Following a 30 year career with the Central Intelligence Agency, Carmen Amato created the Detective Emilia Cruz mystery series, which pits the first female police detective in Acapulco against Mexico's cartels, corruption, and culture of machismo. KIRKUS REVIEWS called the books "Consistently exciting" (CLIFF DIVER) with "Danger and betrayal never more than a few pages away." (KING PESO) The series was recently awarded the Poison Cup for Outstanding Series by the CrimeMasters of America.
Q. So how did this novel (series) come to be? Was it envisioned from the start as a bigger canvas, or did it expand organically out of an idea? Please tell us a bit about the origin.
A. Drugs.
Not mine, but the violent impact of what the illicit drug trade is doing to Mexico.
We lived there for several years, giving me a ringside seat to cartel violence. It really got in my face—literally—when an armed drug addict came into our church during midnight Mass on Christmas Eve.
My first book, the standalone political thriller THE HIDDEN LIGHT OF MEXICO CITY, took on both cartel violence and Mexico’s vast social disparities.
Next came the Detective Emilia Cruz police series, which is wholly based on what is happening today in Mexico. Rival drug cartels fight for territory, politicians are bribed to look the other way, and ordinary people are caught in the middle.
Emilia’s challenges are pulled from the headlines. There’s no need to make up bizarre serial killers when cartel violence and corrupt politicians provide more than enough inspiration. For example, Emilia’s perpetual hunt for women who have gone missing—referred to as Las Perdidas or the Lost Ones--was inspired by the hundreds of women missing from the Juarez area.
So in an odd way, I have that drug addict to thank for jumpstarting my writing career.
Q. Did you start with the germ of an idea and start writing to see where it went, or did you map a good deal out in your head (or even outline) before crafting?
A. When I wrote political thriller THE HIDDEN LIGHT OF MEXICO CITY, I knew that I wanted it to address the class system in Mexico. Rule #1 there: Stay in your place.
When we lived in Mexico, I had a great circle of friends who were women from all over the world—Russia, Germany, England, as well as the US. All of us were taken aback by the rigid social norms in Mexico. I wrote THE HIDDEN LIGHT OF MEXICO CITY from our collective point of view.
My inspiration for how to write the book was Ken Follett’s THE KEY TO REBECCA. My initial outline was mostly in my head, which was a mistake. I also started writing a scene that occurs about two thirds of the way through. Another mistake.
After 8 full-length novels, I’m much more focused. Outline, then write from start to finish. Lots of changes along the way, of course, but fewer revisions.
Q. What do you feel is the main theme(s)? Why do you feel this is important, and what would you want a reader to take away from reading this book?
A. My Detective Emilia Cruz series takes on cartels, official corruption and Mexico’s culture of machismo. Acapulco is a great setting from a detective series point of view—in 2018 the city was the homicide capital of Mexico.
As a female and a cop in Mexico, Detective Emilia Cruz lives in a pressure cooker. It’s hard to know who she can trust and harder still to have a normal relationship when she’s immersed for so much of the time in a stew of paranoia and danger.
When I write the Detective Emilia Cruz mystery series, I do it from Emilia’s deep point of view. Through Emilia’s experiences, I want the reader to feel the heat of Acapulco’s sun, smell the salt tang coming off the ocean, and know the gut-twisting fear of being a cop in one of the most beautiful and dangerous cities in the world.
My goal is to bring the reader shoulder-to-shoulder with Emilia, hearing her heart pound and helping her calculate the odds of survival.
Q. Are there writers with similar themes to yours? Who are your influences (can be writers, or even artists, musicians, or others) and what is it about their work that attracts you?
A. The Detective Emilia Cruz series is similar to other international detective series, such as Jo Nesbo’s Harry Hole series, Peter May’s Hebrides trilogy, Martin Cruz Smith’s Arkady Renko series, and Leighton Gage’s Mario Silva series.
We all make cultural elements of the setting integral to the plot. I love the unique aspect of a mystery that can’t be set anywhere else.
Q. Is storytelling mostly entertainment, or does it serve other functions? Do you have particular goals other than telling a good story?
