Lucy Burdette Dishes on Characters

LUCY BURDETTE: (Yes, it’s what we’re writing week and I know you are expecting to see Hallie first. Hallie and I switched days this week because of my schedule, but don’t worry, she’s coming on Thursday!) 

I have lots of balls in the air, including writing the last third of Key West food critic book number 16, preparing the launch of THE MANGO MURDERS (coming August 12), and noodling about a new project while getting ready for vacation. No complaints, but it’s a lot to fit into my pea brain!

Cathy Salustri, publisher of the Gabber newspaper, and author of Florida Spectacular, recently sent me a set of questions about THE MANGO MURDERS. One asked about my habit of including real people as characters in my books. She wondered how people feel about this and whether anyone had asked to be removed. “Not yet!” I said. But that made me think that you might be interested in meeting some of the real characters who will appear in the August book.

This is my friend Ron Augustine, the man on whom LORENZO is based. He is a real tarot card reader, appearing most nights at Mallory Square. Whenever Hayley Snow is stuck, she often turns to Lorenzo. I find him to be lovely and wise and I turn to him too. (Here's a lovely article about him in one of the local papers.)

Dominique the cat man has been a fixture on Mallory Square for years, performing amazing routines with his trained housecats. After the pandemic, his trained cats retired. He still visits most nights at the Sunset Celebration and loves talking to his fans.

This is Key West Police Department Chief Sean Brandenburg. I often give him a cameo and he’s a very good sport about it, even when I mentioned a tattoo that he sports. But don’t mess with him if you’re doing something wrong—he gets very serious then!

John Martini is one of our favorite artists in Key West and a new character. I was a little worried about including him without asking first, but I *think* he’s pleased. 

Now here is a little snippet from the part of the book where Hayley visits John in his studio: 

The interior was a remarkable space, another world from what waited outside. Soaring two stories high, the wooden roof was supported by steel beams. Some of the walls were partially tiled in pale blue with brown designs, and the remainder were plain concrete, like the floor. The entire cavernous space inside was populated with larger-than-life steel figures, ranging from whimsical to grotesque Picasso-like figurines. Tiny bodies with big heads had birds perched on them. They were painted in red and yellow and scattered around the studio. Other body parts constructed of rusty steel waited for assembly. 

The place was downright freaky. I had to wonder what was going on in the mind of the artist when he designed this work.

I can’t think of anything to ask you, but please weigh in with your thoughts about mixing reality with fiction. Or even better, toss out some titles for the next book—they are due this week and I HAVE NOTHING:). Think food, key west, and murder…

If you should wish to pre-order The Mango Murders, the link is right here…