Author Interview with Marc Jedel
Q: What made you interested in writing?
Marc: Like most authors, I’ve always loved to read and make up stories. As a child, I had a special notebook for writing my stories. Once, when I was young, I even got in trouble for my writing. I carved my name into a wood side-table in our family room. I tried to pin the blame on my sister, who clearly had tried to get me in trouble AGAIN. This seemed like a winning argument until my mother pointed out that my three-year-old sister couldn’t yet write.
Q: What genres do you write in?
Marc: All of my novels, Chutes and Ladder, Uncle and Ants and the forthcoming Serf and Turf, are cozy mysteries so I’ll choose the cozy mystery genre.
Q: What drew you to writing in this genre?
Marc: On a vacation, I picked up my wife’s copy of a Janet Evanovich novel. She got mad when I didn’t return it until I’d finished. My wife that is, not Janet. Janet would be happy because I’ve purchased a number of her other books and even consulted her How I Write book when I started Uncle and Ants. I’ve read other books in this genre and enjoy the good ones for a light, humorous read.
Q: How did you get started as an author?
Marc: In many ways, my entire professional life in marketing has been about writing fiction. We just called those emails, websites, and marketing collateral. After wanting to write a book for many years, I finally focused on it. Lots of work, walks with my wife and dog, and drafts led to my first novel getting published. The second and third novels came easier, but still involved a lot of dog walking, although he’s not getting co-author credit.
Q: What do you want readers to take away from your books?
Marc: I hope readers laugh and enjoy spending time with the characters while they read my novels. There may be some deep, meaningful themes incorporated in my stories, but those would have happened by accident. Chutes and Ladder is a fun, light story about a good guy, who wants a nice, quiet life and to spend more time with his new girlfriend. When he stumbles across his friend’s dead body, his life begins to spin out of control as a misbehaving pup, a kooky cousin, and a maniacal ninja put his survival skills to the test.
Q: What’s most rewarding about becoming an author?
Marc: I now have a good excuse for asking people to be quiet because I’m listening to voices in my head. In addition, I really enjoy hearing from readers. It’s a great break in the day to read crazy stories from readers about their own dogs, cats, dads, uncles, siblings, etc. I love that readers find something in my stories that makes them laugh, or remember something fun, and then share that with me.
Q: What’s most challenging about writing?
Marc: Balancing the humor with the need to keep the plot moving along. Fortunately, I have a great editor who’s always telling me, “that’s very funny, but you need to keep the mystery front-of-mind.” Forcing the plot to finish in about a week is one of the tricks that I use to drive myself to keep the pace high and plot moving along. I might come up with a funny scene that I want to insert but there’s literally no time in Marty’s day to add in something extraneous — unless I think it’s really funny and can somehow tie it to the plot.
Q: Any advice you’d give to people who want to become an author?
Marc: Besides don’t do it for the money? Read more — in your own genre and others. Reading different authors and genres is the best way to learn what works and what doesn’t. And, start writing. Even if you only have a few minutes to keep a short diary, practice is essential. There are gazillions of writing prompts and blogs for writers all over the web to inspire and help you get started.
Q: Is there anything else that people would find interesting about you?
Marc: A surprising number of the anecdotes in both books are based on real life. For example, most of Buddy’s escapades in Chutes and Ladder are based on a family friend’s dog. And the ice cream truck story that finishes chapter two in Uncle and Ants is completely true, believe it or not. As for the rest, it’s loosely based on reality except where I’ve exaggerated, made it up or falsified my memories to fit the story.
Q: How should readers find out more or connect with you?
Marc: Chutes and Ladder, book 2 in the Silicon Valley Mystery series, can be read standalone. It and Uncle and Ants are free to Kindle Unlimited readers. Serf and Turf, book 3 in the series, will be released in mid-October 2019 so this is a perfect time to catch up. Buy them on Amazon at: amazon.com/gp/product/B07PHNT7XM. For more about my books or me, please visit www.marcjedel.com.
For more about me or my books, please visit:
- My Website: www.marcjedel.com is the best place to learn more about me. You can get free chapters, learn more about me and my books, and sign up to receive special offers.
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/MarcJedel.Author
- Linked In: www.linkedin.com/in/mjedel/
- BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/marc-jedel
- GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18403497.Marc_Jedel
Pleasure Your Shelf 
Thanks so much for hosting me today. I hope your readers will enjoy reading CHUTES AND LADDER as much as I did writing it. At http://www.marcjedel.com, people can get the first chapter FREE for all three of my books (UNCLE AND ANTS, CHUTES AND LADDER, SERF AND TURF) simply by signing up for my newsletter. Book 3, SERF AND TURF, will launch in early October so now’s a great time to enjoy Uncle Marty’s adventures as he bumbles through his investigations.
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