Tuesday, August 10, 2021

Launching A SCONE OF CONTENTION @LucyBurdette




LUCY BURDETTE:

 Yippee, A SCONE OF CONTENTION, the 11th book in the Key West food critic mystery series, is out today! I can’t wait for you to read it because I had so much fun writing it. Since you are my Jungle Red family, I thought you might be interested in some of the hidden backstory behind the new book. As you’ll see, the work starts years before the book is published.




 











At Governor Livingston Regional High School in New Jersey, named after Governor Livingston, the first governor of New Jersey and a signatory of the US constitution, our mascot was the Highlander. To continue carrying out the Scottish theme, the cheerleaders were dressed in short plaid skirts and sporty caps. I desperately wanted to be one of those girls. I did try out, but sadly, did not make the cut for the squad.


Lucy is facing the camera

In addition to the cheerleaders, my high school was proud to have the only all girl bagpipe band in the country, including highlander sword dancers and drummers and bagpipers. The Highlander girl piper costumes were authentically Scottish Highland pleated kilts in the Royal Stewart tartan, and a sporran that was worn dangling from the waist of the skirt. I dabbled with drumming for a couple of months, but it did not catch my enthusiasm. Next, I tried out for the sword dancing troop. This photo is of the team in action, with the bagpipers at the rear. Here’s another with me and my mom in 1970 or so, where you can see a few details of the costume. 





 


 Above is one of the sword dances that we often performed. I danced for a year or two, then moved on to editing the yearbook (called the Claymore, named after a Scottish Highlander sword) and singing in the chorale. I had never been to Scotland and I can’t remember feeling the urge to know more about the Highlander history and connection with our high school. In the summer of 2019, I went on a musically-oriented small group tour of Scotland with a few dear relatives and friends. I found the country to be gorgeous and fascinating, and wrangled permission from my editor to take Hayley and Nathan there on their honeymoon for the next book.

As I was writing A SCONE OF CONTENTION, I began to feel as though I'd come full circle. Hayley and Nathan and assorted friends and relations are in Scotland, where Nathan rocks a kilt, they eat their weight in scones, and Miss Gloria stars in a pivotal scene in Glencoe, in the Highlands. I only wish I had thought to add Highlander dancers to the plot (thunks head.) I hope you enjoy reading this book as much as I enjoyed writing it!


Question for the day: Have you traveled with a familiar series to a new setting? How did you like the change? (One that comes to my mind is Louise Penney’s ALL THE DEVILS ARE HERE, in which the characters travel to Paris. I happen to adore Paris, so I loved this change! And of course, Deborah Crombie took Duncan and Gemma to the Cotswolds, and Rhys Bowen has taken her lady Georgie all over the place...


You can buy A Scone of Contention (Book 11 in the Key West food critic mystery series) wherever books are sold.

I have some fun (mostly virtual) events set up, each one different and special. Hope you can join me at one or more! They are all free but you'll need to sign up to get the link--and please support the indie bookstores who are hosting by buying books from them!

August 10, 7 pm, sponsored by RJ Julia in conversation with my sister Susan Cerulean, who was also on the Scotland trip. If you are local to Madison CT, I will be signing books in person that same day at 11 am at the store. Otherwise, email the store to obtain the Zoom link.

August 13, 7 pm, I'll be joining Ellen Byron, Deborah Goldstein, Jennifer Chow, and Libby Klein at Murder by the Book.

August 16 7 pm, Mary Cheney Library, 586 Main St, Manchester CT  860-643-2471 IN PERSON! But do call ahead and let them know you're coming.

8/18 Murder on the Beach chatting with our own Jenn McKinlay and Oline Cogdill, reviewer for the Sun Sentinel. 

8/19 Virtual event at the Poisoned Pen Bookstore with a wonderful crop of Crooked Lane authors including Ellen Byron, Carole Bugge, Betty Hechtman, and Audry Keown. 

68 comments:

  1. This is the BEST!!! What time on 8/18?
    SO fabulous...I am cheering and applauding and I would follow you and Hayley ANYWHERE! (and I love how serious you are in the photo. What a treasure!) Do you remember what your were thinking?

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  2. Happy Book Birthday! “A Scone of Contention” is just marvelous!

    I love new settings in a series . . . Although I’ve never been to any of these places in real life, I’ve been to Scotland with Hayley, to England with Georgie and Duncan and Gemma, to Paris with Aimee Leduc . . . . and so many more. It’s all very exciting.

