My Baby Has Escaped into the World

As of April 27, my latest mystery novel, Old Detectives Home, has officially been released. It’s been said that a writer has to love what he’s writing if he expects readers to love it. Once I got the idea for this novel, I had a wonderful time researching, creating quirky characters, writing a rough draft and then tuning it through numerous editing cycles.

It can be purchased in print or e-book editions:

Print:  https://amzn.to/3wWYo14

e-book https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09WZ5H6S5  

I’ll be giving a presentation and signing at the following bookstores in Southern California:

Mystery Ink Bookstore 7552 Warner #101, Huntington Beach, CA, on Sat., May 7, at 1 PM.

Book Carnival 348 S. Tustin, Orange, CA, on Sun. May 15 at 2 PM

 

I’m also available to give presentations to book groups, libraries and service organizations via Zoom or in-person. Mikebef@aol.com

Omnipodge

My upcoming trilogy is set in a fictional town called Omnipodge on the coast of California below Monterrey. There is a new cast of characters in each book, but what ties them together is the place of Omnipodge. You’ll find a few crossover references to characters that appear in more than one of the books in the trilogy. You can think of Omnipodge as a state of mind, with mysteries to solve in each book. The first book in the trilogy, Old Detectives Home, will be released Wed. April 27. In the second book that will be published next April, The Last Gasp Motel, I transport a description of a Colorado town to California. That’s the beauty of fiction writing. I focus on interesting and quirky characters and plots that can keep the reader guessing.

Publishing Plans

I have a three-book contract with Encircle Publications for my Omnipodge trilogy. Here’s the schedule: Old Detectives Home to be published April 27, 2022; The Last Gasp Motel April 2023; and A Mystery Yarn April 2024. I also have a number of completed manuscripts that I will plan to get published. From the time I retired in 2007 until 2015 when we moved to Lakewood, CA, I had a very productive period, writing every morning (except when doing family activities). My wife is a night person and I’m a morning person, so I had each morning to write. Since 2015 I have only written one new book that I self-published in 2020, Coronavirus Daze. From our move until now I have focused on tuning some of my unpublished manuscripts. Currently, I’m working on a non-fiction book. More to come on this as it progresses.

The Importance of a Positive Attitude

I've learned in dealing with adversity that I have 4 alternatives: I can change my situation, change my attitude, suffer, or get out. As I'm recuperating from my third surgery on my left knee with one more surgery to go this summer, I've been testing these four alternatives. I'm not going to suffer; if it gets too bad I have pain meds. I'm not going to get out through suicide. But here are two small examples of changing the situation and changing my attitude.

Change the situation: I kept knocking things off my nightstand or misplacing them. Simple solution: I reorganized my nightstand and put some items in the drawer below.

 Change attitude: when I first came home from the hospital my attitude was I HAVE TO brush my teeth and shave. Now my attitude is I GET TO brush my teeth so my mouth will feel fresh and I GET TO shave so I won't have a scratchy face. I’ve had my ups and downs, but I’ve learned a positive attitude is key when dealing with adversity.