Readers, today my guest is M.E. Browning. Ms. Browning, writes police procedurals and has extraordinary experience and a background that helps her along. Let’s learn more about Shadow Ridge, a Jo Wyatt Mystery, which already has received glowing acclaim such as:
Praise for Shadow Ridge:
“Excellent…A must-read.”
—Booklist, starred review
“Retired police captain Browning…is best on Jo’s professional frustration with a department that values her labors as long as she doesn’t step out of line.”
—Kirkus Reviews
Donnell: Welcome, M.E.! In Shadow Ridge you introduce us to protagonist Detective Jo Wyatt, a twelve-year veteran officer. Jo lives in the fictional Echo Valley, Colorado. You create a remarkable cast of characters. I wondered, given your background, did you find Jo a challenge or did she come easier than most?
M.E.: Thank you, Donnell. It’s a pleasure to be here.
Author M. E. Browning
When I exchanged crime fighting for crime writing, I think it’s fair to say I had a lot of personal experience to draw upon. After twenty-two years in law enforcement, I retired as a captain in charge of the Administrative Division. During my tenure, I served as a hostage negotiator, instructor at the police academy, facilitated the Citizens Police Academy (where I met a quiet woman with a wicked wit named Sue Grafton), represented my agency as the public information officer, managed the investigative bureau, trained as a SWAT commander, and more. That knowledge certainly helped me create Jo Wyatt, but experience can sometimes be a hindrance, and I had to guard against Jo reacting to things as I might rather than how she would.
Donnell: In your opening chapters, you establish the crime scene, introduce Jo’s partner, the medical examiner, Jo’s soon-to-be ex, Jo’s dispatcher/best friend, and a potential suspect. You also establish Jo’s professional and personal conflict, all this with great pacing. Very few established authors get to the heart of a story this fast. I gotta ask: Was this intuitive or the result of one or more drafts?
M.E.: I knew when I started the story that I wanted to step into a life in progress rather than create a story where the protagonist was waiting for something to happen. Life is messy. Things often occur in multiples. The trick was to dribble in characters and events at a pace that didn’t overwhelm the reader. I’ve never been able to write a first draft from start to finish. I start each writing day by reviewing what I’d written the day before. When I’m satisfied with the content, I’ll send it to my incredible critique partner, Mandy Mikulencak (another Colorado writer!) for her thoughts. Some days, I’ll review an entire act—which means that I’ve had the opportunity to go over the beginning multiples times even before I’ve finished that “first” draft. Each read-through refines those pages and as I get further into the draft, I often end up seeding some later event. That said, those opening chapters retained the basics I’d written from the get-go.
Donnell: You Place Echo Valley in Colorado, a state you know well. From your description, it’s scenic, mountainous and cold as it’s in the heart of winter. Why choose a fictitious setting over a real one?
M.E.: The latter part of my law enforcement career was spent in Durango, Colorado and I didn’t want people to wonder if I’d written about real events. I’ve handled thousands of cases over the years, but those stories belong to the people who survived them. Creating a fictional town allowed me to draw upon the beauty of an area I knew well while allowing me to mold it to my story needs. That said, if you erased 50 years of growth from Durango and squinted, you’d recognize the geographical similarities between fact and fiction. The Animas River runs through Echo Valley, the police department is located in close proximity to downtown, and there is a historical avenue of Victorian homes, but none of my characters are based upon any real people!
Donnell: Quinn Kirkland is a key player in this book. Quinn is gritty, damaged and her mistrust of people is off the radar. Where Jo has suffered major disappointments, Quinn is in trouble. I wondered if the author may have dealt with a few Quinns in her lifetime. What was the impetus behind Quinn’s creation?
M.E.: I think we all have a bit of Quinn in us. She was incredibly fun to write because she leads an uncensored life. Jo charitably describes her as prickly. But she has reason to be. It would have been easy to make her irredeemable, but it’s been my experience that the prickliest people often have the most to hide and have suffered the deepest wounds. I loved peeling back her defenses and revealing her vulnerabilities. As far as impetus behind her creation? She demanded the part. I was powerless to say no.
