As a mystery writer, my Detective Emilia Cruz police procedural series usually explores the dark side of Mexico: cartel violence, police corruption, and missing persons. But Mexico's rich culture is as much of a character in the books as Emilia herself. Mexico's art,...
I am thrilled to announce, after weeks of negotiations between lawyers, that a contract for the film rights to the Emilia Cruz mystery series has been inked. Screenwriter and director Emily Skopov (ever hear of a little series called Xena, Warrior Princess?) released...
If you read this blog with any regularity you know the following; I am a mystery author I drink too much coffee I love Pinterest and Twitter I find inspiration in unlikely places Talavera Pottery The latest thing to jog my imagination is talavera, the beautiful and...
She came back a moment later with a box decorated in the traditional rayada carved lacquer technique. It was the size of a loaf of bread and the bottom was fitted with a small drawer with a tiny gold knob."This is a most special and precious item," Tifani said as she...
One of the most often-asked questions for a mystery and thriller author is "Where does your inspiration come from?" Political thriller THE HIDDEN LIGHT OF MEXICO CITY had quite the auspicious beginning . . . Fateful dinner party We were invited to a dinner party at...
Acapulco has alot to offer: beautiful beaches, water sports, cliff divers, iconic skyscrapers, swimming with the dolphins. Get off the beaten path and you can add gun violence, murder, cops, and drug seizures. All that's missing is a skycraper that looks like a...
The third installment of the Emilia Cruz mystery series, featuring the first and only female police detective in Acapulco, is out on Kindle! The paperback version will be available in August. And finally--the Cover Reveal! The final cover, shown here, is a slight...
Maybe it's a sickness. Yesterday, as I was cleaning out my den (also known as the writer's cave, Mom's office, and a total mess) I found a COMPLETELY VIRGIN hardcover spiral notebook from Agatha Ruiz de la Prada. The rush of excitement was intense. Paper...
Donde estan? The question amid all the shoes in the picture is Where are they? This is the cry of those who search for and mourn the missing who are the casualties of Mexico's drug war.But calculating just how many are missing is a bureaucratic--and political--war of...
Have you seen the new US 100 dollar bill? Compared it to the old bill of the same denomination? Money and Mystery The changes in the $100 bill drive the plot of "The Cliff," a short story from MADE IN ACAPULCO: The Emilia Cruz Stories. "The Cliff" later became the...
When I heard that Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzmán, notorious head of the Sinaloa Cartel had been arrested, two things came to mind: Monocle, the British magazine about all things cultural, and a great old James Cagney movie.Wait. This will make sense.Soft Power...
I can look at the problem in one of two ways: either the news gives me great ideas for my mystery novels or all the good stuff has already been written as fact, not fiction.As the author of a mystery series set in Acapulco, I often run across plot ideas in the news...
The Emilia Cruz mystery series delivered another bit of entertainment to mystery lovers yesterday with the release for Kindle of MADE IN ACAPULCO, a collection of short stories that take place before the action in the full-length Emilia Cruz novels....
This week the very first Emilia Cruz story, "The Beast," was published by Huffington Post, in the website's Huff/Post 50 showcase of female fiction writers. Acapulco beat cop Emilia Cruz wants to become a detective. But will they break her before she gets to the...
Great mystery novels need drama and dialogue. HAT DANCE, the latest Emilia Cruz novel, delivers both but sometimes words aren't enough. Sometimes it helps to have images as well. Here is a bit about the book, which is being released for Kindle...