An interview about the not too boring life and times of Judie Cummins.

Chris:  At present you teach English at Palomar College and write mysteries, but for twelve of the twenty-two years you lived in Europe, you ran a travel business specializing in tours to the Middle East.  Is there anything exciting that you remember from that time?

Judie:  All of it.  Something memorable happened on every one of my forty trips to Israel and the twenty or so I took to Egypt, Turkey, and Greece.  There was the night we spent sleeping in bunkers at a kibbutz in Northern Galilee when we were under a rocket attack or the day our bus was stoned in Jerusalem or the fight on the ferry crossing the Suez Canal.  A couple of enjoyable personal experiences were riding horseback at dawn at the pyramids, scuba diving in the Red Sea, and taking a camel safari to Mount Sinai.

Chris:  Before you started the travel business, what kept you occupied?

Judie:  Raising three children kept me pretty busy.  Since my late husband was a school  principal for the army, I wasn’t allowed to teach in the same system and had to find other ways to fill my time.  I sold travel advertising for a magazine in Frankfurt, did public relations for the Dept. of Defense adult school system, worked with Dr. Popham of UCLA on competency-based testing for high school equivalency, wrote travel articles for in-flight magazines, taught minority studies workshops for teachers, wrote articles on early childhood education for journals and a children’s book titled Love is a Line of Cars, and taught Children’s Lit. and other English courses for the European campus of the University of Maryland.

Chris:  Now that you’re back in San Diego, what kind of writing projects have you been working on?

Judie:  I’ve published several short stories in magazines and anthologies, including:  “Mohrgrabi Mayhem” in MORD ZWISCHEN MESSER UND GABEL, “Housesitter” in FUTURES, “Asleep on the Job” in FAME, “Unholy Burial” in DIME, “Baby Steps” in WHEN WE WERE YOUNG, “Big Easy Frame” in FAME, “Lulu Comes up Trumps” in MYSTERY SCENE, “On the Wing of a Prayer” in WINGING IT WITH WORDS, “Death Underground” in FUTURES, “Out of Bounds” in MURDER ACROSS THE MAP, “Blonde on the Run” in MAELSTROM I (UK), “Viper in Paradise” in FUTURES, “Dreadful Word” in OVERSEAS LIFE,   “Unbridled Nature” in HORSING AROUND, “Dead Ringer” in FUTURES.  And coming out later this year, “Lost on the Moor” in CITY CRIMES: COUNTRY CRIMES, and “Devil’s Curse” in FEDORA IV.

I’ve also written three mystery/suspense novels:  REVENGE RIDES AT ASCOT, AWAKE FROM EVIL DREAMS, and WON'T STAY BURIED.  I’m currently working on SCREAM OF THE BUTTERFLY.

I’m also an active member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and the Short Mystery Fiction Society.

Chris:  What do you do for fun?

Judie:  I enjoy spending time at the beach or pool with my grandchildren and traveling in the U. S. and Europe with my husband.  He’s English and the most interesting person I’ve ever met:  he was a Buckingham Palace Guard, sold livestock all over the world; bred and trained race horses in England, including two winners at Ascot; appeared in a Sid Halley "Racing Game" TV episode from friend Dick Francis’ book; was imprisoned by Quadaffi in Libya; ran a hotel and pub in Portugal; and did the first embryo transplants in cattle, leading the way for in vitro fertilization.

Chris:  How can readers get copies of your writing?

Judie:  Some are available online and in current books, magazines, and anthologies; unfortunately, many are out of print.  I do have a few personal copies if anyone cares to email me:  judie@jkcummins.com.

Thank you for spending the time to share my world.