Donnell: In Shadow Ridge you bring up a topic to me that is as foreign as astrophysics. Gaming and Gaming Development. So foreign I didn’t even know there were college degrees that support the industry. Which makes sense as four students are involved in a project that goes missing from your initial crime scene. Talk to us about Gaming. Are you a Gamer and/or how much research did you have to put into this novel?
M.E.: My experience with gaming is limited to the early days of Dungeons and Dragons, so I had to put in time researching the current industry. Creating a large-scale game goes far beyond coding and in many ways is more similar to creating a film—everyone has their specialty and expertise: writers, world builders, content and system designers, and more. But what truly inspired my storyline was an article I’d read regarding the pushback that female gamers—particularly those who participated in multiplayer games or game development—experienced from a vocal subset of mostly male gamers. These misogynistic trolls weaponized the internet, targeting women who didn’t conform to their ideal of who a gamer should be.
Donnell: Jo takes on some serious powerhouses during her investigation. The police chief, the D.A., the DA’s wife who is not only politically connected, she’s affluent and respected. Jo’s partner is instrumental in supporting her, which I loved. In reality, and again with your background, do you believe most detectives might have stood down with this much obstruction?
M.E.: That’s a difficult question to answer. Detectives 
follow the evidence and hunches aren’t admissible in a court of law. It’s a sad fact that some crimes are never solved and not every clue is correctly deciphered in real life. Yet, every officer I’ve ever met has had at least one case that burrowed into their psyche for one reason or another and kept them awake at night. We’ve all fought for a bit more time when something didn’t seem right—regardless of who might suggest we step aside.
Donnell: In Jo’s narrative she tells readers she loves the cold. Good thing because the winter season proved to be an antagonist in itself. Are you like Jo and love cold weather? I’ve done some ride-alongs and gone to houses where officers had to shovel walks to get inside. Echo Valley is perfect for Jo; is it for M.E. Browning?
M.E.: The first part of my career was spent in an agency in Southern California, so when I moved to Colorado, getting used to the snow was an adjustment. Every new officer, regardless of their level of experience, rides with a training officer and one night, my FTO directed me to the empty parking lot of the local mall. For the next hour, I practiced driving in the snow-covered lot, intentionally throwing the car into skids and practicing braking. It was a blast! Sadly, that winter, I still managed to get my patrol car stuck in the snow a few times—much to the enjoyment of the rest of the squad. I love snow. I don’t miss patrolling in it.
Donnell: The novel is dark, gritty, sexy in parts, and addresses some very current and important issues. Was that deliberate or did it feel natural to include as part of the narrative and characters and as you wrote?
M.E.: Yes to both choices. I knew I wanted my characters to have lives, histories, secrets, and ambitions. What at first might seem out of character makes perfect sense as individuals reveal themselves to the readers. But many of the issues you allude to came to the story organically and either draws parallels between characters or acts as a foil. I don’t outline my stories, but I do devise backstories and know how the central crime was committed before I start writing. That way, I know the milestones, but how the characters get from one point to another is rarely revealed to me before I start writing the story. Occasionally, I stray into the weeds, but more often than not, I’m startled by the serendipity that capitalizes on something I had seeded but didn’t know the importance of until it was needed in the plot. It’s pretty amazing how many dots one’s subconscious can connect when you mull something over long enough.
Donnell: Back to Jo’s disappointments. Family, an impending divorce, a longtime friend she can’t forget, and career advancement, there is so much opportunity for Jo to grow or descend. Can you give us a hint at what comes next?
M.E.: Readers will reconnect with Jo a couple of months after the close of Shadow Ridge. A new police chief has been appointed, which means a possible reshuffling of personnel and their duties. Jo’s personal life takes a backseat to a new investigation where she’s forced to explore the fractured family life of a man who was once her childhood friend—and which paints a very different picture of the person she thought she knew and believes she wronged. I’m excited about it because it gives me an opportunity to delve into how the truths we construct in our childhood often complicate our lives as adults—and what we’ll do to atone.
Donnell: For the record, I thought your writing was brilliant and hung on every word.
M.E. Thank you, Donnell!
