Independent Bookstores

I’ve had the opportunity to sign and present at a number of independent bookstores near where I live in Southern California. One of these is Gatsby Books in Long Beach. Featuring new and used books, Gatsby Books provides the ambiance for true readers, including a bookstore cat. I will be doing an author event at Gatsby Books 5535 E. Spring St, Long Beach, on Sunday December 8, 2019, at 3 PM in conjunction with the release of my paranormal geezer-lit mystery, The Front Wing. With each book release, I develop a new presentation so readers who’ve heard me speak before can be entertained with new material.

Use of Promotional Postcards

When a new book of mine is published, I have promotional postcards produced. Over time I have build up a snail mail list of people interested in my books, and I notify them with a postcard that has the cover art of the new book along with a short blurb on the address side of the postcard.

I also take postcards when I do events and conferences so that attendees can pick them up as a reminder of my books.

I am fortunate to have a daughter-in-law who is a graphic artist.  I send her the cover art and the written copy so that she can design a professional postcard for me. Then I have them printed.

Here is the result for my just released book, The Front Wing:

 

 

Older Writers

I know some writers who have been writing since they were eight years old. I’m at the other end of the spectrum. I didn’t start writing until I was 56, and my first novel was published when I was 62. So I like collecting information about older writers. Here are a few:

Delia Owens debut novel, Where the Crawdads Sing, was published when she was 70.

You don’t even need to be alive to be published. Mary Ann Shaffer died at the age of 73. Her novel, The Guernsey Literary and Peel Pie Society, became a best seller after her death.

Herman Wouk published his novel, The Lawgiver, in 2012 at the age of 97.

Morrie Markoff was at the 2017 Los Angeles Times Festival of Books signing the first book he had ever written and published, his memoir, Keep Breathing. At the time he was 103.

So it’s never too late to start writing and never too late to get published.

A New Book Release

For me, it’s always an exciting time when a new book is released. On November 8, 2019, my seventeenth book, The Front Wing, will be published. This is a sequel to the previous mystery novel, The Back Wing.

In The Front Wing, a Harold and Bella paranormal geezer-lit mystery, Harold McCaffrey realizes this is his three month anniversary at Mountain Splendor Retirement Home. Harold helps at an open house by taking names for a waiting list of people wanting to move into the Front Wing of the facility. Afterwards, there is commotion and a dead body is found in the lobby. With the help of his witchy girlfriend, Bella Alred, and other unusual residents, Harold must solve the mystery of why people on the waiting list are getting injured and dying. And don’t believe the myth that vampires don’t age; they get older, move into retirement homes, lose their teeth and gum people on the throat.

What others have said about my paranormal geezer-lit mysteries:

“Mike Befeler has crafted a witty and fast-moving paranormal puzzle set in a retirement home. It’s a fun read!”—Edgar winner Rex Burns

“Mike Befeler turns paranormal on its head in this charming tale of murder, mystery, and things that go dead in the night.” —Ellen Byerrum, author of The Crime of Fashion Mysteries

“A clever mystery plot and wacky cast provide humor and intrigue.” —Cricket McRae, author of The Home Crafting Mystery Series

I have enjoyed combining older people, paranormal characters and humor in this latest mystery novel that will keep you guessing.