Disclaimer

DISCLAIMER:

I do not read every book/author I spotlight or book tour I host!
Readers, Please research and use wisdom before buying

Amazon Affiliate

*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.*
Showing posts with label mike befeler. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mike befeler. Show all posts

Saturday, December 16, 2017

#SaturdaySpotlight is on Mike Befeler & Death of a Scam Artist!

Good Morning Friends!

Over the last three months, Mike Befeler has shared thoughts with us on a new genre of novels categorized as "GeezerLit." Today we get a sneak peek into his novel, Death of a Scam Artist.

 In Death of a Scam Artist, a financial hatchet man who dislikes old people, accepts the job of turning around a failing retirement home and undergoes a life-transforming experience in the world of geezers and geezerettes. He must deal with a suspicious death, a scam, a hit man, an unexpected romance and retired magician Jerry Rhine and his five whacky sidekicks known as the Jerry-atrics. He faces the most important decision of his life when he uncovers the secret behind an unusual murder.

Excerpt: Reginald Bentley sank into a swivel chair previously compressed by a much larger derriere than his. As the new executive director of the peeling white behemoth known as Sunny Crest Retirement Community, he realized the challenge ahead. After detecting a musty smell emanating from the bottom drawer of the worn, wooden desk, he spent thirty minutes removing a grimy coffee mug, disposing of Jolly Rancher wrappers, throwing away a half-eaten, moldy Twinkie, filing poorly written reports and discarding gnawed pencils. 

The framed photograph on the wall of a snow-covered mountain pass would have been the one item of quality here, except for what looked like a bullet hole in the lower left corner and a knife slash on the right side. Below the picture, the once white walls displayed charming brown handprints, possibly the remnants of the previous executive director trying to escape the barely livable workspace. Reginald hoped it was mud or chocolate, and nothing worse. 

He shook his head, wondering what he had gotten himself into. Perhaps he should call in Special Forces with a flame thrower to torch the office. He eyed a bent paper clip that appeared to have a dollop of earwax attached and pitched it into the wastebasket.

A woman who resembled a large red gummy bear in a white nurse’s uniform burst into the office, dragging a tiny, twitching woman by the arm.

Ms. Gummy Bear skidded to a stop in front of his desk. She reminded him of a tank sliding through slime. “We have a dire emergency!” she said.

Mike Befeler is author of fourteen books including six books in the Paul Jacobson Geezer-lit Mystery Series: Nursing Homes Are Murder; Care Homes Are Murder;Cruising in Your Eighties Is Murder, a finalist for The Lefty Award for best humorous mystery of 2012; Senior Moments Are MurderLiving with Your Kids Is Murder, a finalist for The Lefty Award for best humorous mystery of 2009; and Retirement Homes Are Murder. He has two published paranormal mysteries: The V V Agency and The Back Wing; a theater mystery titled, Mystery of the Dinner Playhouse; a historical mystery, Murder on the Switzerland Trail ; a sports mystery, Court Trouble: A Platform Tennis Mystery; an international thriller, The Tesla Legacy; and his most recent novel is Death of a Scam Artist. 

He also has a non-fiction book titled, For Liberty: A World War II Soldier’s Inspiring Life Story of Courage, Sacrifice, Survival and Resilience (The Best Chicken Thief in All of Europe). 

Mike is past-president of the Rocky Mountain Chapter of Mystery Writers of America. After a thirty-nine year business career, he retired into writing. He grew up in Hawaii, spent many years in Boulder, Colorado, and currently lives in Lakewood, California, with his wife Wendy. If you are interested in having the author speak to your book club, contact him at. mikebef@aol.com   His website is http://www.mikebefeler.com and blog is: http://mikebefeler.blogspot.com   Connect with him on Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads.

Wow, thanks Mike! We certainly wish you the best of luck and God's blessings with your books.

Well, Friends, I hope you've enjoyed Mike's visit today. Read his other blog posts Here, Here & Here and be sure to stop by each week for more Tuesday Treasures, Thursday Thoughts and of course, Saturday Spotlight!

