In the May, 2008, issue of the AARP Bulletin Mike Befeler was identified as one of four authors in a new emerging mystery sub-genre. Harlan Coben, president of Mystery Writers of America stated, “We’ve just scratched the surface on geezer-lit. It could be the next frontier in crime fiction.”

Mike turned his attention to fiction writing after a career in high technology marketing. His debut novel, Retirement Homes are Murder, was published January, 2007. The second novel in his Paul Jacobson Geezer-lit Mystery Series, Living with Your Kids is Murder, appeared April, 2009, and was a finalist for The Lefty Award for the best humorous mystery of 2009. Senior Moments are Murder is the third book in the series and was published in August, 2011. Book four in the series, Cruising in Your Eighties is Murder, was released December, 2012, and was a finalist for The Lefty Award for best humorous mystery of 2012. Book five in the series, Care Homes are Murder, was released in June, 2013.

He also has a recently published paranormal mystery, The V V Agency.

Mike is active in organizations promoting a positive image of aging and is 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.

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Something Old and Something New by Mike Befeler

I write geezer-lit mysteries. My octogenarian protagonist, Paul Jacobson, wakes up every morning not remembering the day before because he has short-term memory loss. Well, almost every morning. There is one special circumstance when his memory gets jogged and he can remember the next day, but I won’t give that away.

The fifth book in the Paul Jacobson Geezer-lit Mystery Series was released this month (June, 2013), and is titled Care Homes Are Murder. In this novel, Paul returns to Hawaii with his son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter for a vacation, and Paul gets into all kinds of trouble with drug dealers. The irony is that Paul hates taking pills and doesn’t even want to consume legal drugs.

Paul and his twelve-year-old granddaughter Jennifer enjoy telling each other politically incorrect geezer jokes, much to the consternation of Jennifer’s mother. Paul gets a kick out of these, because he can laugh at himself and his idiosyncrasies. Here’s an example of his warped sense of humor. What’s the difference between geezers and tweezers? Tweezers still have a grip.

Paul also becomes best man in a wedding when Harry Palmer, who Paul met in a retirement home in book one, marries his email correspondence bride, Madeline Hightower. She is a piece of work, defying all stereotypes of older people.

So what is something old? Old people in the current series.

Now for something new. I also have a paranormal mystery that has recently been published. This has been fun branching into a new sub-genre. The V V Agency features an unusual private investigator—a unique shape-shifter called a transvictus. Van and Vanna run a PI agency, but are never seen together because a sexual encounter transforms one into the other. This presents some interesting challenges for his and her love life. A transvictus has one other characteristic—nudity renders Van or Vanna invisible. This is a useful trait for a PI and gives them a way to sneak into homes and police headquarters to investigate and check police files. They take on a case of a blonde bombshell who is accused of killing her rich, older husband.

So I guess I’m also something old and something new. I’m approaching the geezer age bracket (although I keeping pushing the starting age out farther), but I enjoy writing new types of mysteries and exploring new ideas. In the hopper, a historical mystery set on the Switzerland Trail Railroad in Colorado in 1919, and a spoof using late nineteenth and early twentieth century mystery writers and their sleuths.

Stay tuned.

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I will definitely stay tuned, Mike. You’re setting an amazing example for the rest of us older writers.

For more information about Mike and his novels, visit his website and blog. He can also be found on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.