Eva Pasco's Blog - Posts Tagged "quirk"

Alfred Hitchcock, English film director and producer, widely regarded as one of the most influential filmmakers in the history of cinema as "the Master of Suspense,” made cameo appearances in most of his films.

A self-published Indie author with poetic license to fabricate and nothing to lose, I perpetuated Artie Dufresne. The least of my minor characters, he made his debut in chapter 18 of my first published novel in the genre of Contemporary—'Underlying Notes' (First Printing – 2007; Second Printing – 2009).

If you haven’t already met one of Rhode Island’s finest investigative news reporters, an introduction is in order:

Artie Dufresne was a scrawny, bespectacled twerp with Dutch boy bangs who often came up short when he stood toe-to-toe with those he investigated. A menacing junkyard dog, he crouched in wait for the right moment to grab onto an ankle or spring for the jugular. For good reason, political and legal shysters, corporate embezzlers, scam artists, quacks, corrupt law enforcement officers, and wise guys scuttled away from the old school investigative reporter toting his Bic pen and rolled back steno pad. They gave him wide berth.

Artie pursued kingpins and small fries from the vantage point of a profession unbound by statutes of limitation. It was common knowledge Artie got most of his leads at breakfast counters striking up conversations while dipping his toast in egg yolk, or tipping his glass at bars. Depending on the season, the reporter never took off his Members Only jacket or sage Army surplus hooded field parka good for 40 below, ready to chase down a story at a minute’s notice.

Artie did all right, carving a niche for himself on one of our local news channels with his weekly Friday segment, 'Artie’s Take'.


The bespectacled reporter has a recurring cameo role in chapter 26 of my second published novel—multi-award winning Contemporary, 'An Enlightening Quiche' (2016). I plan for him to appear in chapter 9 of my work in progress, 'Aida’s Fishing Ground'.

Although my novels set in Rhode Island are standalones, readers can anticipate encountering Artie Dufresne wherever there’s a newsworthy story.