Cozy mystery author Ted Mulcahey joins me today to chat about Juiced.
Welcome, Ted. Please tell us a little bit about yourself.
I’ve lived throughout the US, the past 35 years in the Pacific Northwest. I’m an Army vet, sales and marketing VP, entrepreneur, business owner, avid reader, one of nine children, former caddie and lover of dogs and golf. The last twenty-five years were spent in partnership with my wife Patte as the owners of highly respected and published hospitality interior design firm in the Seattle Area. We’re now living on Whidbey Island and enjoying its rural bliss.
Growing up in Rhode Island and working as a caddie at the local country club encouraged a lifelong relationship with golf. As the oldest son in a family with eight siblings, it was expected that all needed to contribute financially to the wellbeing of the family unit. My dad was the sports editor of the local newspaper, and my mom did her best – between pregnancies – to keep things on an even keel. With her quirky sense of humor and her insistence that us kids could be anything or do anything as long as we made a genuine effort to do so, we all ended up respectably.
The caddie upbringing helped the swearing immensely and apparently contributed a heavy dose of sarcasm to the sense of humor I inherited.
Please tell us about your current release.
Juiced is the fictional account of the invention of a battery with unlimited capabilities. It has the potential to change the world while simultaneously scaring the bejesus out of conventional battery conglomerates. They’ll stop at nothing to prohibit its release.
What inspired you to write this book?
I saw an article about the Pacific Northwest National Laboratories doing research on vanadium flow batteries and immediately ran with it.
What exciting story are you working on next?
The O’Malleys get wrapped up with nefarious characters tin Walla Walla wine country.
When did you first consider yourself a writer?
I’d always dabbled with it but didn’t do it fulltime until I retired five years ago.
Do you write full-time? If so, what’s your workday like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?
I usually sit down to write about nine a.m. and write until I’m either exhausted or until it’s time to hit the golf course. Some days it’s a thousand words and some, it’s double that.
What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I get up from the desk every hour or so and putt a few golf balls into a cup. My German Shepherd just sits there watching me; she thinks I’m nuts.
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
Either a forest ranger or a professional golfer. I think being one of nine kids drove me to want to be alone in the wilderness.
Anything additional you want to share with the readers?
I write to entertain and with any luck get the readers to crack a smile occasionally, perhaps relating to the husband-and-wife team affectionately teasing each other.
Thanks for being here today, Ted.