Until next time, take care and God Bless.
PamT

Thursday, November 16, 2017

#ThursdayThoughts with Mike Befeler

Good Morning!

I can't even begin to tell you where this month, much less this year has gone. I guess it's true time flies when you're having fun! Today's guest has shared thoughts with us on a couple of occasions and he continues with more interesting information about GeezerLit Mysteries. So, please welcome Mike Befeler back.....

The Importance of Older Characters in Mystery Novels

Most of the mystery novels I write feature older characters. I affectionately call these geezer-lit mysteries. So why is it important to have older characters in novels? There are lots of books with young heroes and heroines playing quidditch, racing cars and jumping out of airplanes, but there is also a place for the older characters who have life experiences that provide wisdom, even if their footsteps have slowed.

Since mysteries involve solving a puzzle, the mind of the sleuth is very important. I have a protagonist who has short-term memory loss, yet he can use the functioning part of his brain to discover the perpetrator. As Hercule Poirot says, you need to use the gray cells.
As a mystery writer I enjoy putting ordinary people into extraordinary circumstances. This includes solving a murder. An older character can surprise the villain by applying life learning to a difficult situation.

I enjoy mixing the generations. In my Paul Jacobson Geezer-lit Mystery Series, my protagonist often teams with his preteen granddaughter, Jennifer, to solve mysteries. They also tell each other politically incorrect geezer jokes, much to the consternation of Jennifer’s mother.
So don’t write off the oldsters. And if you’re the bad guy, watch out because you may overlook them, but they’re paying attention and will get you.

THANKS so much, Mike! I know several people in my circle of reading friends who might enjoy GeezerLit Mysteries!

Mike is past-president of the Rocky Mountain Chapter of Mystery Writers of America. He holds a Master’s degree from UCLA and a Bachelor’s degree from Stanford. He grew up in Honolulu, Hawaii, and now lives in Lakewood, California with his wife, Wendy.

Find out more about Mike by visiting the 'About' page on his website and connecting with him at the following locations: http://www.mikebefeler.com 
https://www.facebook.com/mike.befeler
https://twitter.com/mikebefeler
http://mikebefeler.blogspot.com  
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1105937.Mike_Befeler

Friends, you can pick up a copy of Mike's book at Amazon (Kindle) and B&N. Check out Mike's previous Thursday Thoughts on GeezerLit Mysteries HERE and HERE.

Hope you enjoyed today's post and that you'll join me each week for Tuesday Treasures, Thursday Thoughts and Saturday Spotlight.

Until next time take care and God bless.
PamT

Thursday, October 12, 2017

#ThursdayThoughts with Mike Befeler

Good Morning!

Last month I introduced you to a brand new to me author, Mike Befeler, who shared with us how he treasures GeezerLit Mysteries.

Today Mike is sharing more thoughts on this subject.....

Examples of Geezer-lit Mysteries

I enjoy writing and reading geezer-lit mysteries. These are books that feature older characters. Since many readers are older, they also like reading about older people and not just young ‘uns. My six book Paul Jacobson Geezer-lit Mystery Series and my most recent book, Death of a Scam Artist, are geezer-lit.

I use geezer-lit in an affectionate not derogatory manner and use it to include both geezers and geezerettes.

There are many outstanding examples of geezer-lit mysteries. One of the most famous examples, of course, is Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple. Everyone assumed that this little old lady couldn’t be that with it, and she always proved them wrong.

One of my favorite contemporary geezer-lit mystery protagonists is Gladdy Gold in Rita Lakin’s series that takes place in Florida. Gladdy and her gang of older people solve mysteries while getting into all kinds of trouble. Since I write humor, I also appreciate Rita’s sense of humor.
Another example of humorous geezer-lit is Parnell Hall’s Puzzle Lady Series featuring Cora Felton, an older gun-toting, ball of fire. Cora has a gig writing crossword puzzles, although she really can’t write them.

