Elizabeth A. Tucker is a fiction writer, poet, playwright, and sixth-generation Californian. Her work can be found in a host of literary journals, including Transfer Magazine, Red River Review, Aroostook Review, Ponder Review, The Bangalore Review, SNReview, and JuxtaProse Magazine. She is a two-time finalist for Glimmer Train’s Short Story Award for New Writers, a finalist for the 2020 Craft Elements Fiction Contest, and a finalist for the 2020 Barry Lopez Prize in nonfiction. She lives and writes at 6,600 feet above sea level in the Sierra Nevada with her husband and two children.
Favorite non-reading activity?
That’s a pretty easy one—anything active outside with my kiddos, my husband, our dog, with friends, or just by myself. I am an avid surfer, kitesurfer, wingfoiler, nordic/biathlon and backcountry skier, and a gravel/mountain biker. I cherish clean waves both large and small, wind for kiting and wingfoiling on the heavier side than the lighter. I adore—simply adore—light, deep and delicious snow for backcountry skiing and hard, cold and fast snow for biathlon and nordic pursuits. As for biking, well I love most anything on the downhill sans gap jumps (I’m too old for that, plus I’m kind of a klutz); as for the uphill grind, it is necessary, but definitely not my favorite as I feel like I have lungs the size of a pair of kidney beans.
Is there another profession you would like to try?
While I try not to live ye ole Land of Regrets, there are a number of other professions I think I would have enjoyed, namely: being a kelp farmer or a lobster fisherwoman in Maine, a wood-working furniture designer, or becoming a ship’s captain. I would have also loved being professional cellist for a symphony orchestra had I started music earlier in life and had the chops for it.
What do you worry about?
My kids, always my kids. They are the most beautiful, insightful, and incredible humans I know and I am so proud and lucky to be their mom; they are simply amazing individuals—bright, empathetic, funny, engaging, hard-working, big-hearted, plus they put up with my sense of adventure and humor, but they are my kids, and I can’t help but get all tangled up inside when I see my babies (who are no longer babies, but now young adults) face challenges, field the unexpected yet inevitable curve-balls, navigate the tough stuff, but also try my very best to not put my hands on their wheels (which I am not always successful at). Oh, and the climate—both the environmental and the political. The 2016, 2020 and 2024 election-cycles have certainly made me more than a tad anxious.
What brings you great joy?
Again, my kids, always my kids. And my beautiful and beloved husband of thirty-four years. My husband, Matt, is my very best friend in the whole wide world and I could literally spend every minute of every day with him. We have a ton of fun together out adventuring in the mountains, at sea, wandering cities, exploring in the van along lonely American highways or travelling abroad with just our backpacks, a few bucks, and a good sense of humor. I think when he and I are able to share our love out in the wild with our kids, away from the suck of technology and everyday demands, when we are all game-on and smiling brightly, I am at my most content and joy-filled.
Do you have another artistic outlet in addition to your writing? Do you sew? Paint? Draw? Knit? Dance?
For most of my life I have tended to think of myself more as an athlete than someone who is artistic or a creative. But as an adult, I not only decided to become a writer but also began to learn music. I started when my daughter was five and she decided to pick up the violin. Her instructor had this unique offering to provide the lesson for not only to the child but for the parent as well. I found this a terrific way to engage with my kids (i.e to learn something together, rather than just drop them off at practice and watch.) I plodded along side-by-side with my daughter, playing violin, and together we joined our local community orchestra, but soon she surpassed me and took off—not only in violin but a whole host of instruments. Simultaneously, I fell in love with the cello, so I ditched the violin and took up the larger stringed instrument. Then, (because the cello was not big enough?) we both started to learn the stand-up bass. Today, all these years later, I continue to toggle between the cello and bass and have leaned into the simple fact that learning fretless instruments as an adult is kicking my ass, but in a good way. While my daughter is the true musician, I keep steadily plugging away, studying music/music theory, delighted for years in playing with a local Truckee Americana band, Calling Ophelia, and am currently a proud member of the Reno Pops Orchestra in the bass section. Who knew?