By Isabella Maldonado What do Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Beyoncé Knowles, Steve Jobs, and Kobe Bryant have in common? They all had to overcome shyness, public challenges, or inner struggles to perform at the highest levels—while the world was watching and judging their every move—and conceal...
HOW IGNORING MOM’S ADVICE MADE ME A BETTER COP
By Isabella Maldonado Now that I’m a mom, I find that I routinely dole out advice to my son. I expect—or at least, hope—that he will heed the words of hard-won wisdom garnered from years of…oh, who am I kidding? He’s going to do whatever he does. Just like I did. During their training period,...
LOOKING FOR A REAL-LIFE HERO
By Isabella Maldonado For my most recent novel, I wanted a lead character who was an action hero like Jack Reacher, Jason Bourne, Mitch Rapp, or Scot Horvath. But my hero had to be a woman. And she had to be believable. After some research, I learned such women do exist in real life. They are...
KILLER PUZZLES: 8 Books Featuring Locked Rooms, Deadly Puzzles, or Both
By Isabella Maldonado Imagine you’re trapped in a locked room, forced to use your deductive reasoning, cunning, and wit to escape. Now up the ante with a ticking time bomb set to detonate in less than a minute. To make things worse, each incorrect solution speeds up the countdown clock. Finally,...
ROGUE FLASH: Isabella Maldonado’s new book chosen for Amazon’s First Reads
The Rogues are excited that Isabella's new book A KILLER'S GAME just went live as an editor's pick and is being offered as an Amazon First Reads for the month of May! The editors noted: For fans of Squid Game and Criminal Minds, bestselling author Isabella Maldonado delivers the...
CRACKING CAPTIVATING CODES
By Isabella Maldonado When you see a puzzle, a hidden message, or a secret code, do you have an urge to solve it? Let’s face it, cracking a code is a dopamine hit mixed with an adrenaline rush. From ancient times, humans have been forced to extrapolate from clues in their environment and solve...
MY BIG FAT LATINO NOVEL
by Isabella Maldonado The Latino equivalent of Windex is Vicks VapoRub, which is used to treat everything from a head cold to a sucking chest wound. Now you know. When I retired from police work and took up crime writing, I saw the need for a change from what usually populated bookshelves in the...
ROGUE FLASH – July Rogue Reads Giveaway winners announced!
Four lucky registrants won free books from authors Steve Berry, Nev March, Susan Wiggs and our own Isabella Maldonado! Rob from Florida writes: I am a huge fan of Steve and have been for years, and always look forward to his novels and short stories. I really enjoy how Steve wraps U.S....
REGIONAL FLAVOR
by Isabella Maldonado I write two crime fiction series, one with a homicide detective and the other featuring a federal agent. A major difference between the two is how the setting changes the feel of the story. Having your main character work in the same place grounds your story deeply in the...
PLEASE EXCUSE MY BADGE
by Isabella Maldonado More than two decades with a gun and badge changes you—for better and for worse. After retiring from the force, I found shifting to civilian life somewhat challenging, and discovered that being a cop requires certain behaviors and skills that don’t transition well. Here are a...