River of Lies is the second book in the Detective Emily Hunter series. Emily is a smart, somewhat sarcastic character known to push up against the rules from time to time. Her brash nature makes her a blast to write, and I’m regularly asked what it’s like as a male writer to create a realistic female character.
First, thanks very much for saying Emily is believable. Writing her is something I don’t take lightly. We’ve all seen examples where a male author either writes a woman character who is overly consumed with her own body, to the point where it’s a distraction, or she’s written like every other character in the book but is labeled with a woman’s name.
The result isn’t pretty. I didn’t want to be that guy. After all, don’t women make up much of the reading public? Why would you turn them off right from the start?
Many women I’ve worked with struggle for that work-life balance, managing demanding careers and family. Emily experiences that—she’s a smart, competent detective and throws herself into the job, which means she doesn’t have any time for a personal life. What life she has outside of the job is consumed by caring for her mother, Connie, who’s suffering from dementia.
With Emily, I needed a character who, while inside the system, faced obstacles and barriers that would make her story a little more challenging. A woman in a primarily male-dominated profession like law enforcement doesn’t have a straightforward path to walk.
In River of Lies, she develops a relationship with a cop, Brian Conner, and as that deepens, Emily feels guilty about time with him that could have been spent with her mother. How much longer will Connie remember her daughter? That’s a heavy guilt to carry.
Emily isn’t based on one individual I worked with. She’s a collection of women who faced the multiple demands and pressure of working in law enforcement. Tough isn’t a literary trope here. You had to be tough to survive in that environment, and the threats didn’t always come from the convicts.
I witnessed this many times during my career and, in many ways, I think Emily mirrors that experience. She has to be a little brash and push back on authority to get the same recognition that her male counterparts get. There are a few scenes in Face of Greed and River of Lies where a long-time veteran cop, Stark, lets Emily know he doesn’t think women belong on the job. He’s even been purposely late responding to her calls for backup.
I’m very aware of the tone and internal dialogue that Emily carries; it’s something I don’t take for granted. I’m lucky in that I’ve surrounded myself with bright, capable women. My agent, editor, both women. My wife’s an early reader. Favorite bookstore owners—women (talk about resilient people). A group of women in law enforcement are early readers to make sure I’ve captured that experience with accuracy. None of these people are the least bit shy about letting me know if I’ve missed a nuance here, or mischaracterized an experience there. I think it helps bring Emily to life in a believable manner.
I really appreciate hearing readers tell me they found Emily Hunter relatable or see her as a character with a backbone. Or maybe they see themselves in her?
And that is what it’s all about.