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  3. Happy Book Birthday, Lucy! I absolutely loved A Scone of Contention. My book review went up yesterday (Monday) on my Reading Room Blog and on my FB page. You couldn't have picked a more perfect place to have the crew travel to. I was so happy that Miss Gloria was included. And, your teen photos are wonderful, and the one with your mother such a treasure.

    I enjoy new settings in a series, but not too often. I thought Gamache in Paris was brilliant, and I was rather surprised I could be torn away from my love of Three Pines to enjoy a new setting. Debs, the trip to Scotland in Now May You Weep for Gemma and Duncan was another one I loved, but, again, I'm partial to their London locales, as I learn so much about the different areas there. Susan Elia MacNeal has taken Maggie Hope a few different places, and I've enjoyed those, although I was really surprised how much I loved The Hollywood Spy, the latest one. I'm not that big on Hollywood settings, but I learned so much from The Hollywood Spy. And, on the Hollywood note, I was completely taken with Lady Georgie and her mother going there. Sharon Bolton's Little Black Lies took place in the Falkland Islands, which was a setting I'd never read before, and I liked. It was different than her usual England/London settings. And Laurie King has taken her Russell and Holmes series out of England quite a bit after the series got going. While I've enjoyed most of those, I found the last two books my favorite away settings, with the French Riviera and Romania.

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    1. thank you so much Kathy! Now I've got to look for the Sharon Bolton book because I'm very curious about the Falkland Islands...

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  4. Congrats! You can add me to the list of readers who enjoyed this entry. It's always tricky to pull off a vacation book, especially when the location is a key character in the book, but you did a good job with this book.

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  5. Congratulations on your book release. I like when characters travel and it's most fun when some of the secondary characters are there as well.

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  6. So many congratulations, Roberta! My copy is waiting at my own indy bookstore for me to pick it up.

    Your high school rocked the Scottish theme and I love that you got to do the sword dance.

    I took my southern Indiana back to Santa Barbara for a high school reunion in Nacho Average Murder. The February research trip was fabulous and people loved the book - but when the following one came out, readers seemed grateful to be back in South Lick. I still want to get her to Italy, where her father lives, but I'll have to wait until research trips are possible again. ;^)

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    1. I think in the end I was better off as a dancer than a cheerleader:). Agreed, the setting is such a big part of a long-running series, that most readers are happy for only a few disruptions. Italy sounds great!

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  7. Happy book birthday, Roberta! I am just delighted with the great reception that Scone of Contention is getting everywhere. My copy is (hopefully) on the way from Poisoned Pen along with Jenn's Wait for It. I do intend to be at a couple of your events and am thrilled!

    I do love to travel with the characters in books. Gemma and Duncan have brought me along to many locations in England and to Scotland, too. I've been all over Europe with Billy Boyle during WWII. I've traveled with Georgie on delightful adventures on two continents during the 1930's. And I loved my trip to Ireland, Paris and Italy last summer, thanks to Jenn. I am SO ready to go to Scotland with Hayley and Nathan. See you soon!

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  8. Congratulations on the new book, Roberta! I've been notified that it is waiting for me on my Kindle. I'm so excited to start reading! And Jenn? Yours should land on my doorstep today. It's going to feel like Christmas! Pardon me if I don't comment much for the rest of the week. I'll be reading.

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  9. Happy Book Birthday ! I’ll be very happy to revisit Scotland with Hayley and company.
    The first time I went , 2008, was after reading Diana Gabalbon’s Outlander series. It was so fun to compare what was in my head versus reality.

    I love travelling to a new setting with a familiar series. If I already went, I can revisit and if not, I can discover.

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    1. You'll see Danielle that part of Hayley and Miss Gloria's impetus for choosing Scotland was Outlander:). thanks for the kind words!

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  10. Typing fast, blogger in and out. Love the HS connection. I grew up in nearby Westfield.

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    1. thanks Margaret--and isn't that funny about Westfield? we're Jersey girls like Hayley and Janet Snow!

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  11. Happy release day, Lucy!

    I just finished A BITTER FEAST and I loved it. Annette Dashofy took her sleuth, Zoe Chambers, to New Mexico in NO WAY HOME and it was great.

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    1. thanks Liz! yes ABF was a terrific trip outside London

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    2. Thanks, Liz! I'm so glad you liked A Bitter Feast. I loved that setting so much--I'm dying to go back to the Cotswolds.

