Jeff sits down for a question-and-answer session with dru’s book musings so that we, the readers, can get to know him better.

What is your full name?
Jeffrey Allan Berman, though my initials, JAB, make me sound more aggressive than I actually am.

How old are you?
39. Though like Jack Benny, I may stay at that age for a while. Forty seems frightening.

What is your profession?
I am shedding occupations like a dog its fur. I have a PhD in American History, but after I wasn’t offered tenure at Eastern College, I had a two-year stint as a presenter on the History Channel. Turns out I wasn’t academic enough for the first job, and too academic for the second. Now I’m unemployed, but I’m hoping to join a true-crime podcasting team.

Do you have a significant other?
I did, until he was the victim of a hit-and-run in Greenwich Village.

What was their name and profession?
I knew him as Pascal Montrouge, a foreign-born, globe-trotting journalist. But after his death I discovered he’d been born in Queens, New York as John Church, an identity he abandoned at age 16.

Do you have any children?
Nope. It’s hard for a gay man with an unstable income and no dependable partner to embark on parenting. But who knows what the future holds?

Do you have any siblings?
I have a sister, Susan. We aren’t super-close, but we’re not estranged either.

Are your parents nearby?
My mother passed away when I was in my twenties, and my father and stepmother live in Florida.

Who is your best friend?
I met Naomi Schechter when we were new faculty members at a Eastern College, a very good small college near the Delaware River in Pennsylvania. We were both denied tenure and have had to reinvent ourselves. She’s a freelance writer and owns a small bookstore. Though she generally has excellent taste, she has an unfortunate penchant for gaudy rhinestone jewelry.

Do you have any pets?
After Pascal died, I discovered he’d taken charge of a pocket beagle named Max, who immediately appropriated me as the next available human.

What town do you live in?
After I lost my job in New York, I moved back to Bucks County, near Naomi. We’re now in a small town along the Delaware River called Potter’s Harbor.

Do you live in a small town or a big city?
It’s a very small town. We don’t even have a traffic light.

What type of dwelling do you own or rent?
I rented an apartment from the owners of the café in town. I’m on the second floor of a building along the Delaware Canal, and during the winter I have a view of the river through the trees.

What is your favorite spot in your home?
I like sitting in the window seat looking out at the water, with Rex curled up beside me. It’s a great place for reading or listening to podcasts.

What is your favorite meal and dessert?
I alternate between a Big Mac with fries, or a piece of prime rib with a loaded baked potato. My favorite dessert is either chocolate mousse or a slice of ice cream cake.

Do you have any hobbies?
Reading, either non-fiction about American history or crime fiction. And Naomi and I love to haunt flea markets and yard sales, where I’m always on the lookout for Lenox china with the green mark.

What is your favorite vacation spot?
I grew up going down the shore for family vacations every summer, so I love sunshine, water, and boardwalks.

What is your idea of a really fun time?
Turning up the music and dancing like no one is watching. Which I certainly hope is the case!

If you were to write a memoir, what would you call it?
I suppose you could call Being John Church a kind of a memoir, because I spent a lot of time examining my relationship with Pascal and wondering how much he lied to me.

Amateur or professional sleuth and whom do you work with?
I’m a professional historian and an amateur sleuth. My first book was an investigation of President James Buchanan’s sexuality.

What is a typical day in your life like in general and when you are on a case?
I’m a researcher at heart. So I might be at a library digging through archives, touring a historic property and taking pictures, or diving deep down an online rabbit hole. I’m glad that my daily routine no longer involves bright lights, makeup and a bossy TV director or a clueless department chair, but I do miss the contact I had with students and the chance to get them excited about history.

Being John Church, A Bucks County Mystery #1
Genre: Traditional
Release: September 2022
Purchase Link

Jeff Berman is in freefall. He’s been denied tenure, then lost his follow-up job as a presenter on the History Channel. But rock bottom comes fast and painful when he learns that the love of his life, the charismatic, passionate, and devastatingly self-destructive Pascal Montrouge, has died.

At Pascal’s funeral, Jeff meets his lover’s parents, who explain that the man Jeff knew was a completely invented identity. As a journalist, Pascal played with facts, and he did the same in his life, where he was the consummate fabulist, fooling everyone a little, and Jeff most of all.

Distraught and betrayed, Jeff is compelled to dig into the dark secrets of his lover’s life. His exploration is part amateur sleuth story, part meditation on the nature of love. As Jeff solves the mystery of Pascal life and death he learns how he can move forward into his next chapter.

A book for everyone who has ever loved and lost.

About the author
Neil Plakcy has written or edited over fifty novels and short stories in mystery, romance and erotica. His golden retriever mystery series was inspired by his first golden, Samwise. Long walks with his current goldens give him plenty of time to think up new crimes and solutions—and Brody and Griffin provide love, entertainment, and endless piles of fur on the floor. His website is mahubooks.com.

All comments are welcomed.