The Short Story
M.E. BROWNING writes the Jo Wyatt Mysteries. The first in the series, Shadow Ridge, won the Colorado Book Award for Mystery and the silver medal in the popular fiction category of the Florida Book Awards. The adventures continue in Mercy Creek, which launches in October 2021. Writing as Micki Browning, she penned the Agatha-nominated and award-winning Mer Cavallo mysteries, Adrift and Beached, and her short stories and nonfiction have appeared in anthologies, textbooks, diving and mystery magazines. Micki’s novels draw on her twenty-two years of experience in law enforcement. An FBI National Academy graduate, she retired as a captain before turning to a life of crime…fiction.
The Novel
My mom cried the day I told her I wanted to be a cop. She’d always hoped I’d become a librarian. Something safe. It wasn’t an unreasonable supposition based on the number of books I devoured as a kid. I used to read by flashlight under the covers well into the night. Most kids got grounded, I had my books taken away. It was hell.
I fell into law enforcement after a process of eliminating professions I knew were beyond my patience: bookkeeping, professional knitter and the like. Serendipity stepped in when I called Santa Barbara to inquire about openings and was told that the department was holding an orientation that night….Fourteen years later, I tired of the California rat race and headed to Paris to finish my undergraduate degree (Medieval Studies for the curious). From there, Colorado seemed a good fit. One trip over Red Mountain into Durango cinched it.
In Colorado, I returned to being a slick-sleeve, but then promoted through the ranks to captain. I ran the DPD’s investigative unit, evidence room, records bureau, hiring and recruitment, internal affairs, and community programs. As the department’s spokeswoman, my name regularly appeared in print. At both agencies, I was a hostage negotiator and training officer.
The highlight of my career was being accepted at the FBI National Academy—an eleven-week executive leadership program in Quantico, VA. If you’ve seen Silence of the Lambs, you’ve seen Quantico. I did my best Jodie Foster impression on the six-mile obstacle course. She had youth on her side; I had determination.
I retired from law enforcement after more than two decades of service. I still get to see my name in print, but now it’s on book covers and in magazines.
Adrift, my first Mer Cavallo Mystery, was published by Alibi-Random House and was an Agatha Award finalist for Best First Novel. Beached, the second Mer Cavallo Mystery, earned the Royal Palm Literary Award for Book of the Year and Best Mystery.
Shadow Ridge was published in 2020 and introduces Detective Jo Wyatt. It marks a return to my police roots, and I couldn’t be happier. It won the Colorado Book Award for Mystery and was awarded the silver medal in the Florida Book Awards. The second Jo Wyatt Mystery, Mercy Creek launches in October 2021.
I’m a firm believer that a book isn’t a book until it’s been read. Thank you for your interest in my writing.
Stay safe,
Micki