Debs Does 48 Hours in Key West

LUCY BURDETTE: We had the great pleasure of hosting Red Deborah Crombie at the tail end of her book tour for GARDEN OF LAMENTATIONS a couple of weeks ago. I thought you would enjoy following along in her 48 hours in Key West! Some things were on her bucket list, and some John and I added as our favorites...

First stop, almost always, the Sunset Celebration on Mallory Square. Here's Deb with Lorenzo, Hayley's tarot card reading friend, and Lucy's friend in real life...

And here are Deb's cards...she must pay attention to her spiritual side in April...

(DEBS: I must admit, this made me a bit nervous, which I didn't expect!)

There was a cruise ship blocking the view, so Deb had to choose between seeing the sunset and watching the cat man--cat man won out of course!

We stayed in that first night to give Deb a breather from restaurant food...this is Lucy's cornmeal-crusted veggie tart...

(DEBS: Heaven!!!)

The next morning we hiked across the island to a must-see, Ernest Hemingway's house

She couldn't decide whether she liked his office best...

or the bathroom in the main house!

We met several of the Hemingway polydactyls...

(DEBS: I adored the Hemingway House!! And the cats! It was one of the highlights of my trip.)

 

The Key West library was kind enough to help set up this last event on Deb's tour. Don't you love what Michael the librarian did with the backdrop? Lucy got to do the interview...and this was after logging in 15,000 steps on the iPhone counter!

And then we met up for dinner with another mystery writer friend, Barbara Ross--lots of shop talk and a little bit of gossip. 

(DEBS: Such fun to meet Barb Ross. And can I just mention the cucumber cocktail???)

Every visitor to Key West wants to get this shot--the very tip end of Route 1

Deb's last day started off with breakfast in bed--a maple-glazed donut studded with candied bacon and a cafe con leche from the Cuban Coffee Queen

(DEBS: I thought I had died and gone to heaven. They really are as good as Hayley says!)

And then a stop at Books&Books, founded by Judy Blume and her husband George. We scored signed Babar books for our granddaughters and a photo with Judy herself!

(DEBS: Unfortunately, Wren loved the book so much it's now missing half a page... Hopefully, Mr. Brunhoff will sign a few more.)

 

Last minute gift from Debs, as she explained her plotting secrets to Lucy:)

(DEBS: That may not look like much, but I promise it was brilliant:-) And can I just say that Lucy is THE best  hostess and tour guide!!! And that I am in love with Key West!)

Who else has fallen for the Key West magic?

What We're Writing: @LucyBurdette #FATALRESERVATIONS #giveaway

 Breaking news: The winner of Fatal Reservations is Beth Kanell!

LUCY BURDETTE: with Fatal Reservations launching in less than two weeks, it’s hard to think about anything else. Never mind write about anything else! So if you'll indulge me, I'm going to talk about one of my favorite characters in the Key West series.

In Fatal Reservations, my recurring character, Lorenzo the tarot card reader, is accused of murder when one of the other street performers from the Mallory Square sunset celebration is found dead.

Lorenzo has been a character since the debut of the Key West series with AN APPETITE FOR MURDER. While writing that first book, I’d seen a tarot card reader on Mallory Square, and knew he belonged in the story. I imagined my protagonist Hayley Snow taking her mother’s lead, preferring a reading to a psychotherapy session. I had no idea how important Lorenzo would become. And how he’d also become a friend, and a muse. In honor of the real Lorenzo, and the Lorenzo in FATAL RESERVATIONS, I will take you on a short tour of how his role has changed…

AN APPETITE FOR MURDER: At this point in time, neither Hayley nor I really knew Lorenzo...

this is the first time I talked with Lorenzo

After leaving the bar, I drove my scooter the length of Whitehead Street toward Mallory Square to see if Lorenzo was working. Every night at sunset, except in the very worst weather, street performers marked off sections of the pier and set up shop to entertain tourists and part them from a few of their dollars. Along with the zaniness of Duval Street, the spectacle of the sun setting over Mallory Square tended to stick in the minds of visitors more than anything about Key West.

Lorenzo has been working the square for almost twenty years, wearing a star-studded turban, a deep blue cloak with a matching blue stone glued to his forehead, and a mustache waxed into loops. Sounded hokey, but even I felt more confident having my cards read by a guy who took the time to look and act professional.

DEATH IN FOUR COURSES: Hayley's mother, Janet, was the person who got her hooked on having her cards read. Here Hayley has taken her mom to meet Lorenzo.

Lorenzo turned over my three cards: the devil, the tower, reversed,  and the emperor.

I groaned. “I knew I should have skipped this today.”

