3 Latino Reads with Universal Appeal
Each of these 3 exceptional books has universal appeal that transcends its roots, but for different reasons. The Gifted Gabaldón Sisters by Lorraine M. López In all honesty, I picked up The Gifted...
Why Navigation With a Map Still Matters
Love your GPS? Love how easy it makes getting from Point A to Point B? If you’re like me, your GPS saves travel time, keeps you from getting lost, and provides an Australian or British voice so you...
World Malaria Day: Song of the Mosquito
I’m tiny, innocuous. Driven by instinct. I’m tiny, innocuous. I hum as I go. I’m tiny, innocuous, and I killed over 22,000 foolish Frenchmen who thought they could build a canal in Panama. I gave...
Book Review: Cold Service by Robert B. Parker
This review is dedicated to the people of Boston. I'm still surprised when I run across someone who is a mystery novel fan but who has never read a book by Robert B. Parker, creator of...
Book Review: A Sunless Sea by Anne Perry
William Monk is back and better than ever in A SUNLESS SEA, the latest novel by Anne Perry about the amnesiac cop-turned private detective-turned head of law enforcement on the Thames River in...
The Girl on the Cutting Room Floor
Book editing is a ruthless business. How much of a book gets rewritten when an author comes back to an old manuscript?In the book editing case of HAT DANCE, the second Emilia Cruz novel coming 30...
The Art of Travel Without a Camera
The art of travel is being able to create memories. But how can we relive the experiences and relationships of an exciting or romantic or never-again adventure? Think outside the camera--the right...
Book Review: The Man Who Smiled by Henning Mankell
Books starring the depressed Swedish police detective Kurt Wallander are growing on me, but not as fast as the portrayal of him by British actor Kenneth Branagh. I like the book plotlines, the...
Book Review: Doors Open by Ian Rankin
Ian Rankin is one of my favorite mystery writers, with robust, imaginative characters that are true to their environment, beautifully paced plots, and locations that I've visited and love despite...
Solve Problems Like a Detective
In CLIFF DIVER, Detective Emilia Cruz starts piecing together a police investigation by using a timeline. Emilia’s love of timelines will be an element of her crime-solving skills in every...
Book Review: Thursday’s List by V. S. Kemanis
The Amazon.com description of legal thriller THURSDAY'S LIST doesn't do justice to what is a revealing dive into the legal tangles involved in catching and convicting foreign money launderers in the...
How to Power Up Your Creativity
For years I thought creativity belonged exclusively to artists, writers and musicians and longed to be part of such a creative elite. Wow, was I wrong. Now that I’m older and wiser (hopefully) I...
Book Review: The Lost Ones by Ace Atkins
THE LOST ONES by Ace Atkins is a well-crafted police procedural featuring the new sheriff of a small Mississippi county. Quinn Colson is back in his home town, fresh from war, and his old high...
How Mexico’s Union Boss “La Maestra” Inspired a Mystery
When fellow fiction writers ask where to find inspiration for characters I usually reply “minor league politicians.” There is always something to be found in the actions and words of those hungry...
Book Review: Over the Shoulder by Jason Beech
Not only do I write thrillers and a mystery series, but I read them, too. I post reviews on amazon and Goodreads as well as on this site. Over the Shoulder by Jason Beech is a Goodfellas-type crime...
Comparing Crime Rates: Acapulco vs Points North
In mid-February, prompted by a spate of news reports on crime for 2012--including a list of the top 10 most violent cities in the world, discussions of violence in Chicago and Detroit, and school...
The Friday Fiesta: Travel with a Filmmaker, A Camera, Disappearing Destinations, and Titanic II
As a fiction and mystery author I draw on my own world travels and experiences living in Mexico and Central America. But online travel is also a terrific way to discover news and places worth...
About the time I went to Fiji
Arriving in Fiji alone at 1:00 am after a 12-hour flight was unnerving but that’s the way the flights went so there I was, in the middle of the Pacific, with a heavy suitcase, an even heavier bag of...
Matching Books with Museums in Mexico City
There you are, strolling through amazing exhibits and you know something’s missing. Like the backstory. Wish you'd known more before going? But there wasn't time. Besides, research before going to...
A Friday Fiesta of Close Encounters: Maps, Murano, Mississippi and Designing Vietnam
As a fiction and mystery author I draw on my own world travels and experiences living in Mexico and Central America. But every week there is something new to encounter--who knows where I’ll find...
The Case of the Mysterious Immigration Debate
I’m a mystery and thriller author, not a political pundit or a news commentator. My books so far have been set in Mexico, however, and if you think/talk/enjoy things Mexico the US immigration debate...
Friday Fiesta: Love, Murder, African Design and the Final Frontier
As the author of a mystery series I love to weave unique cultural gems into the plot. Most of the time I draw on my own world travels and experiences living in Mexico and Central America. In these...
Historic Preservation That Scares Us and Why That’s a Good Thing
Elsewhere in this blog I've talked about historic preservation as a means of taking the temperature of a culture. A healthy culture chooses to preserve both its good and bad: we celebrate the good...
Friday Fiesta: Saving the Food Chain, A Language, Literary Thought and Your Self-Esteem
As the author of a mystery series I love to weave unique cultural gems into the plot. Most of the time I draw on my own world travels and experiences living in Mexico and Central America.In these...
The Best and Other Interview Questions to Ask a Mystery Writer
There are certain interview questions to ask someone who has just published a novel in a mystery series. And other questions that are sort of odd. Here are the ones I’ve been asked lately. 1. Why...
Friday Fiesta: An Artist, An Astronaut and the Unexpected in Nepal and on Kilimanjaro
As the author of a mystery series I love to weave unique cultural gems into the plot. Most of the time I draw on my own world travels and experiences living in Mexico and Central America. In these...
3 Latinas Who Inspired Fiction’s Newest Crimefighter
Police detective Emilia Cruz is the main character in CLIFF DIVER, the first novel in my new mystery series set in Acapulco. She’s the first and only female police detective in Acapulco, a strong...