Monday, May 11, 2009

My Colorado Authors Project -- Mike Befeler

I love the authors of Colorado. Once a week I plan to blog about one or more of those talented and friendly folks in the hopes a few more people take a look at their books.

Today I want to tell you about Mike Befeler, a Boulder resident whose first mystery was published in 2007. Retirement Homes are Murder is the tale of octogenarian Paul Jacobson who suffers from short term memory loss. When he finds a body, and is suspected of being the killer, Paul must solve the murder to save himself. Unfortunately, Paul wakes up each morning with no memory of the events of the previous day. This book is full of humor, a few poignant reminders of what aging can do to folks, and a good mystery with plenty of suspense.

Mike's new release, Living With Your Kids is Murder, is available now. I haven't read this one yet, but I trust Mike to deliver a good story. It's definitely on my buy list.

I like to talk about Mike's writing experience when I give presentations or workshops because he's the perfect example of the commitment and time management required to be a productive writer. Mike used the morning pages journaling technique described in Julia Cameron's Artist's Way to write while he held down a full-time job. Each morning he wrote three pages of his novels by hand. When he came home from work, he typed his pages into his computer, editing as he worked. Three pages a day, handwritten.

I'm more of a binge writer, creating large chunks of my story in my head before I sit down and binge type. We all do our thing in our own way. Creativity happens when it happens. But Mike helped his along and has produced more pages of fiction than I have. Three pages a day. I keep thinking about that. Maybe I'll try it. Three pages a day when I first get up . . . but not before coffee.

13 comments:

Enid Wilson said...

I like this 3 pages a day idea. I normally write about 2000 words during weekend. But I find I have less "fear" of starting when I write daily.

In Quest of Theta Magic

joe doaks-Author said...

The storyline does sound intriguing. I really admire the commitment to writing daily, while dueling with bosses, colleagues, and clients at a "real" job. Indicates a passion for the craft that I bet shows in Mike's work.

Galen
http://www.galenkindley.com

Anonymous said...

I like this idea of sharing authors you enjoy. I'm always looking for recs!

Anonymous said...

Interesting post, I enjoyed learning more about Mark and his writing. I'm also a binge writer - although I tend to write as I think and get inspired in long binges rather than "storing it up" like you and then writing.

Mike Befeler said...

Thanks for the post, Pat. Now that I'm retired to write full time, I spend most of the mornings writing. That's what's great about writing. Everyone has their own time and approach.

Mike Befeler
Author of Retirement Homes Are Murder and Living With Your Kids Is Murder

Patricia Stoltey said...

Wow, Mike found this blog fast. I did not give him a heads-up. I hadn't even tweeted about it yet. But if he's like me, he has a Google Alert set for his name and for his book title. Those of you who are published should do the same if you haven't done it already. Hmmm. Another good topic for a blog.

Patricia

Elle Parker said...

Mike's books sound great. And this is such a good reminder that the best way to keep going is to write everyday. Once you stop, it's hard to get moving again.

Elle Parker
http://elleparkerbooks.blogspot.com/

Jennifer Taggart, TheSmartMama said...

Like most things in life, you got to figure out what works for you, whether it be 3 pages before coffee or 300 pages without.

Elizabeth Spann Craig said...

I love the phrase 'binge writer!' I couldn't do it, myself, though--too forgetful.

Elizabeth
http://mysterywritingismurder.blogspot.com/

Jane Kennedy Sutton said...

I love the title - Living with Your Kids is Murder!

Jane Kennedy Sutton
http://janekennedysutton.blogspot.com/

Karen Brees said...

Excellent post! Sharing your blog with fellow authors is a wonderful way to pay it forward. Kudos to you!

I may be out of cellphone reach for the next 12 days. I will respond to posts as I am able.

C. Margery Kempe said...

I'm an "every spare moment" writer. Sometimes I write by hand while my students are writing projects in class. I write mostly at night once teaching and dinner are done, but I've always been a night owl. Revision is usually a morning or afternoon thing. Jennifer's right -- it's all a matter of what works.

N A Sharpe said...

Excellent post - I love the idea of blogging about other authors and their work.

NA Sharpe
http://nasharpe.blogspot.com