About the Book: Echo Valley, Colorado is a place where the natural beauty of a stunning river valley meets a budding hipster urbanity. But when an internet stalker is revealed to be a cold-blooded killer in real life, the peaceful community is rocked to its core.
It should have been an open-and-shut case: the suicide of Tye Horton, the designer of a cutting-edge video game. But Detective Jo Wyatt is immediately suspicious of Quinn Kirkwood, who reported the death. When Quinn reveals an internet stalker is terrorizing her, Jo is skeptical. Doubts aside, she delves into the claim and uncovers a link that ties Quinn to a small group of beta-testers who had worked with Horton. When a second member of the group dies in a car accident, Jo’s investigation leads her to the father of a young man who had killed himself a year earlier. But there’s more to this case that a suicide, and as Jo unearths the layers, a more sinister pattern begins to emerge-one driven by desperation, shame, and a single-minded drive for revenge.
As Jo closes in, she edges ever closer to the shattering truth-and a deadly showdown that will put her to the ultimate test.
About the Author: M.E. BROWNING served twenty-two years in law enforcement and retired as a captain before turning to a life of crime fiction. Writing as Micki Browning, she penned the Agatha-nominated and award-winning Mer Cavallo mysteries, and her short stories and nonfiction have appeared in anthologies, mystery and diving magazines, and textbooks. As M.E. Browning, she recently began a new series of Jo Wyatt mysteries with Shadow Ridge (October 2020).
Micki is a member of Mystery Writers of America, International Thriller Writers, and Sisters in Crime—where she served as a former president of the Guppy Chapter. A professional divemaster, she resides in Florida with her partner in crime and a vast array of scuba equipment she uses for “research.” https://mebrowning.com/
Arrgh, my apologies, I failed to allow comments. Hopefully, this little snafu is fixed. One thing I should say is how excited I am about this book’s location. I felt like I was home! Congratulations again!
Thank you, Donnell–both for the congrats and for inviting me to your site! I loved following your characters in BLACK PEARL as they moved from Denver to Montrose. Colorado is a beautiful state, and this is my favorite time of year in the southwest. The fall foliage is breathtaking.
Oh, I’m homesick. Nothing like taking a drive up Hwy 24 and watching the leaves turn, or the La Plata Mountains, which you must know well. Thanks, Micki!
Thanks for another great interview, Donnell! M.E., your book sounds fantastic. I love your description of your characters and the compassion you show for prickly people like Quinn who often hide deep wounds. And I’m excited to get your take on how female gamers are treated. It’s the same in the comics world (a topic I include in my most recent book). During Comicsgate, trolls abused and doxed the women involved in every stage of creating a comic book/graphic novel . Glad you’re shining a light on this.
Barb and Micki, you two are cutting edge! Thanks for stopping by. I enjoy author interviews, and plan on you joining me soon!
This sounds like a great book. I’ve got it on my list of MUST READS. The next one sounds great, too. I like that you infuse the books with insider knowledge, and that you’ve given us the Southwestern Colorado setting. I love that part of our state. My dad lived in Durango for 26 years. Thanks for a great blog!
This sounds like a great book, she says adding it to the list. I really enjoyed your discussion of how you write and how your career has played into it. I love prickly characters and the uncensored ones. Such fun to read and write.
Barbara, thank you so much! I hadn’t heard of Comicsgate, but in light of Gamergate, it doesn’t surprise me that women involved in the creation of graphic novels endured similar treatment. Now I’m going to have to go add your book to my TBR pile!
Ah, my work is done here. I have everybody reading each other’s fabulous work!
Hi Chris! Thanks for adding me to your MUST READ stack! It took a while for me to learn how to let my experience inform the story rather than overwhelm it, but the three points of view did the trick as not everyone shares the same experiences. I credit all the courses I’ve taken through SinC and the Guppy Chapter, and all the amazing people I’ve met along the way!
Thanks, Helen! I have to say, of all the characters I’ve ever written, Quinn was the most fun. From the get-go, she directed her own story and I was amazed at some of the turns she took and how they drew parallels with other events in the novel. If only all my characters did that!