Mom patted my leg, a worried frown playing on her lips. “It’s only cards.”

But I’d seen how happy she looked when Lorenzo turned over the two of cups and explained that true love lay in her future. She believed completely in this stuff. Two new customers, middle-aged women wearing tropical sundresses and heavy tans, approached Lorenzo’s table and peered over my shoulder.

“Oh my gosh, she’s got the tower,” said one to the other, and then they backed away.

It made no sense to let myself react so strongly to a couple of colored cardboard cards, but the last time Lorenzo had turned up the tower, I’d nearly been killed by a crazy woman.

By the time TOPPED CHEF, the third book, came along, I had had lunch with the real Lorenzo, and so Hayley and Miss Gloria did the same:

“But where’s your eye makeup? And your turban?” asked Miss Gloria. “Hayley and her mom described you but you look nothing like what I imagined.”

Lorenzo's style evolution

He touched both hands to his dark hair, looking sad. “Oh, I loved that turban. I felt like Lana Turner when I wore it. But all dressed up like that, I was being treated like a tourist attraction. People kept coming up and snapping photographs while I was reading my customers’ cards. They didn’t take me seriously—treated me like a fool. And it was so intrusive for the people waiting to hear what I had to say.” He sighed dramatically. “There’s a mass level of consciousness—or should I say unconsciousness—that turban tapped into, so I had to give it up.”

MURDER WITH GANACHE:  Now I had begun to feel I couldn't quite write a book, without talking to Lorenzo. Hayley was feeling the same way about Lorenzo and her life...

at Mallory Square

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. In the distance, the Disney Magic cruise ship had swung around and started to chug through the channel, on to its next stop in the cycle of manufactured fun.

Lorenzo had set up his table about ten yards from the water, looking distinguished in sunglasses and a jacket shot through with gold threads. Three middle-aged women were stacked up only feet from his table, fidgeting and trying not to stare at his current customer as they waited for their readings.

DEATH WITH ALL THE TRIMMINGS: Hayley and Lorenzo have become friends...

Ten minutes later, Lorenzo took the seat beside me, carrying a cup of tea and a slice of pie. His dark hair curled like mine in the humidity, and he wore Harry Potter–style round glasses and red clogs. I felt instantly calmer in his presence.

“I was hoping you weren’t on a diet,” I said, pointing at his plate.

“The cards say, ‘Never pass up key lime pie,’” he told me as he swallowed the first creamy bite.

And finally, comes FATAL RESERVATIONS. In this book, Lorenzo is at the center of the mystery, when he's accused of murdering one of the other street performers. In real life, of course, no such thing has gone on. I can only say he's been such a good sport!

Lorenzo with Tonka

Lorenzo nodded, adjusted his collar, and came forward. By dress alone, he stood out from most everyone in attendance: long-sleeved white dress shirt, high-waisted black pants, black tie, tortoiseshell glasses—even his wavy hair had been smoothed into a neat ponytail. All very proper and distinguished. But his face shone in the spotlight and large damp circles spread from his underarms to the body of his shirt. He looked very hot. And rattled.

FATAL RESERVATIONS will hit bookshelves on July 7. But you can order it now, wherever books are sold, including...

Indiebound

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

And I’ll be giving a signed copy away today because I’m too excited to wait! Leave your email address to be entered in the drawing...

What We're Writing Week @LucyBurdette

John on duty during the parade

LUCY BURDETTE: You wouldn't believe the things I do in the name of research. Last fall, we arrived in Key West earlier than usual--October--so I could observe the wildest festival of the year--Fantasy Fest. Even after the week was over, I couldn't pretend to understand the grand appeal of walking up and down Duval Street basically naked except for creative body paint. But hey, it makes for a fabulous backdrop--though sorting through what can go into a cozy mystery from this week of events was a bit challenging. 

But John and I promptly signed up to train as Fantasy Fest parade ambassadors, and I ordered tutus in several colors (the men got camo tutus, including Tonka,) and made appointments for face-painting for the Zombie bike ride.


So that's the book I'm writing now! Without further ado, here's the opening for KILLER TAKEOUT, coming to bookshelves next April:

-->

KILLER TAKEOUT: Chapter One

  

Resident islanders couldn’t remember a hotter Key West summer. Not only hot enough to fry an egg on the sidewalk, they agreed, but hot enough to crisp bacon, too. So far, the advent of fall was bringing no relief. Today’s temperature registered 93° and climbing--fierce-hot for October, with the humidity dense like steam from my grandmother’s kettle. And the local news anchor promised it would get hotter as the week continued, along with the party on Duval Street.

