I switch between writing longhand and direct-to-keyboard.

Conceiving original prose at the keyboard takes the most mental energy but sometimes, when I know exactly how I want a scene to play, it goes so fast that I actually feel that I’m reading something already written. Of course I’ll still edit it 20 times before I am satisfied.

I write longhand when I feel uninspired or am tired.  I use spiral notebooks with stiff covers. As I was writing The Hidden Light of Mexico City I taped pesos coins to the covers for good luck. When I'm ready to type in what I've written longhand I edit as I type.  I also found a dictation program called AudioPen that I will use, too.

I’m a hybrid author, with all books published under my own imprint Laurel & Croton, and traditional contracts for secondary rights including film, audiobooks and audio dramatization.

When I was seeking representation to publish my first book, political thriller THE HIDDEN LIGHT OF MEXICO CITY, I was still with the CIA. No one would take a chance on a book with so many Mexican characters, I was told, nor on an unknown author.

I moved ahead without a traditional publishing arrangement and the book was longlisted for the 2020 Millennium Book Award.

Since then, I’ve stayed on the same path, writing, building and growing both backlist and readership. Thank you for being part of it!

In retrospect, the publishing industry’s disinterest redounded to my benefit, allowing me to connect directly to readers and giving me the freedom to write the Detective Emilia Cruz series and use crime fiction to call attention to issues like human trafficking.

This is a fairly diverse list:

Ken Follett: His earlier works including Night Over Water, Triple, The Key to Rebecca and The Eye of the Needle all have a tension-filled storyline, interesting characters with complex relationships, and multiple voices that are all integral to moving the plot forward. Not to mention the hot sex scenes.

P.G. Wodehouse: I discovered this British humorist in high school and have read dozens of his books and short stories. His world is that of 1920’s England. All of his books have an invariably tangled plot, crazy characters, and perfect phrasing (“he writhed like an electric fan”) that never grow old. My favorite is The Code of the Woosters.

Robert B. Parker: The creator of the Spenser mystery series is a study in perfect-pitch dialogue. Some of his books are a series of conversations that are so well crafted that virtually the entire plot/mystery is revealed in this way. His action scenes are never gratuitous which means they pack a big punch. My favorites are Potshot and Hugger Mugger.

Peter Mayle: His novels like Hotel Pastis and Anything Considered are the best examples of integrating a foreign language into an English language book.  His topics are light, focus on elements of French culture (truffles, wine, etc) and always make me smile.

First, don't fall in love with your first draft. Fall in love with your characters, in the setting, and in the plot twists. Keep editing and rewriting until your manuscript is as good as it can be. Learn to be a ruthless editor of your own work.

Second, don’t change points of view within a single section. Just when a reader has identified with a certain character--whoops--suddenly they are inside another character’s head. This is my personal pet peeve. Read novels by Leon Uris and Ken Follett for great examples of keeping points of view separate and how to use different points of view to advance the plot.

Here are some ideas to help you become the best writer you can be:

A writer’s group is a terrific way to get feedback on a draft and learn best practices from fellow writers. A side benefit is encouragement and the feeling that you’re not the only one with a writing obsession.

Find a writing partner and share drafts for timely feedback and brainstorming.

Writing workshops can be an invaluable experience. Take your manuscript and immerse yourself in the writing life for a week or more. If you are serious it is worth the cost.

A writer's conference like Killer Nashville can also be a great experience. Attend panel sessions and hear from multiple authors speak about writing craft, marketing, and other topics to help you hone your writing career.

Yes, Emilia isn’t done with her job as the first female police detective in Acapulco yet. There is still official corruption, cartels and social inequality to tackle, not to mention her always-evolving relationship with hotel manager Kurt Rucker! The best way to stay up to date on the series is by subscribing to my newsletter: https://carmenamato.net/substack.com.

Yes, you can find the Detective Emilia Cruz series and the Galliano Club books as ebooks, paperback, and audiobook editions wherever books are sold. Two Detective Emilia Cruz books are available in Spanish and I anticipate more foreign translations in the near future.

My standalone thrillers are available as ebook and paperback.

If you like mystery and suspense by Peter May, Ace Atkins, Louise Penny, Ian Rankin, Martin Cruz Smith, Jo Nesbo, and Cara Black, you'll like my Detective Emilia Cruz books.

We all write at the intersection of crime fiction, police procedurals, and the traditional murder mystery.

Some say that the Emilia Cruz series is similar in character development to the Shetland and Vera series by Ann Cleeves, and the Department Q mystery series by Jussi Adler-Olsen.

Hopefully, it is accurate and makes every book feel as if you have been dropped into the middle of the setting. I aim to give you an authentic experience!

I’m a stickler for doing the work behind each book, drawing not only on my own experience with the setting and plot but on maps, news stories, image searches, historical research and interviews.

In particular, the research hub for the Detective Emilia Cruz series gives you the ability to join me behind the books and explore the key themes I researched for each novel in the series.

If you are interested in extra materials, deleted scenes, or background lore on the books, the Reader Hub has it all for both the Detective Emilia Cruz series and the Galliano Club trilogy. It’s a fun vault of behind-the-books information, including character dossiers for the Detective Emilia Cruz series that are written as police personnel files!

Acapulco is a city of stunning contrasts—the "Pearl of the Pacific" glamour of the 1950s vs. the gritty, complex reality of today's drug war violence.

It provides the perfect atmospheric pressure cooker for a noir series. Check out the Travelogue in the Acapulco Archives portion of the Reader Hub and this blog post about why Acapulco is the perfect setting for a mystery.

You can find downloadable Book Club Discussion Kits for my most popular books on the Book Club section of the Reader Hub.

Each Discussion Kit includes questions, research notes, menu, recipes and a printable mini-poster.

At last count, I've been to about 50 countries including a few exotic places like Papua New Guinea, Fiji and the Marshall Islands.

I spent the most overseas time in Mexico and Central America.

Italy, Norway, and Switzerland are all on the must-return list.

You may cite my work but current contracts preclude fan fiction or using any of my characters in your works.