, essayist, and feminist. Her book, An Atlas of the Difficult World, Poems 1988-1991, had a powerful and profound impact on me, as well as my writing.
What are you working on now?
I have a couple of projects I’m working on presently. The first is the intended first book in a series following a forensic meteorologist and part-time PI living in Texas. It blends the mystery and western genres and has been a lot of fun.
The second project is about a homeless teen who livestreams her life living on the streets to raise money to go to college. It’s a difficult story, a bit grittier than Secrets My Mothers Kept, a bit darker, but not grim. I really believe in infusing my work with hope even when, maybe especially when, the stories are gritty and tough.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
First, I would say nothing beats word-of-mouth advertising. A few family members, friends, or colleagues like your book and they tell other people they know-people outside of your personal orbit-about the book and it grows from there. So, don’t be shy about self-promoting your book, especially to the people you know!
I’ve also had a good response from advertising with The Fussy Librarian and Books Bargain.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
I would say it’s never too late to start writing. I self-published this debut novel at 47, and I’ve only just begun. I would also suggest that, as tempting as it is to rush through the editing process, don’t. Putting your work aside for a few weeks or months is invaluable. Time away helps you spot plot holes, dangling subplots, and general developmental edits that may have been overlooked after you finished your third or tenth draft.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Write your own story, the one that demands to be told. If that happens to be a commercial story, great! But don’t get so hung up on the idea that you need to write a commercial story to be successful that you sacrifice what drives you to write in the first place.
What are you reading now?
Currently, I’m reading The Janus Stone, by Elly Griffiths, which is part of a forensic anthropology mystery series. On the non-fiction side of things, I’m reading Working Stiff: Two years, 262 bodies, and the making of a medical examiner, by Judy Melinek, M.D. and T.J. Mitchell.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I plan to continue working on my two works-in-progress. I love writing, so I don’t plan to stop any time soon. I also enjoy a lot of hobbies, including astronomy, rockhounding, fossil hunting, and disc golf, so I plan to go full tilt at those as well.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Adrienne Rich’s An Atlas of the Difficult World,
Dostoyevsky’s The Idiot,
Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, and
Oxford Unabridged Dictionary.
Author Websites and Profiles
Rebecca Tucker Website
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