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    3. Oh yes, Liz, I should have included Annette's No Way Home in my comments. It was a fantastic book set in New Mexico rather than in the normal Pennsylvania. I love the Pennsylvania setting of the series so much that I was not sure about the trip to New Mexico, but it worked out beautifully.

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    4. And, Liz, Happy Book Birthday to you for Harm Not the Earth!

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    5. Thank you Kathy and Lucy! Now I need to think about whether Jim and Sally need to leave the Laurel Highlands.

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  12. Happy book birthday, Roberta! Just got my copy of A Scone of Contention (still think that's the best title EVER) this morning and am five pages in. How Hayley can bear to leave that houseboat is the first mystery. But if she has to go (and it's the law -- you have to go somewhere on your honeymoon), I'm thrilled that Scotland is the choice. And I have to admit, I'm really looking forward to Nathan in a kilt ;)

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  13. Your Scottish-themed high school seems to have done a better job of adhering to it than my own did. Notre Dame's yearbook was the Nodagraph?!? When we merged with the boy's high school in 1966 to form Hamilton Badin, it was called the Nucleus. No doubt inspired by the space race at the time. But lame. Claymore is a much better name.

    Is that school still there, Lucy?

    One of the first authors who ever "took" me somewhere new was Kurt Vonnegut, who took me to space with his The Sirens of Titan. A strange journey, to be sure! No recipes, either.

    Congratulations on book birth day! The buzz is very good, and I can't wait to read Hayley's latest adventure.

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    1. thanks Karen! The Nodograph??? The high school is still there and still has bagpipes as part of the band--but no all-girl band

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  14. Congratulations on Number 11 - I'm looking forward to catching up with the crew in Scotland. By the way, you and your mother could be twins!

    Traveling sleuths? As long as there's a reason for the trip, I'm on board. It's fun to vicariously travel. Especially these days.

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  15. Happy Book Birthday, Lucy Roberta! I love it when characters travel, especially to places I know and love. Looking forward to a good read and a good scone

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    1. This is Ann. Not sure how Finta showed up again after being undercover for years, but it is I, not an imposter.

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  16. Wonderful, Lucy! And congrats on the book birthday! I too would have wanted to be a cheerleader if it meant wearing those cute outfits! Oh, and who knew, but I just discovered that Gov. Livingston was a distant cousin!

    Tell us about the recipes in the book. I'm sure there were more than scone recipes but I can't really remember. I'll have to get the book and check.

    If there is a book series I love, and there are a lot of them, I'll travel anywhere with the characters! I'll get out my almanac and look for pictures on the internet and it will 'almost' be like being there in person!

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    1. Let's see recipes...scones, cockaleekie soup, coronation chicken, cranachon, mmmmmm

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    2. Yes, that coronation chicken recipe! I want to try that one! Thanks!

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    3. I did try the Coronation Chicken recipe and it was delicious. Rick was very skeptical but he loved it, too.

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  17. The book showed up on my Kindle this morning, so now I know what I’m going to do today! I love taking an occasional trip to a new place with a favorite series. And this is one of my favorites!

    DebRo

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  18. Happy book birthday, Lucy
    I loved this one and everyone is dying to travel vicariously right now, including me

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  19. Lucy, I'm so happy to see A SCONE OF CONTENTION out in the world! I know readers are going to love it - maybe this will be the start of more travel books for the Key West crew. I'm hoping for one set on s cruise ship, because I think it would be hysterical. I want to see Miss Gloria imagining she's in the middle of MURDER ON THE NILE.

    I have Scottish school connections as well! I did middle school and the first year of high school at Argyle Central School, and we had the cheerleaders with the kilted skirts and the Glengarry hat. Our mascot was a Scottish Terrier, and we were, of course, the Scots.

    My son and youngest daughter went to Bonny Eagle High School and middle school, respectively. The Bonny Eagle Scots have a rather threatening Scotsman with a shillelagh (yes, I know that's not Scottish) as their mascot, and the elementary school uses an adorable and friendly Scottie.

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  20. Kindle pre-order hadn't arrived but I've figured it out now! Can't wait to dig in...

