Guest Blogger - Mike Befler

The relationship between me and the protagonist in my geezer-lit mystery series, Paul Jacobson, is very special. When I start writing a character, I like to have a mental image. I keep a file of clippings of faces I’ve cut out of magazines. So with Paul, as with other characters I write about, I pick out a picture so I can visualize the character. I may borrow a few attributes of people I know for my characters but the vast majority is unique for the particular character.

 In Paul’s case, he’s a crotchety octogenarian with short-term memory loss who, in spite of not being able to remember yesterday, becomes an amateur sleuth and even has a romance with a young chick in her seventies. The idea for short-term memory loss came from my stepfather who suffered from dementia, although completely different symptoms than Paul’s.

My natural father was a punster, so Paul tells puns. I hate taking pills, so Paul has inherited this characteristic from me. But beyond that, everything else about Paul is unique to him.

He likes to cuss, he hates lawyers (based upon a bad experience with an attorney during his working career), detests going in the ocean and doesn’t want to have anything to do with computers. So no email, Myspace, Youtube, instant messaging or blogging for Paul.

But as you get to know him you find out he isn’t the curmudgeon he at first appears to be. He’s kind of like a fritter—crusty on the outside and warm inside. Paul may have a few snippets from people I know (including myself) but a whole lot of what is right for him.