Others to consider include: Donald Bain’s Jessica Fletcher in the Murder She Wrote Series, M. C Beaton’s Agatha Raisin, Peter Abresch’s Elderhostel Mysteries featuring Jim Dandy and Dodee Swisher, Rita Mae Brown’s Sister Jane Arnold, Nora Charles’s Kate Kennedy, Colin Cotterill’s Dr. Siri Paboun, Colin Dexter’s Chief Inspector Morse, Naomi Hirahara’s Mas Arai, and Cynthia Riggs’s 92-year-old Victoria Trumbull.

This will get you started with some wonderful older characters in geezer-lit mysteries.

Mike is past-president of the Rocky Mountain Chapter of Mystery Writers of America. He holds a Master’s degree from UCLA and a Bachelor’s degree from Stanford. He grew up in Honolulu, Hawaii, and now lives in Lakewood, California with his wife, Wendy.

Find out more about Mike by visiting the 'About' page on his website and connecting with him at the following locations:


http://www.mikebefeler.com 
https://www.facebook.com/mike.befeler
https://twitter.com/mikebefeler
http://mikebefeler.blogspot.com 
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1105937.Mike_Befeler

Friends, you can pick up a copy of Mike's book at Amazon (Kindle) and B&N.

Hope you enjoyed today's thoughts about GeezerLit books, and that you'll join me each week for Tuesday Treasures, Thursday Thoughts and Saturday Spotlight.

Until next time, take care and God bless.
PamT

Thursday, September 14, 2017

#ThursdayThoughts guest post by Mike Befeler

Good Morning!

Today's guest is new to me and our blog so please give Mike Befeler a great big southern WELCOME!

Mike is past-president of the Rocky Mountain Chapter of Mystery Writers of America. He holds a Master’s degree from UCLA and a Bachelor’s degree from Stanford. He grew up in Honolulu, Hawaii, and now lives in Lakewood, California with his wife, Wendy.

Find out more about Mike by visiting the 'About' page on his website and connecting with him at the following locations:



Now let's see what Mike has to share with us today....

Geezer-lit Mysteries—The What and the Why

I have a confession to make. I write geezer-lit mysteries. Not all my mysteries are geezer-lit since I also have two paranormal mysteries, a theater mystery, a historical mystery, a sports mystery and a thriller, but my six book series and my latest book are geezer-lit mysteries. I didn’t come up with the tag line of geezer-lit mysteries. I owe this to my friend, Christine Goff, who writes bird watching mysteries and thrillers. She was kind enough to give me a blurb for my first published book, Retirement Homes Are Murder: “a wonderful debut novel—a fitting entry in the burgeoning field of geezer-lit.” I ran with it.

So what are geezer-lit mysteries? Simple answer: mysteries that feature older characters. The protagonist in my six book, Paul Jacobson Geezer-lit Mystery Series, is in his mid-eighties and has short-term memory loss. Although he can’t remember the day before, he becomes an amateur sleuth and even has a romance with a young chick in her seventies.

My most recent book, Death of a Scam Artist, features a whole new cast of characters. Although the protagonist is in his early forties, the mystery takes place in a retirement community and most of the characters are eighty plus. Here’s a preview: In Death of a Scam Artist, a financial hatchet man who dislikes old people, accepts the job of turning around a failing retirement home and undergoes a life-transforming experience in the world of geezers and geezerettes. He must deal with a suspicious death, a scam, a hit man, an unexpected romance and retired magician Jerry Rhine and his five whacky sidekicks known as the Jerry-atrics. He faces the most important decision of his life when he uncovers the secret behind an unusual murder.

How interesting, Mike! Sounds like a great genre. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us today.

Friends, you can pick up a copy of Mike's book at Amazon (Kindle) and B&N.

Hope you enjoyed today's post and that you'll drop by each week for Tuesday Treasures, Thursday Thoughts and Saturday Spotlight.

Until next time take care and God bless.
PamT