Katie Maguire Novels

            After graduating from Chaminade Catholic High School in 1973, I attended Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne for one year, majoring in marine biology. Then I transferred to Florida State University, where I earned my Bachelor’s of Science degree in 1977, majoring in Science Education and Biology.   Two months after graduation, I was hired as a physics teacher at Christopher Columbus Catholic High School in Miami, Florida.

            After three years of teaching, which required working long hours for very little money, a friend talked me into applying to the City of Miami Beach for a police officer position.     I scored very high on the test and entered the Miami-Dade police academy in February of 1981.    Five and a half months later I graduated and thus began my law enforcement career.

            During my 22 ½ year career, I worked in Uniformed Patrol for the first three years, then as a Traffic Homicide Investigator for the next nine.   Once I realized I had burned out emotionally from picking up body parts and dead children  at gruesome accidents scenes, followed up with the (even more devastating) death notifications to family members, I transferred to the more upbeat Crime Prevention Unit.    There I gave presentations to homeowners, business owners, work and civic groups, as well as manned booths at home shows, car shows, and other major functions.   While in Crime Prevention, I also joined the bike patrol, cruising around the Section 8 low-income housing in a Public Relations/Liaison role.

            Eventually I became a detective and was assigned to the Background Investigations Unit.   There we conducted background checks for all potential employees within the police department, from police chief to janitor.    I travelled all over the State of Florida, and even further, to New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio, to investigate police applicants.    I was also trained to use a type of truth verification instrument, called a Computer Voice Stress Analyzer, which is similar to a polygraph.  Besides conducting pre-employment interviews, I also assisted robbery and homicide detectives with their witness and suspect interviews.

            Finally, in June of 2003 I retired from public service.   My wife and I moved to the Cumberland Plateau in Middle Tennessee, where we built a house on four acres in the forest.    Once the construction of our new house was completed in 2004, I decided to try real estate, becoming a licensed agent in Tennessee, but that proved to be disastrous.  After two years, I returned my license to the State of Tennessee, and now I am happily retired again. 

            My wife Kathy, a certified Psychiatric Registered Nurse and a Captain in the US Army Reserve, was mobilized to active duty on November 1, 2006.  That was the day I decided to write my first novel.  Knowing the cold winter was fast approaching, and that I was going to be alone for months, I decided I would need an indoor hobby for those times when it would be too chilly to go outside.  I don’t know how or why I chose writing, it just happened.    I started writing about a fictional rookie police officer, and soon the words just seemed to flow.  I have enjoyed writing so much, I've already completed the second and third books in this series and hope to start book #4 in 2011.

            Besides writing, my wife and I both enjoy all outdoor activities, such as gardening, hiking, and boating, and, together with our three dogs, are happy with our peaceful, quiet existence.