Mike Befeler mystery novels prove that getting old can be murder
Article by Denver Authors ExaminerEd Hickok   Feb 18, 2010

Local Denver author, Mike Befeler, created his own genre, ‘Geezer-lit,’ and has published two books that show how life may begin at sixty, but so can murder. Retirement Homes Are Murder (2007) and
Living With Your Kids Is Murder (2009) are both part of the Five Star Mystery Series. Living With Your Kids Is Murder is a finalist for the Lefty Award for the most humorous mystery novel published in 2009.

Befeler said, “I started looking ahead to what I wanted to do when I retired. In 2001, at the age of 56, I made the decision to pursue fiction writing. I sold my first novel in 2005 as the result of a pitch session at the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Conference.”

Befeler strives to do more than simply publish books. He wants to promote a positive image of aging. He said, “I have a presentation titled Aging and Other Minor Inconveniences that I give at retirement homes and service organizations such as Kiwanis, Rotary, and Optimist. I’m always willing to speak to groups along the Front Range.”

Befeler described the manuscript he is currently working on. “Imagine Dirk Pitt morphed into a retired mathematics professor and conspiracy nut with a butt-kicking, surrogate-daughter sidekick. Elmore Kranz bombards the police with his predictions of disaster until one of them actually happens, to the point that he’s implicated in the plot. Even with the assistance of his one ally, rookie cop Britney Chase, people start dying around Elmore as attempts are made on his life. Elmore and Brittney team up to solve a hundred year old puzzle while thwarting a secret government agency and an Afghani terrorist group trying to get their hands on a doomsday weapon.”

But isn’t that everyone’s idea of a cozy retirement?

Befeler’s advice to new authors: “Start writing and keep doing it. I meet so many people who have stories to tell but never sit down to start. Others start and get discouraged. You need to develop sound writing skills and be willing to learn, but beyond that, successful writing is 90% perseverance.”

Befeler’s novels can be purchased at: Amazon.com

Fans can visit the Befeler’s website at   http://www.mikebefeler.com