Celebrating MURDER WITH GANACHE

 LUCY BURDETTE:  I know it's What We're Writing week, but honestly I'll be surprised if I write one word today. Because today's launch day for MURDER WITH GANACHE, the fourth Key West foodie mystery and I'm celebrating! I loved writing this book (except for the parts I didn't love, LOL) and I'm very grateful for all the help I had along the way. (Here's looking at you Reds...)

I think there must be writers who make up everything about a book--the setting, the characters, the story...but for this Key West series, I can't seem to help taking things from real life on this island and tweaking them so they become part of the book. And since I received my early author copies, I've enjoyed taking them around to thank the real life people who make a little appearance. I'll give you a few examples.

Tonka on Benchie

Across from the Green Parrot Bar, there is a corner deli--owned by Fred Saunders--famous for staples such as Cuban coffee, Cuban mix sandwiches, 5 hour energy drinks, aspirin, and beer. Outside the door sits a double bench, which is occupied over the day by coffee drinkers, homeless people, business lunchers, and folks listening to the live music across the street. In the mysterious way that Facebook works, the bench has developed its own page and an entire persona. Lots of people from across the world take pictures of themselves sitting on "Benchie." As I was working on MURDER WITH GANACHE, one of my critique partners, Ang Pompano and I came up with the idea at the same time: There would be a clue discovered on Benchie's Facebook page.

Fred and Lucy on Benchie

"I brought Rory’s Facebook photo up again on my iPhone and tried to explain to Allison and my mother why a bench in front of a deli would have a Facebook page. “It’s a novelty,” I said. “One person set the page up, and now the bench has thousands of friends. People take pictures of themselves on the bench when they’re visiting, drinking Cuban coffee in the morning or beer at night. The bench herself posts about the weather and the bands playing at the bar across the street. It’s just a crazy, fun Key West thing.”
    “But what was Rory doing there and who are these people?” Allison asked, peering at the screen. Her eyes were wild with worry and confusion.
    “We’re going to figure all that out,” I said, patting her leg. “We’ll find him.” MWG

I could go on and on about all the places where I got ideas and introduce you to every one of the characters. I'll leave you with just one more--you may remember Lorenzo, the tarot card reader, from the previous books. Here's the real Lorenzo (aka Ron)--isn't he cute?

"Anxious to get a tarot card reading from Lorenzo, I pushed through throngs of tourists enjoying the Mallory Square party. The last few days had left me feeling sad and unsettled--I hoped he could shed some positive light on the future." MWG
 

Remember a couple of months ago when our new Red, Susan Elia MacNeal, did a post on cocktails? It was so adorable--I got to wondering whether she could come up with something to celebrate this new book in a special way. Of course, she could and she did. And so we invite you to join the party and pour a glass of "Murder with Ganache!"

"Murder with Ganache"

(to celebrate the new book!) 

1 part Kahlua or other coffee-flavored liquor

1 part half-and-half

1 part Godiva or other chocolate-flavored liquor

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a sprinkle of cocoa powder or shavings of dark chocolate.

Thank you so much for indulging me today! And thank you for reading our books and our blog--without you guys, we'd be spitting in the wind.


And PS, if you haven't got around to it yet, MURDER WITH GANACHE is available wherever books are sold!