Uncles and Ants - An Interview & Giveaway

I'm happy to welcome Marc Jedel to Cozy Up With Kathy today. Marc writes the Silicon Valley Mystery series. Uncle and Ants is the first book in the series and was released earlier this week.

Kathy: In Uncle and Ants we meet Marty Golden who has to look after his two precocious, preteen nieces. Do you have experience dealing with preteen girls?

MJ: I have a daughter, many nieces and lots of friends with daughters. But, can anyone ever claim they have enough experience dealing with preteen girls? And if they could, would they ever want to?


Kathy: Would you rather babysit or chase after a murderer?

MJ: Oh, babysit for sure. Unless there are diapers involved. Then it’s a toss-up.


Kathy: Marty is a fashion-backward uncle. How do you fare when it comes to fashion? Backward, trendy, or something altogether different?

MJ: Let’s just say that Marty isn’t a huge stretch of the imagination for me. Take a look at the process of creating my author photos at www.marcjedel.com/gallery and you’ll understand.


Kathy: What first drew you to cozy mysteries?

MJ: I loved the television shows Murder She Wrote and Monk and read the requisite Agatha Christie and Hardy Boys books. More recently 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.


Kathy: Do you write in any other genres?

MJ: Uncle and Ants, my first book, is a cozy mystery. My second book, Chutes and Ladder (underway), is also a cozy. By process of elimination, I’ve concluded I’m a cozy mystery writer. I do have the beginnings of an idea for a thriller, but I want to finish books 2 and 3 in the Silicon Valley Mystery series first.


Kathy: Tell us about your series.

MJ: Uncle and Ants is the first in a new, modern mystery series set in Silicon Valley, where the protagonist, Marty, is an ordinary guy who’s struggling to succeed in the fast-moving, high-tech world. Much to his dismay, he has no special powers, yet he gets pulled into solving a crime to save his sister, get his sly, yet vulnerable nieces out of his apartment, and get his life back to normal.


Kathy: Do you have a favorite character? If so, who and why?

MJ: Superman because then I could fly, and do all sorts of other cool things. At least that’s what Marty would say. His active inner voice distracts him at the wrong times. He’d love to be a superhero or a secret agent because they get all the cool gadgets. I do enjoy spending time with Marty as well as his sassy nieces and love the scenes with the more entertaining side characters, like the school secretary.


Kathy: Did you have a specific inspiration for your series?

MJ: I’ve wanted to write a book forever. For the longest time, it seemed I couldn’t come up with a good plot. My writing research had clearly demonstrated that having a plot is critical for a successful book. One day, I received this awesome birthday drawing from my nieces. And my kids, or nieces, or one of our friends’ kids had done some crazy things. Probably all of the above. One thing led to another and the idea formed to loosely base a mystery with a self-absorbed, fashion-backward software engineer, his sister, and his nieces on my life. It’s clearly fiction. I mean, I’m not a software engineer.


Kathy: What made you decide to publish your work?

MJ: When I was young someone once told me that authors are writers who have published. Ever since then, I’ve wanted to be an author.


Kathy: If you could have a dinner party and invite 4 authors, living or dead, in any genre, who would you invite?

MJ: I’d invite a very eclectic group and enjoy their interactions: Janet Evanovich – because she was my writing inspiration and the queen of the humorous cozy; Dr. Seuss – because of his poetic use of language and it would be a riot to watch the interactions at the party; Stephen King — because his book on how to write are legendary and if he was at my house then he couldn’t be writing something else that scared me; and Nora Roberts — I haven’t read her novels but my wife’s a big fan and wants her to attend if we’re going to host this dinner party.


Kathy: What are you currently reading?

MJ: I’ve been jumping back and forth between the latest books in Jana DeLeon’s Miss Fortune series and Patricia McLinn’s Caught Dead in Wyoming series. I like that both feature an amateur sleuth with a non-traditional profession who, like Marty in my novel, is not a bakery owner / bed & breakfast owner / bookstore owner like too many other cozy mysteries.


Kathy: Will you share any of your hobbies or interests with us?

MJ: Living in the Bay Area of California gives me the opportunity to do lots of kayaking and hiking in addition to my writing.


Kathy: Name 4 items you always have in your fridge or pantry.

MJ: Chips and salsa (that’s one thing, right?), beer, Vanilla Wafers, and the fixings for Asian slaw.


Kathy: Do you have plans for future books either in your current series or a new series?

MJ: Chutes and Ladder will be the second book in this series. It takes place about 5 weeks later with many of the same characters, plus a new family member appears. She’s been cracking me up so I hope others will enjoy it as well. Readers can read the first chapter today for free by joining my newsletter at www.marcjedel.com. I expect to have it published in March. At least a third book is planned as well.


Kathy: What's your favorite thing about being an author?

MJ: Having readers send me emails with their own funny stories about a family member, friend, pet, etc. I’ve made many new friends and rekindled old friendships as a result of my book’s success. I never expected that sitting alone in my house and writing would wind up making me much more social.

I did want to tell your readers that Uncle and Ants will remain at $0.99 (ebook) for only a short time so please buy it today at Amazon.

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Uncle and Ants: A Silicon Valley Mystery by Marc Jedel

About the Book

Uncle and Ants: A Silicon Valley Mystery 

Cozy Mystery 1st in Series  

BGM Press (October 11, 2018) 

Paperback: 287 pages 

Mysterious attacks. Mischievous nieces. Can a clueless uncle catch a tech-savvy killer … and be home before bedtime? When a freak accident hospitalizes Marty Golden’s sister and condemns him to babysitter duty, he thinks it’s just another case of hardwired bad luck in Silicon Valley. Until a suspicious murder suggests the mishap was no mere coincidence. Something must be done. Too bad this quirky, fashion-backward uncle isn’t exactly hero material. Convinced his sister is in mortal danger, this amateur sleuth follows clues to an oddball array of suspects. Armed with nothing but an eye for detail and powers of self-delusion, Marty tangles with gangsters, a cantankerous school secretary, and a perplexing woman he can’t help but fall for. Glitches in his investigation seem like a piece of cake compared to dinner-prep and bedtime stories with his two precocious, pre-teen nieces. Can Marty catch the culprit, save his sister, and get his life back in order before he gets unplugged? Uncle and Ants is the first novel in a refreshingly modern mystery series set in Silicon Valley. If you like clever humor, sassy side characters, and average Joes facing extraordinary circumstances, then you’ll love this twisty mystery. Buy Uncle and Ants to login to a fresh, funny mystery today!

About the Author

In my family, I was born first — a fact my sister never lets me forget, no matter what milestone age she hits.

For most of my life, I've been inventing stories. Some, especially when I was young, involved my sister as the villain. As my sister's brother for her entire life, I'm highly qualified to tell the tale of the evolving, quirky sibling relationship in Uncle and Ants: A Silicon Valley Mystery.

My writing skills were honed in years of marketing leadership positions in Silicon Valley. While my high-tech marketing roles involved crafting plenty of fiction, we called these marketing collateral, emails, and ads.

My family and friends would tell you that Marty's character isn't much of a stretch of the imagination for me, but I proudly resemble that remark.

Author Links - 
Website - http://www.marcjedel.com  
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/MarcJedel.Author  

Purchase Link - Amazon

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