Sore Like an Eagle: A Redwoods Country Mystery by Marc Jedel
About Sore Like an Eagle
Sore Like an Eagle: A Redwoods Country Mystery
Cozy Mystery
3rd in Series
Setting - California’s Redwoods Country
BGM Press (April 20, 2026)
Number of Pages: 241
Paperback ISBN-13 : 979-8989814428
ASIN : B0GWJ5ZM28
Digital ASIN : B0DY9Z93XX
The coroner is claiming natural causes. The mayor is crying murder. Can this feisty retiree spot the truth before the clues drown in the chaos?
Andy Shirley won’t admit he likes it here. But in the year since his wife’s passing, the copy-editor-turned-reluctant-hotelier has begun to appreciate small-town life amongst the towering redwoods. And his quick eye for detail has him suspecting foul play when the local busybody is found belly-up in the community pool.
With his sleuthing skills unaffected by a recent hiking injury, Andy ignores the police chief’s cautions and dives into an off-the-books investigation. But though his snarky sidekick and pocket-sized poodle help chase down leads, all his Poirot-inspired maneuvers aren’t getting him any closer to closing the case.
Can he pull off an impossible solve, or will the lack of evidence drive Andy off the deep end?
Sore Like an Eagle is the splashy third book in the Redwoods Country cozy mystery series. If you like reluctant heroes, unexpected team-ups, and puzzles that keep you guessing, then you'll love this hilarious yarn.
Try Sore Like an Eagle to swim laps around crime today!
About Marc Jedel
INTERVIEW
- When did you first realize you
wanted to be a writer?
I wanted to write a novel forever, ever since finishing the first
book I read by myself—Go Dog Go. I mean, what’s not to love about a
story that has fun dialogue all about awesome party hats?
For the longest time, I couldn’t come up with a good plot. Yet my
research clearly demonstrated that having a plot is critical to a successful
novel. One day, I received this awesome birthday drawing from my young 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 while I was brainstorming
with my wife on an evening walk and the idea formed to loosely base a humorous
murder mystery with a self-absorbed, fashion-backward software engineer, his
sister, and his nieces on my life.
My first novel (Uncle and Ants: A Silicon Valley
Mystery #1) is clearly fiction. I mean, I’m not a software engineer. Now I’ve
written 12 cozy mysteries and 2 sci-fi novels (under a different pen name).
- How long does it take you to
write a book?
Technically my first novel took over 40 years, but since then,
I’ve written more quickly. Typically I can finish 2 cozy mysteries per year,
but my sci-fi novels seem to take longer.
- What is your work schedule like
when you're writing?
I tend to write most days of the week. Sometimes it’s just for a
brief stint and other days, I’ll write all day. I seem to be able to produce
~1,000 per day before losing my momentum. Some days I complete several thousand
words, but typically when I hit a thousand, I declare victory and stop.
- What would you say is your
interesting writing quirk?
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 cooler. I send him some
character descriptions, and he magically comes up with really good options for
names. Once, I finished a manuscript that 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 didn’t know the characters’ names so it was
almost like I was reading someone else’s book. Ever since I make sure to
finalize the names within the first few chapters once I’ve got a good outline
of the story finished.
- Where do you get your
information or ideas for your books?
My wife returned from a water aerobics class at the local
community center with a wild story of overhearing an argument where someone
tried to reserve shower stalls and more. We both thought the incident was
ridiculous. It formed the perfect target for a fictional murder victim.
For some of my novels, a strange news article inspired those
crimes. A story about the unusual cases of poisoning gave me the idea for
several novels. An article about diamond hunting at the Crater of Diamonds
state park in Arkansas got me started on the third book in the Ozarks Lake
Mystery series once I realized the park wasn’t far from where I had placed
the fictional town of Jenkins, Arkansas. Reading about thieves stealing unusual
items that I’d never considered valuable from a location where they could die
if they slipped gave me a start for another novel.
- When did you write your first
book and how old were you?
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.”
- What do you like to do when
you're not writing?
Wingsuit flying, jousting, and bullfighting are all examples of
crazy things that I don’t do when I’m not writing. I’ve also not attempted tree
shaping, extreme ironing, or competitive duck herding despite these being
actual things that I’ve stumbled across during my internet searching. Instead,
I spend most of the time in self-isolation—also known as normal author
behavior. Beyond that I hike, walk the dog, and do some volunteering.
- What does your family think of
your writing?
My wife is a bit concerned that I’m enjoying spending time with a
grumpy old man even though I’ve told her he’s quite lovable, funny, and not
quite as grumpy as he thinks he is. But frankly, she’s been worried for years
about all the imaginary friends that I spend time with as I write my novels. Recently she has claimed that her role in my writing is as my emotional
developmental mentor. I’m still not quite sure whether she meant just for my
latest novel, or my entire life.
- What was one of the most
surprising things you learned in creating your books?
How difficult it is to come up with new, interesting, and
plausible ways to kill someone without getting caught immediately. As a mystery
writer, I spend a lot of time pondering these things. It’s way more challenging
in today’s camera-rich and surveillance-focused world than you might think.
Especially when you want an amateur sleuth to figure it out without any help
from the police and you don’t want readers to guess whodunnit before the reveal.
All this requires some very unusual internet searches. I’m just glad no law
enforcement officer has ever asked me questions about my browser history.
- Do you have any suggestions to
help me become a better writer? If so, what are they?
Read more and read widely—cozies and other books too. Reading
different authors and genres is the best way to learn what works and what
doesn’t. And, start writing. It’s easier than ever to become a writer, but just
as difficult as always to be a good one. Practice with a diary or use some of
the writing prompts you can find on the internet. Nearly no one is a great
writer from their first attempt, but practice makes you better.
- What Would you like my readers
to know?
I love hearing from readers as that motivates me to keep going on
the next blank page. Let me know what you liked, what you didn’t, and what
you’d want to see more of in the next book.
Sore Like an Eagle, is on sale for only $2.99 during this tour.
It’s available at: https://mybook.to/SoreLikeanEagle. You can find all my cozy mysteries at: https://www.amazon.com/Marc-Jedel/e/B07H7MVKJL. They’re available in e-book, paperback, and
audiobook formats. My novels are free to read by Kindle Unlimited members.
- Website and mailing list: www.marcjedel.com
- Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Marc-Jedel/e/B07H7MVKJL
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/MarcJedel.Author
- BookBub: www.bookbub.com/profile/marc-jedel?follow=true
- Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/author/show/18403497.Marc_Jedel
- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mjedel/
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