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  21. LUCY,

    I'm so excited about your book launch today. HAPPY BOOK BIRTHDAY!!!! I loved the advanced digital copy from NetGalley so much that I preordered the book through bookshop dot org. And I am definitely going to watch the MURDER BY THE BOOK event on the 13th because they are always wonderful wonderful wonderful about Captioning their Live events with authors. BIG HUGS to that bookstore!!!

    Perhaps I mentioned this before. I travelled to Scotland several times, before and after the publication of OUTLANDER. I loved Scotland. I went on a guided tour of Edinburgh and some of the Highlands given by a Deaf guide who gave the tour in British Sign Language. We saw the grave of Princess Joanna of Scotland who was Deaf and a ? Duke of Montrose ? who has a crypt at St. Giles' Cathedral on the Royal Mile. And I just learned that these two people are my ancestors IF the family tree information is correct, though.

    Like you, all of the books you mentioned above take me to these places. I cannot think of any other places right now.

    I will post in my Instagram stories when I receive your novel in the mail. Lucy, I think this is going to be my favorite book from your series because of the setting in Scotland.

    Just wanted to mention that I thought it was awesome that your school had a ALL GIRLS bagpipe band. Rhys, I wonder what Lady Georgie would have thought of that?

    Diana

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    1. thanks so much Diana, I really appreciate the enthusiasm. I really should have learned to play the bagpipes back then. Imagine how much more useful that would be these days compared to cheerleading routines:). And that's very cool about your deaf tour guides, must have made the experience so much better.

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    2. Lucy, our tour guide looked like that actor Alun Armstrong who was in New Tricks on pbs, now on Britbox.

      That was the only time I have seen a tour in Sign Language. It enriched my experience for sure. Usually I read the guide books before going on the tour so I know what the tour guide says.

      Diana

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  22. Congratulations on this book's release, Lucy! I am off to find it on my Kindle. Really fun to read the backstory you've shared with us above.

    I always enjoy traveling to new locations with favourite book-friends/characters. Some series specialize in a new location each book, for example Nevada Barr's Anna Pigeon is always in a new national park.

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    1. I should have thought of Nevada Barr. I never minded a bit that she moved to different locations

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  23. Hooray, off to Scotland we go! I like to travel through books so it's find with me if people are out and about and when they return home, I appreciate the familiar more. Off to the bookstore on Saturday.

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  24. Lucy, you were adorable!! (You are still adorable.) And you were fit, to do that dancing!
    My copy of A Scone of Contention should arrive today, along with Jenn's Wait for It, and I can't wait! There aren't many settings I'd rather read about than Scotland. I wish I could come up with an excuse to get Duncan and Gemma back there...

    I have taken Duncan and Gemma to lots of places; Yorkshire, The Chilterns, Surrey, Cambridge, Glastonbury, Scotland, Cheshire, Henley, and last but not least, the Cotswolds. I'd love to take them to Ireland or France or Italy, but I don't know that readers would go for non-British settings.

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    1. Thanks, Debs. I'm eagerly awaiting my copy of Scone of Contention, too!!!

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    2. I've just picked up WAIT FOR IT at RJ Julia. Debs, readers will follow you anywhere, I'm sure of it!

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  25. Brava! My decision to attend Macalester College was influenced by the kilts, and in Drama Choros we did wear plaid. ;-)
    I loved the virtual travel, and today Amazon (finally) allowed the posting of a review. <3

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    1. thanks Mary. I went to France for half my junior year courtesy of Macalester College. Princeton didn't believe in study abroad back then, but times have changed!

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  26. Hooray for your new book, Lucy! I enjoy books where the characters leave their normal environment. Longmire has had adventures in Philadelphia and Mexico, well away from Absaroka County. And didn't Ruth Galloway head off to Italy for one book? And Nelson hared off there after her.

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  27. And, Happy Book Birthday to Jenn, too!

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  28. McKinlay here - needless to say, I love all things Scottish am just thrilled that A Scone of Contention is set there and we get to visit - fictionally. What a fascinating high school you had, Lucy. We were the Vikings but there was absolutely no celebration of anything Nordic in our school just a mad looking man with braids, a beard, and a horned helmet.

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    1. Jenn, I am laughing so hard at that last line! I love all things Scottish too. My great grandfather was born in Scotland.

      Diana

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    2. Jenn,

      p.s. Happy Book Birthday too! I plan to buy your book on the Romance Day in August (I think August 21?) at Independent bookstores.

      Diana

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  29. It’s a terrific book! So glad to be part of the conversation tonight!

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