Photo of Acapulco: © Depositphotos.com/milosk50
My reading world is filled with books by other authors that I’ve read and enjoyed. One of these is Carmen Amato, author of the EMILIA CRUZ mystery series set in Acapulco. Carmen is a rising star in the International Mystery category and she joins us here today.
Sandra Nikolai: Welcome, Carmen. Here’s my first string of questions for you: Do you plot your novels beforehand? If so, how do you go about it? If not, what’s your method?
Carmen Amato: I’m an outline addict. Before I start a novel I create an outline. I scribble “scenes” on sticky notes and post them on a wall. I’ll arrange and rearrange until I like the flow, at which point I’ll tape them to a poster and hang it over my desk.
That preliminary outline usually survives to about the middle of the book, at which point I’ll have had better ideas and will repeat the sticky note process. For HAT DANCE, I did this three times. By the time the book was done, the last poster was a mess, with some stickies overwritten in red and others hidden behind a snowfall of new ones.
SN: In your Emilia Cruz mystery series, Emilia keeps a log of women who have gone missing from Acapulco. Is this aspect of your novels based on actual statistics?
CA: The official Mexican government count remains elusive, but most news outlets report that at least 60,000 people have been killed or have been reported missing due to Mexico’s drug violence over the past decade. While most think that the casualties are rival drug cartel members fighting each other for control of the lucrative smuggling routes, known as plazas, too many of the victims are those simply caught up in the violence. Poet Javier Sicilia brought awareness to the missing victims of Mexico’s drug wars with a series of rallies and marches after the murder of his son. I saw one news report that said trying to find out what has happened to a missing family member costs about $32,000 in legal fees, bribes, travel, etc. The average annual family income in Mexico is about $20,000.
Emilia’s list of the missing is also a nod to the murders of over 340 women in the Cuidad Juarez area, on the US-Mexican border. More bodies are found every few months and no one has ever been held accountable.
SN: Research plays an important part in a writer’s work. Did you do your own research for scenes involving the lucha libre on the wrestling stage of the Coliseo? Or the fire scene in the restaurant?
CA: I’ve been lucky enough to have traveled a great deal and experienced many of the events and locations in my books. I’ve never been caught in a restaurant fire, however, but used my own experience being in a train derailment years ago to shape Emilia’s reaction to the fire.
As far as research goes, I’m a news junkie and often find ideas in the headlines. Books, online images, and my extensive map collection help me fill in details. My goal is to bring the reader shoulder-to-shoulder with Emilia, hearing her heart pound and helping her calculate the odds of survival.
SN: Can you give us a glimpse into your next book?
CA: Out in October, MADE IN ACAPULCO is a collection of five Emilia Cruz short stories, including “The Beast,” which was recently published in The Huffington Post’s Huff/Post 50 fiction showcase. The stories take place before CLIFF DIVER, the first Emilia Cruz novel.
I’m also outlining the next Emilia Cruz novel, in which Emilia’s discovery of a cartel killing field has unexpected implications for Acapulco’s embattled tourism industry. I’m struggling with the title—DIABLO RIDGE? DIABLO SUN? MACHETE BEACH? Any thoughts, anybody?
SN: If you could bring any fictional character to life for one day, who would you choose and why?
CA: My choice would probably be Jo Nesbo’s brilliant but dysfunctional Norwegian crime stopper, Harry Hole. I’ve read all the Harry Hole books and am waiting impatiently for the next, entitled THE POLICE. They are some of the best international mysteries out there.
Nesbo has put this character through a lot over the years and I think the maverick cop with his jeans, rocker tees, Doc Marten shoes, buzzed blonde hair, and disfiguring scars would be a fascinating person to sit around and trade snide remarks with. Provided he was sober, that is.
SN: Thanks so much, Carmen. I can’t wait to read the next book in the Emilia Cruz mystery series!
About the Author:
Carmen Amato is the author of political thriller THE HIDDEN LIGHT OF MEXICO CITY and the EMILIA CRUZ mystery series set in Acapulco. Both draw on her experiences living in Mexico and Central America. A cultural observer and occasional nomad, she currently divides her time between the United States and Central America. Visit her website at carmenamato.net and follow her on Twitter @CarmenConnects. All of her books can be found on Amazon.