Mystery series gets start in Ramona – San Diego Union-Tribune

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During one of his travels, author Jeffrey Crimmel takes a boat to Alba, Italy.

UPDATED: November 21, 2017 at 3:27 a.m.

Jeffrey Crimmel has traveled the world and lived in many places but it was a chapter of his life when he unexpectedly found himself staying in Ramona after a medical emergency that led to his mystery series.

“The whole series that I started back in 2012, began in Ramona,” he said.

The 71-year-old is temporarily living in Ramona and preparing to publish his fourth mystery book.

Crimmel and his wife, Suzanne, were living in San Felipe, Mexico, when his leg started swelling. They traveled to El Centro, Calif., to see a doctor and it was discovered he had a blood clot in his leg. When medical staff informed him that he would be transported to Sharp Memorial Hospital in San Diego, Crimmel told his wife to go to Ramona.

The Crimmels’ niece, Roxanne Pieters, lives in Ramona and the community was one that they had visited many times over the years.

During Crimmel’s stay in the hospital, he said he encountered an amazing experience. The medication he received caused him to have a brain bleed, he said, describing it as a clot on the back of his skull that put pressure on his neck. But it also gave him the temporary ability to be aware of things before they happened, he said. For 1 ½ days, Crimmel said he knew what the nurses were going to say before they said it.

So, as he was lying in the hospital, Crimmel said he started thinking: “How can I turn this into a story?” He had been writing non-fiction but thought he could work this into a mystery — one where the character kept the ability to foresee things. That led to his first mystery, “Brain Bleed,” which mentions Ramona in Chapter 3. That was followed by the sequels “Ian’s Revenge” and “Nab Yoga.”

“They’re interesting stories. They’re fun,” he said.

In his books, Crimmel takes his characters to various countries including Italy, France and Peru — usually places that he knows from his travels.

“I’ve lived in a lot of these places over the years,” he said.

The 1963 La Jolla High School graduate said he spent nine years going around the world in the 1970s and that was the focus of his book “Living Beneath the Radar.”

“I got into Afghanistan before the Russians were there,” he said, adding it was like being in a medieval country.

Crimmel later felt the calling to become a teacher. He got his teaching credential and at age 40 began teaching Special Education, retiring after 25 years.

For him, writing has been a passion and he now has eight books total.

“It’s called an addiction, I think, at this point,” he said.

An “indie writer,” Crimmel self-publishes his books, which are available on Amazon, and expects to release “The Hemp Papers,” another mystery, later this month.

“I always try to work in something I’m involved in, but I always go after things I don’t like,” he said.

Crimmel, who plays bridge at the Ramona Senior Center, said he and his wife came to Ramona about five months ago and are living with their niece.

“I’m not really a city dweller. You just breathe easier here,” he said.

Describing his stay in Ramona as transitional, Crimmel said he and Suzanne plan to eventually move to Portland, Ore., where his daughter lives.

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Ramona Sentinel |
Mystery series gets start in Ramona

Ramona Sentinel |
Mystery series gets start in Ramona

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