Countdown to KING PESO, the 4th Detective Emilia Cruz novel
KING PESO, the 4th Detective Emilia Cruz novel, is all about gambling and greed.The high cost of building family and friends. How easy it is to tear them both apart.In KING PESO, Emilia is shocked...
Author to Author: DV Berkom and Carmen Amato
I love swapping ideas and stories with other mystery authors and this week I had the opportunity to chat with DV Berkom. Her Leine Basso and Kate Jones thrillers have been topping Amazon's mystery...
The Ultimate Secret to Productivity
My #1 secret to productivity isn't an app or a clock. But it works better than either. As a mystery author, I look for as productivity tips the way Detective Emilia Cruz looks for clues to solve the...
Book Review: Jihadi Apprentice by Bruns & Olson
I write mysteries and thrillers and love to read them, too. In this book review, I look at JIHADI APPRENTICE by David Bruns and J.R. Olson, a very modern thriller with an insider’s ring of...
Fiesta Stories from the Insider’s Guide to the Best of Mexico
Mexico's rich culture is a big part of my Detective Emilia Cruz series set in Acapulco and inspired a new project: The Insider's Guide to the Best of Mexico. This free guide is a collection of great...
Art Stories from the Insider’s Guide to the Best of Mexico
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...
“Relevance and immediacy:” A chat with thriller author David Bruns
The #friends section of this website is all about walking and talking with awesome mystery and thriller authors. This week I was lucky enough to catch up with David Bruns, half of a dynamic writing...
Author to Author: Jinx Schwartz and Carmen Amato
As a mystery author of books set in Mexico, I have been lucky enough to build a great network of friends with books. Mystery readers love following along with the Detective Emilia Cruz series and...
Author to Author with Penn Wallace
On real life Tell us a bit about your family. I have a rather unconventional family. My father is of Scottish heritage; my mother’s parents came from Mexico. I grew up with a foot in both worlds....
Author to Author: Robert Joe Stout and Carmen Amato
I recently had the chance to have a series of conversations with members of the Mexico Writers Facebook group. Robert Joe Stout, a prolific author, acknowledged baseball aficionado and the father of...
Friends with Books: Leigh Thelmadatter of Creative Hands of Mexico
As a mystery author of books set in Mexico, I have been lucky enough to build a great network of friends with books. Mystery readers love following along with the Detective Emilia Cruz series and...
Book Review: Bangkok Rules
Carl Engel is hardly the typical hero of a mystery series but he's the main character in BANGKOK RULES by Harlan Wolff. The mostly drunk Brit has been in Bangkok for 30 years, surviving as a fixer...
Book Review: Weapons of Mass Deception
Like spy and military thrillers? Books based on current events? Polished prose? Great plots? WEAPONS OF MASS DECEPTION is for you. WEAPONS is a high caliber thriller, using a very plausible Iraq War...
Book Review: The Ragman Murders
Based on a true family story, THE RAGMAN MURDERS is clearly a labor of love. The novel tells the story of two immigrant families, the Amatos and the Tassones, and the circumstances that bring them...
Book Review: Devoted to Death by Andrew Chesnut
If you want to understand Mexican culture, DEVOTED TO DEATH must be in your personal library. It is a detailed examination of Santa Muerte, Mexico’s most famous folk saint. Santa Muerte is regarded...
Art and the Greek Economic Crisis
Although many of my books are set in Mexico, and I write frequently about current events there, the years I spent in Greece also live in my heart. So I can't help worrying about how the Greek...
10 Ways to Get a Clue
How many moving parts does it take to build a mystery novel? Do you want the short answer? (lots) Or the long answer? (lots and lots) Building Blocks Now, I'm not whining over the terrible fate of...
Leighton Gage’s Legacy
On Wednesday, 13 May, Facebook reminded me that it was Leighton Gage's birthday. I found the reminder somewhat disturbing.Salute to a PioneerDisturbing, because fellow mystery author Leighton Gage...
Film Rights to Acapulco Mystery Series Acquired by Screenwriter
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...
Intention versus Reaction
"Persistence is the master virtue." The quote is attributed to the great thinker Anonymous. As I plug away at the 4th Detective Emilia Cruz mystery, KING PESO, it really resonates. But along with...
The Elusive Charms of Productivity
I’ve been reading the blog of James Clear, a life coach and productivity expert. While I mostly agree that productivity is all about Me, I also think it’s all about Them. Where for art thou,...
Visiting Norway, Mystery Author Style
Can a mystery author who writes about sunny Mexico really love cold places? Yep. Besides Mexico, where my mystery series is set, my favorite country (except for home) is Norway. Not only does the...
Thrillers are Tastier on Talavera Pottery
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...
Mexican Retablos: Prayers on Steel
After a few bites of the cake Raul seemed to realize that she was waiting. “He read about the United States and wanted to go. He tried to cross the desert but the Virgin abandoned him because what...
Little Silver Miracles
I’ve been thinking about visual inspiration lately, as I tackle KING PESO, the 4th Emilia Cruz mystery. Thankfully, Mexico is replete with visual cues to creativity, from large (the Basilica of...
A Box, a Mystery Series, and Some Lacquer
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...
Book Review: The Orphan Uprising
The Orphan Uprising is the riveting last book in the Orphan Trilogy by the father-and-son writing duo of Lance and James Morcan from New Zealand. I hear they are making a movie based on the books...