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Brucker to sign book here Oct. 26

By Allison Duratz 3 min read
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April Brucker has always been a dreamer, but after writing her first book she now can call herself an author.

Brucker will sign copies of “I Came, I Saw, I Sang: Memoirs of a Singing Telegram Delivery Girl,” 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Oct. 26 at Barnes and Noble, South Hills Village, Upper St. Clair.

The book chronicles the Bethel Park native’s journey from “fledging dreamer to full-blown artist,” taking readers on a series of adventures in New York City. Through these escapades, Brucker discovers that good performers can impact the lives of others in the greatest city in the world.

A writer since she was a youth, even writing for The Almanac’s Xpressions while a teenager, Brucker related how one of exploits then was riding in the Tommy Hilfiger blimp. “I got to go on all sorts of adventures,” said the daughter of Bill and Ann Brucker of Bethel Park.

But putting those exploits into a book proved a challenge.

“It was always a dream of mine to write a book. However, it was a daunting task. I never thought I could actually do it,” she said.

That is, she added, until she moved to New York City. Everyone encouraged her to write a book, so she thought, “It’s either now or never.”

“I Came, I Saw, I Sang” is a love letter to NYC and all the things young people do to make their dreams come true, Brucker explained.

After graduating from New York University’s Tisch School with a bachelor’s degree in fine arts, Brucker landed a job with Broadway Singing Telegrams. In addition, she is employed as an actress, ventriloquist and stand-up comedian regularly appearing in clubs and colleges around the country.

Currently residing in Hell’s Kitchen, a neighborhood off of Times Square, Brucker has met many people on the job, from the average Joe to fashion designers, such as Betsey Johnson and Alexander Wang, to celebrities. She has some interesting stories to tell.

While on her way to change out of a chicken suit, Brucker ran into a famous director and his assistant in a hallway. Apprehensive to approach him, Brucker said she figured, “Eh, what the heck.” Continuing, she said, “I walked up to Spike Lee in the hallway, held out my wing and said, ‘Spike Lee, I am very happy to meet you.'”

Lee was a good sport. When his assistant said, ‘Elevator, Mr. Lee,’ he entered the elevator and said, ‘I’m hungry. I am thinking about some KFC.’

“Needless to say, Spike Lee and his assistant were talking about the crazy woman who accosted him in the chicken suit, and the people working the front desk were talking about it as I came down,” said Brucker.

As a ventriloquist, Brucker and her puppet children have appeared on Last Comic Standing 5, Rachael Ray, The Soup, Cinematherapy, My Strange Addiction, The Today Show, Entertainment Tonight, Pix with Jeff Foxworthy, Inside Edition, Good Day NY, Cash Cab, Chef Roble, Layover with Anthony Bourdain and CBS Sports Now. Her song “Stay” was number one on FJS Radio for four weeks. April’s TV pilot received 1 million views on Koldcast TV. Follow Brucker at http://missaprilb.blogspot.com.

“I Came, I Saw, I Sang: Memoirs of a Singing Telegram Delivery Girl,” which was released in September 2012, is available through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kindle, Nook, Brown University and NYU Bookstores.

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