Marcelle Dubé makes her eighth AHMM appearance in our March/April issue, on sale now! In this blog post, learn all about the unique thought process that led to the premise for Marcelle’s latest story, “Fish Bowl”
Usually, I can pinpoint exactly what inspired one of my stories: a single kid’s running shoe in the middle of an empty highway, a song from my youth, a reckless driver on a gravel road . . . inspiration is everywhere, like wild yeast.
What I’ve only recently realized is that, often, my stories are inspired by fear. Or rage.
At first, “Barney’s Diner,” my story in the March/April 2026 Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, didn’t seem inspired by either fear or rage. It appeared fully formed in my mind one day. I didn’t know why, but I knew the characters, and I knew what was going to happen to them.
“Barney’s Diner” is about a lonely waitress in a lonely diner during a snowstorm. Only when the story was down in black and white did I realize what made Julie, the waitress, so very vulnerable: the diner’s picture windows. In the darkness of a snowed-in highway, the diner became a brightly lit fish bowl.
Julie was completely exposed to anyone who happened to be hiding in the dark outside those windows.
It appears I had transferred my own . . . not phobia, really. Let’s call it reluctance. An intense reluctance to be in a lit room with no curtains on the window when it’s dark outside. I always marvel at how many people don’t seem to mind being on display. You can see into their living rooms, see how they are dressed, what they are doing . . .
Anybody could be out there. Waiting. Watching.
So what happens if you place a vulnerable young woman in an environment like that? Alone? At night?
As for the rage, it’s in there, too. It’s a quiet rage, the kind that builds up over years of helplessly watching bad things happen. The kind of rage that finally says, “To hell with it,” and acts.
Much to my delight, “Barney’s Diner” marks my eighth appearance in the pages of Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine.
Marcelle Dubé has published 15 mystery and fantasy novels, including two series and one collection. Her short stories appear in a number of anthologies and magazines, including Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, and Saturday Evening Post. She is best known for her Mendenhall Mystery series.
Find out more at www.marcellemdube.com, where you can also sign up for her (very) infrequent newsletter.
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