Writing from experience works for McGarrity

Michael McGarrity said the concept of “living in your own skin” and a 25-year career in local law enforcement steered his ability and passion to write and tell a story.

“I’m the kind of writer who has to write from experience,” he said. “It just happened that I fell into the genre of mysteries. Good storytelling cuts across all boundaries.”

The full-time novelist and resident of Eldorado released his 10th novel this month in the Kevin Kerney police mystery series. He will be signing copies of Nothing But Trouble at the Vista Grande Public Library from 4 to 6 p.m. Monday. Copies of the new novel and his previous novels will be available for purchase.

In Nothing But Trouble, the fictional Santa Fe Police Chief Kevin Kerney serves as a technical adviser on a contemporary Western movie filmed in a remote area of New Mexico known as the Bootheel. The character deals with the discovery of a dead man near the border, immigrant smuggling and a long-distance marriage. Kerney’s wife is involved in an investigation that takes her to the Pentagon.

McGarrity, who is on tour with his book, said he is pleased to have the book-signing event at the library. He has been supporting the library since it opened in 2001, where he was an inaugural speaker for the grand opening. McGarrity also has participated in the library’s Local Authors Series.

He has been a full-time writer for 10 years. He quit his career in law enforcement April 1996, the week his first book, Tularosa, was published. In the summer of ’82, McGarrity took a summer off to work on his first manuscript, one he said was terrible. At that time, he had been running a clinical program for mentally ill patients. After several rejections, he continued to read other novels and practice his craft. The hard work paid off, he said, because he eventually learned to write dialogue , create characters and describe locations.

From his experience, he said three things are important for a new writer to get published: “I think you need to have some talent, you have to be persistent and I think you have to have luck.”

Besides running a program for mentally ill patients, McGarrity was a deputy sheriff for Santa Fe County, a lead investigator for the sex crimes unit, an instructor at the New Mexico Law Enforcement Academy and an investigator and caseworker for the Public Defender’s Office. He studied both psychology and English at San Jose State University and holds a master’s degree in clinical social work from the University of Iowa. In 1980, he was named a New Mexico Social Worker of the Year, and in 1987 he was honored as Santa Fe’s Police Officer of the Year. Through his work in criminal justice, McGarrity said he was particularly concerned with victims of sexual assault and domestic violence.

“I had always been the type to see value in trying to work with people who are disadvantaged,” he said.

“I was also drawn to law enforcement because there are people who really should be off the streets. “It was an unconscious apprenticeship to becoming a writer.”

McGarrity and his wife, Emily Beth, who goes by Mimi, have lived in Eldorado for 26 years.

In their library, McGarrity has a wide selection of biography and historical books, including Southwestern fiction selections. Framed on the wall is the program when he was awarded the New Mexico Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts — Literature in 2004.

He has received several awards for his mystery series, including a Booklist Top Ten Crime Novel for his third book, Serpent Gate, and an Independent Mystery Booksellers Association Top Ten Bestseller for Under the Color of Law.

“Even after 10 novels, the excitement hasn’t diminished,” he said. “It’s still very exciting when a new book arrives in my hand. I continue to feel blessed — and I’m still working hard to tell a better story each time.”

To learn more about the author, see http://www.michaelmcgarrity.net.