A. I write about people who face hard things like discrimination, violence, and corruption. But my characters live to fight another day. Moreover, they find someone to stand and fight beside them.
When Felix Contreras, the host of NPR’s ALT.Latino show asked me about the Emilia Cruz character, I told him that she represented hope. Despite Mexico’s drug cartels and high murder rates, there are still good people fighting the good fight.
Emilia walks a fine line between the corruption around her and the personal relationships which sustain her. It helps that she’s a good liar.
Q. Any other goals you've set for yourself, professionally or personally?
A. Two very different mystery series are slowly assembling themselves in the back of my mind, along with the plots for a dozen more Detective Emilia Cruz novels. I’m an historian by training so I’d like to get back to that at some point, too.
Q. Some writers write fast and claim not to rewrite much. Do you do this, or painstakingly revise? When you send the book off to the publisher, are you happy with it, or just tired of it?
A. I write slowly and rewrite a fair amount. I’m always trying to create a certain pace and a vibrant visual impact. I won’t let anything hit an audience until I’m happy with it.
Q. Do you have good editors, and if so, how do they help you? Do they look for particular things? Do you have different people for different editing levels?
A. I rely on several fellow authors to critique a WIP at various stages. I also use a proofreader when the draft is done.
Q. If a writer came to you for advice, how would you help?
A. Two pieces of advice:
1. Don’t fall in love with your writing. Fall in love with your setting, characters, and plot, but be ready to polish your prose over and over.
2. Check points of view. Keep each character’s point of view separate.
Other than that, enjoy the journey. No matter where you are on the publishing road, there are twists and turns ahead. Enjoy them all.
Q. Stories can be told by using a different medium. Can you see your book as a film, audio, etc.? How would that alter the telling?
A. I’d love to the see Detective Emilia Cruz series as a television series. Think Hawaii 5-0 meets Narcos. I’ve been lucky enough to have significant interest and several contracts but no actual show as of this writing.
Q. What's the next step in your writing world?
A. RUSSIAN MOJITO, the next book in the Detective Emilia Cruz series comes out in June. A murdered Russian pitches Emilia into the explosive world of Mexican fuel thieves, even as she scrambles to find her kidnapped stepfather and fugitive human trafficker El Acólito. Her cranky partner Franco Silvio is now her boss, making their relationship even more fractious. As always, disparate threads come together in the end, but in very, very unexpected ways.
Beyond fiction, I’ve partnered with crime fiction author Jeanine Kitchel to write a series of literary essays on the narco noir phenomenon. Criminal Element recently published our first entitled “The Ascent of Narco Noir: A Literary Gamechanger.”
Q. Tell us a fun fact about yourself.
A. Retired CIA intel officer.
Yep. That’s all I’m gonna say.
******
Dale, thank you so much for the opportunity to chat!
Readers are invited to join me at any of the links below:
Carmenamato.net
Books on Amazon
Subscribe to Mystery Ahead
Visit Carmen's website at carmenamato.net to get a free copy of the Detective Emilia Cruz Starter Library. The Starter Library features “The Beast,” the story about how Emilia became the first female detective in Acapulco, which was first published in The Huffington Post. You’ll also get “The Angler,” the story based on a real life murder mystery, plus the exclusive “Who’s Who” guide to the series, plus Carmen’s bi-monthly Mystery Ahead newsletter.
See why Amazon Hall of Fame reviewer Grady Harp wrote: "For pure entertainment and a gripping story likely resulting in nail biting, read Carmen Amato's addictive prose. She knows this territory like a jaguar!"isit Carmen's website at carmenamato.net to get a free copy of the Detective Emilia Cruz Starter Library. The Starter Library features “The Beast,” the story about how Emilia became the first female detective in Acapulco, which was first published in The Huffington Post. You’ll also get “The Angler,” the story based on a real life murder mystery, plus the exclusive “Who’s Who” guide to the series, plus Carmen’s bi-monthly Mystery Ahead newsletter.
See why Amazon Hall of Fame reviewer Grady Harp wrote: "For pure entertainment and a gripping story likely resulting in nail biting, read Carmen Amato's addictive prose. She knows this territory like a jaguar!"
