Ever heard of geezer-lit? I hadn’t until geezer-lit author Mike Befeler recently spoke at my local public library. He’s an entertaining speaker — plus he writes clever geezer-lit mysteries!…
I write geezer-lit mysteries. These novels feature older characters with a keep-you-guessing mystery to be solved.
My writing journey began in 2001 when I was 56 years old. I made the decision that I wanted to retire into writing and took two fiction writing courses at the University of Colorado to jump-start my writing. My first mystery novel, Retirement Homes Are Murder, was published in 2007. There are now six books in this series featuring Paul Jacobson, an octogenarian with short-term memory loss who, in spite of not remembering the day before, becomes an amateur sleuth and even has a romance with a young chick in her seventies.
I enjoy showing a balanced view of the aging process—problems but also the humor and vitality exhibited by older people.
As an author, I get a kick out of some of the emails I receive from readers. Here is one of my favorites: “I have read your books and enjoyed them immensely, but even more fun was listening to my husband read them. He snorted, chuckled and guffawed his way through then. And the idea of geezer-lit tickled the bejabbers out of him.”
I started using the term geezer-lit after my author friend, Christine Goff, gave me this blurb for Retirement Homes Are Murder: “a wonderful debut novel–a fitting entry in the burgeoning field of geezer-lit.”
The majority of my fourteen published books feature older characters. I used to say I was a geezer in training, but I’m now of an age where I may need to eliminate the “in training.”
About the author: Two of Mike Befeler’s books in the Paul Jacobson Geezer-lit Mystery Series were finalists for The Lefty Award for best humorous mystery. Other books include a theater mystery, a historical mystery, a sports mystery, two paranormal mysteries, an international thriller based on inventions of eccentric genius Nikola Tesla and a biography of a World War II soldier. Mike lives in Lakewood, CA, with his wife and when not writing can be seen taking his grandson to the park.
Happiness Between Tails by da-AL 
[…] In this post for Happiness Between Tails, Mike discussed geezer-lit. Here he explains the ones he’s written that interlace the paranormal… […]
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[…] at Happiness Between Tails before — when he presented his engaging geezer-lit mysteries here and his delightful paranormal geezer-lit mysteries here. A proud grandfather, he’s using this […]
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I have Retirement Homes Are Murder! I love the term “geezer lit.”
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so glad, Liz 🙂
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A young chick in her seventies! His tone sound lighthearted too. Never heard of geezer-lit, and i almost googled it. Great post. Sharing….
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Thanks, Jina 🙂
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Interesting post
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I’d never come across it before but the “idea of geezer-lit tickled the bejabbers out of” me too! Well done, Mike – 14 published books is quite the achievement, you should be very proud! =]
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Da-al, Thanks for including me in your blog. Sharon and DutchIl, I appreciate your comments. One of my favorite bumper stickers about aging is, “young at heart. Slightly older in other places” Mike Befeler
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many thanks to you, Mike — for the post as well as the great quote!
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Not into labels here…. I am what I am, a young at heart spirit in a mature mortal body!… 🙂
“Why do people talk of the horrors of old age? It’s great. I feel like a fine old car with the parts gradually wearing out, but I’m not complaining,… Those who find growing old terrible are people who haven’t done what they wanted with their lives.” Martha Gellhorn
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you are positively inspiring as always — I always say that anyone gets to be young & that only the fortunate reach old age
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Congrats to Mike for having found – invented? – geezer lit – the best genre ever! And for being prolific and dedicated to his profession. Getting old is a pain in the butt but the alternative is worse.
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for sure!
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