As a teenager growing up I never really had too many good friends. Most people in my past I could take or leave – and most of them I left when I left home and struck out on my own. There’s not a single person from those years that I’ve stayed in touch with.

But there was always Kevin Tucker.

Tucker was a guy that lived down the street from my parents’ house. He was athletic, a jock (I was not), playing football and baseball, even golf at the local country club. He knew (and was friends with) all the popular kids in school. I, on the other hand, traveled in a much different orbit than Kevin did. Yet, outside of school, we were still friends.

When I left home after graduating, Kevin was one of but many people I lost track of. His drop-dead gorgeous sister moved away. So did his parents. And now there is no trace of him anywhere (on the net). Kevin is gone.

I’ve thought of Kevin over the last number of years. We used to have very stimulating discussions together, coming from the diverse worlds we were both from, it was an amazing friendship I think. But the only thing I remember about Kevin’s plans were that he wanted to one day work in the Secret Service.

The Secret Service. Hmm.

I decided one day, “If I can’t find what’s become of Kevin Tucker, then I’ll just write about him.” This began the book idea WRITING TUCKER.

So, this is the next project on the docket needing preliminary research so I can develop a working summary. At this point I have a general idea of what the story will be. Much like the real story, but with a few liberties to spice it up.

There’s me (the writer) who can’t find his childhood friend (Kevin Tucker). As an adult I decide to write a fiction book about him, about his adventures and life in the Secret Service. It get’s picked up by a publisher and is a smash hit (let’s hope, right?). Then things start to go a little screwy. I start to suspect people are following me. Then, to prove my suspicions, an attempt is made on my life and I’m narrowly rescued by the government. Apparently my childhood friend actually did end up working for the Secret Service and, somehow, what I made up in the story about him was actually true. Not only have I put the cross hairs on myself, but I have also exposed Kevin’s covert position and jeopardized national security to boot! (Does the Secret Service have covert operatives?)

This is what I get for WRITING TUCKER.

So, I need to do some research. Here are the books I’ll be reading for background material:

• Inside the CIA
• TTC – Espionage and Covert Operations
• Inside the US Secret Service
• Legacy of Ashes – the History of the CIA
• The Art of Intelligence
• At the Center of the Storm – My Years at the CIA
• Black Ops
• Bodyguard Manual
• Discovery Channel – Secrets of the Secret Service
• Espionage – A Reference Handbook
• In the President’s Secret Service
• Stalling for Time – My Life as an FBI Hostage Negotiator
• The Central Intelligence Agency
• The FBI Career Guide
• The Federal Bureau of Investigation

Let’s hope I don’t write a story about the real Kevin Tucker and what he actually IS doing right now in the Secret Service! I want a visit from Publisher’s Clearing House, not the FBI, thank you…