The mysterious case of 4 Jars of Inspiration
Ready to sweeten life? Throw out a sour mindset?As the author of a mystery series--a relatively solitary occupation--I can’t afford to let my inspiration ebb away. I’m constantly looking for new...
The Friday Fiesta: From Guatemala to Antarctica, with Museums and Manners, too
As a fiction author 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 Friday Fiesta...
Lost in Mexico has nothing to do with translation
In CLIFF DIVER, the first full-length book in my new mystery series, Acapulco police detective Emilia Cruz keeps a log of women who have gone missing. For her they are las perdidas, the lost ones,...
Friday Fiesta: The Real Big Bird, Famous Birthdays, and Beer for Fido
Coming 30 January! CLIFF DIVER: An Emilia Cruz NovelAs a fiction and mystery author I love to weave unique cultural gems into the plot. Most of the time I draw on my own world travels and...
The Friday Fiesta: An Outdoor Seat, Music, Chocolate, and a Story
As a fiction author 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 Friday Fiesta...
Walking the Mouth of Hell
I ended up with the yellow hard hat but what I really needed were safety goggles. My eyes watered from the cinders in the air. Heat rose from the black porous rocks that lined the uphill path and...
A Nicaragua Christmas: The Treasures of Alter Eco
Advertising in Managua, Nicaragua, can be hit-or-miss so I wasn't quite sure what I'd find when I walked into Alter Eco, which bills itself as an alianza hecho a mano. This "alliance" is actually a...
A Nicaragua Christmas: Shopping at Mama Delfina’s
Managua, Nicaragua, is full of surprises including the beautiful art and antique store, Mama Delfina's. Housed in a large white Spanish colonial building with an open courtyard and beautiful old...
The Mary/Mujer Paradox
December is a big month for Mary, the mother of Jesus. On 8 December Catholics celebrate the Immaculate Conception, the day She became pregnant with the son of God without benefit of sex. On 12...
The Friday Fiesta: Safari, Snow, Scotland and Surprising Films
As a fiction author 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 Friday Fiesta...
5 Life Lessons from a Month of Writing Dangerously
NaNoWriMo can be described as a cult phenomenon, a virtual writers gathering, a very strange hobby or God's gift to global coffee sales. As I've mentioned elsewhere in this blog, the goal is to...
Crafting a Christmas at the Mercado
This is the year my Christmas won't be Made in China. Instead of the usual commercial shiny things we all know and love, I'm aiming for a simpler reminder of what the holiday is all about....
The Friday Fiesta: An Odyssey, An Artist, Manners, and the Radio
As a fiction author 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 Friday Fiesta...
The Mexican Scatter Plot Diagram
Dedicated news junkies like myself can generally identify trends. But this week the news about Mexico has some of everything—the good, the bad, the hopeful and the bleak. If I was an infographic...
The Friday Fiesta: Turkish Delight, Brit Food, Art and Drink
As a fiction author 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 Friday Fiesta...
Be Angry and Pray Hard
Maria Santos Gorrostieta Salazar, 36, who for nearly 4 years had served as the mayor of Tiquicheo, Michoacan, Mexico until early 2012, was found murdered last Friday. Her body was discovered in a...
The Friday Fiesta: Travel, Time and Not Enough Sparkly Wine
As a fiction author 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 Friday Fiesta...
10 Mexican Proverbs for Readers, Writers, and Other Adventurers
These Mexican words of wisdom were found in Guy A. Zona's book EYES THAT SEE DO NOT GROW OLD, a collection of proverbs from Mexico, Central and South America. He who does not venture has no luck.He...
The Friday Fiesta: A Ride, A Book, Olives and Remembrance
As a fiction author 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 Friday Fiesta...
The Day of the Dead Disordered Dictionary
Mexico’s Day of the Dead traditions figure prominently in PACIFIC REAPER, Detective Emilia Cruz Book 5. The holiday focuses on gatherings to pray for and remember friends and family members who have...
What McDonald’s Taught Me And It’s Not About The Food
In my quest to find connections across cultures I've been thinking about how different cultures influence what we eat (salsa, anyone?) But if we turn that around to look at how a food influenced...
5 Talents You Didn’t Know You Had
Right now it is storming outside and my dog is going nuts. Trying to wriggle under the desk when thunder booms, scurrying into the bathroom shower stall when lightning flashes, running between me...
Chain of Fools
The little church in Mexico City was decorated for Christmas with 100 red poinsettias. Every pew was filled, many with sleepy but excited children, for a special Christmas Eve midnight mass. Father...
A Little Taste of CLIFF DIVER
Just to whet your imagination here's a snippet of CLIFF DIVER, the first Emilia Cruz novel . . . The diver stretched to his full extension then pushed off. His back arched and his arms stretched...
Like Glass in the Belly
Whenever I’ve landed in a new place, I’ve tried to understand the local culture as if it was a system. Mexico was one of my first experiences and there I learned that a cultural system is...
About the Time I was Absolutely and Terrifyingly Lost in Panama
A year ago I was Lost. No-cell-phone-service Lost. The-road-is-a-gravel-track-through-cane-fields Lost. Set Sail One Day Five girlfriends had set out from Panama City to go to El Valle, about two...
A 9/11 Story
I was sitting in a small auditorium at the Colegio Americano in Mexico City waiting for the meeting to start. The room was full of women and the occasion was the annual meeting of Mexico’s...