Rivers and Creaks: A Redwoods Country Mystery
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Setting – California
BGM Press (November 30, 2023)
Print length ‏ : ‎ 227 pages

Synopsis

A grumpy innkeeper. A dead guest. Can he solve the locked-room mystery before his business crumbles into chaos?

In the heart of Redwoods Country, where even the towering trees whisper secrets, there’s an innkeeper who’s anything but welcoming. Meet Andy Shirley—a man who’s made grumpiness an art form, detesting both guests and life’s little inconveniences. Now a dead guest and a killer on the loose threaten not only Andy’s solitude but his livelihood.

His cherished wife’s memory keeps him tethered to the small-town bed and breakfast they dreamt of running together. When a guest is found dead in a locked room, can this retired copy editor use his meticulous attention to detail to uncover the truth and save his business?

Fearing this shocking event will deter future guests and buyers, Andy’s frustration intensifies as the sheriff shifts his focus to a higher profile case. Yet, amidst this turmoil, Andy’s even more shocked when the most unexpected event happens as he hunts for clues . . . he strikes up an unlikely friendship.

Rivers and Creaks launches the humorous Redwoods Country cozy mystery series. If you like cranky but lovable characters, classic closed-door conundrums, and light-hearted fun, then you’ll love Marc Jedel’s laugh-out-loud tale. Imagine “Grumpy Old Men” merged with “Schitt’s Creek.”

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Interview with Marc Jedal

What did you enjoy most about writing this book?

Meeting new characters, even if only in my own head, is quite enjoyable. It’s fun to figure out their quirks and an interesting backstory that animates the character to the point where they feel like a real human. Another exciting part is that after publishing nine other novels, I finally came up with a good Hollywood synopsis to describe one of my books. Rivers and Creaks is like Grumpy Old Men meets Schitt’s Creek.

A less enjoyable situation that coincided with the writing of this novel was that I wrote much of it during my own house remodel. Perhaps it isn’t a coincidence that Rivers and Creaks finds the protagonist encountering plumbing and electrical issues with his bed and breakfast while trying to solve a murder.

You might ask me to explain the reasoning behind repainting the downstairs walls of my house. Of course, it’s because the shower handle in our upstairs bathroom needed to be replaced. And, no, we didn’t have any leaks. In high tech product development, there is a term for this situation: scope creep. At least both the remodel and the novel turned out well.

Did you learn anything surprising about yourself when you began writing novels?

It turns out I’m really bad at naming characters beyond the protagonists. It’s just one of those weird things. While I’m writing I use KILLER, DEAD GUY, SUSPECT 1. I’ve got a friend who I call my “name whisperer.” Scott is his real name, but “name whisperer” sounds cool. Once I send him some character descriptions, he magically comes up with really good name options. The last manuscript I finished didn’t have actual names in it until right before I sent it to the copy editor. The funny part of that is when I began proofing the final version, I had no idea who the people were so it was almost like I was reading someone else’s book.

Do you have any other books you are working on that you can tell us about?

I’ve begun writing book 6 in the Silicon Valley Mystery series. It will be called Pride and Principal. Marty Golden, the bumbling software engineer, and part-time amateur sleuth, is just too fun a character to write for me to leave him alone for long. It’s been quite gratifying to see how popular that series has become, with the first book, Uncle and Ants, garnering over 2,200 Amazon ratings to date.

Can you tell us about what you have planned for the future?

Beyond book 6 in the Silicon Valley series, there will definitely be more novels in the Redwoods Country Mystery series. I have an idea for book 2 and know how the body is discovered, but haven’t figured out whodunnit or why. I’m not sure yet if I’ll continue writing more novels in my Ozarks Lake Mystery series or the Silicon Valley Mystery series or start yet another series, so it will depend on both reader feedback (please send emails!) and what ideas come to mind. I have written a sci-fi/thriller under a different pen name and would like to write a heist sci-fi novel set in space, just because it sounds cool. Beyond those, I’m sure I’ll come up with some new and entertaining characters and plot ideas that spark my imagination.

How long have you been writing?

In one sense, my entire professional life in marketing has been devoted to honing my fiction writing skills. On the job, we just call it advertising and emails. After wanting to write a book for many years, I finally came up with a good idea for a plot, which my research had concluded was critical to a novel’s success. So I buckled down and actually started writing. Lots of work, walks with my wife and dog, and drafts led to my first novel, Uncle and Ants, getting published. Once that happened, I could start telling people I was an author, which leads to much more interesting conversations than answering “marketing.”

Anything more you would like to say to your readers and fans?

My novel, Rivers and Creaks, is on sale for only $0.99 during this tour. You can find all my cozy mysteries on Amazon.  All of my books are free for Kindle Unlimited members. The first three books in the Silicon Valley Mystery series are out on audiobook from Tantor Audio and are available everywhere audiobooks are sold.

I love hearing from readers, as that motivates me to keep going on the next blank page.

About the Author

Marc Jedel writes humorous murder mysteries. He credits his years of marketing leadership positions in Silicon Valley for honing his writing skills and sense of humor. While his high-tech marketing roles involved crafting plenty of fiction, these were just called emails, ads, and marketing collateral.

For most of Marc’s life, he’s been inventing stories. It’s a skill that’s served him well as both an author and marketer. The publication of Marc’s first novel, Uncle and Ants, gave him permission to claim “author” as his job. This leads to much more interesting conversations with people than answering, “marketing.”

Like his character, Andy, from the Redwoods Country Mystery series, Marc continues to grow older and would prefer not to run a bed-and-breakfast inn when he retires. Like his character, Marty from the Silicon Valley Mystery series, Marc now lives in Silicon Valley, works in high-tech, and enjoys bad puns. Like his characters Jonas and Elizabeth from the Ozarks Lake Mystery series, he grew up in the South and spent plenty of time in and around Arkansas. Like all his protagonists, Marc too has a dog, although his is neurotic, sweet, and small, with little appreciation for Marc’s humor.

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