Me? I'd rather eat canned sardines from China then march down Key West’s Duval Street wearing not much more than body paint. But 100,000 out-of-town revelers didn’t agree. They were arriving on the island this week to do just that—or watch it happen—during Fantasy Fest, the celebration taking place during the ten days leading up to Halloween, including a slew of adult-themed costume parties culminating in a massive and rowdy parade.

Worse of all, the Weather Channel was tracking the path of a tropical storm in the Eastern Caribbean. They had already begun to mutter semi-hysterical recommendations: Visitors should prepare to head up the Keys to the mainland and take refuge in a safer area. But based on the crowds I’d seen, no one was listening. These hordes weren’t leaving until the event was over. Besides, with a four-hour drive to Miami on a good traffic day, getting all those people out would be like trying to squeeze ketchup back into a bottle. Might as well party.

Since no right-minded local resident would attempt to get near a restaurant this week, I had fewer food critic duties at my workplace, the style magazine, Key Zest. I was looking forward to covering some of the tamer Fantasy Fest events for the magazine, including the Zombie bike ride, the locals’ parade, and a pet masquerade contest. And since restaurants are my beat, I’d promised my bosses an article on reliable takeout food too. If that didn’t keep me busy enough, my own mother, Janet Snow, and Sam, her fiance, were arriving for the week to visit with my dear friend Connie’s new baby, and then get themselves hitched on the beach.

In a weak moment, I’d allowed Miss Gloria, my geriatric houseboat-mate, to talk me into being trained as a Fantasy Fest parade ambassador. Our job would be to help patrol the sidewalks, which would be lined with costumed and tipsy revelers scrambling for the colored glass bead necklaces thrown off the floats.

“If we aren’t going to go to the foam party, or the Adam and Eve bash, or the Tighty Whitey party, we should at least attend the parade,” Miss Gloria said.

I closed my eyes to ward off the image of my elderly friend at any of those events.

“And if we’re working as ambassadors, we’ll be stationed inside the crowd control barricades. We’ll have the best seat in the house. Get it? Seat.” She broke into helpless giggles.

            At the time, the idea seemed palatable. Barely.

Meanwhile, FATAL RESERVATIONS will be here July 7, but I'd be so thrilled if you'd order it now!

What We're Writing Week @LucyBurdette

LUCY BURDETTE: Would you believe that the most recent recent thing I've written is an agonizing list of possible titles for the seventh book in the Key West series? If you are my friend on Facebook, you will know that I haven't been doing this myself. (If not, why not? Let's be friends.)

When I put the call out, I got the most amazing suggestions. Don't you have to love NAKED CAME THE ENTREE? (That one from friend Kate Flora.) Or how about MISE EN CRIME SCENE (Rosemary Harris?)

But before that excitement, I was polishing the last possible draft of FATAL RESERVATIONS. I love this book--it's Lorenzo the tarot card reader's story, coming in July. I hope you'll love it too--here are a few snippets from Hayley...with photos to read them by...

 
My eye caught on pimento cheese with spiced saltine crackers and a plate of fried green tomatoes--was it too early in the day for pimento cheese? My mouth watered at the prospect, which I interpreted as a definitive no.

 

Of course our team shirts were homely, but to me, they were like a badge and a blue polyester uniform were to a cop. They meant we belonged. They meant we were on the case, on the hunt for the best food--the best everything--in Key West. The brotherhood of Key Zest. 

“Maybe it wasn’t only his personality that I disliked,” I added. “Probably anyone juggling on a high wire would make me nervous. Never mind that the utensils he was lobbing around were on fire.”
    “Aha! That's how I feel when you get involved with police work,” said Torrence. “Like you’re on a high wire tossing flaming objects with not one nanosecond of training or experience.”
 
Lorenzo had built a Zen garden around his home, with a wash of small white rocks taking the place of grass. The rocks were punctuated by short spiky palmettos and tropical bushes and trees, including sea grapes, shortleaf figs, and an autograph tree--the totally cool plant I’d seen in the botanical garden with actual autographs on its smooth green leaves. People scribbled on those leaves as if they writing on the wall in a public bathroom stall.



    “Anything I left out that might be a specialty of the chef?”
    “Grouper fish flambe, of course,” the waiter said. “The owners caught the grouper themselves last night. And we went out with Chef early this morning and gathered the seaweed from Smathers Beach.”
    I had to bite my lip to keep from snickering: Hard to picture the restaurant staff moving among the early spring break revelers, scooping up seaweed.


We crept closer to the grave and she shone the beam into the crevice. A large green iguana darted out of the hole, causing us all three to screech in unison and leap backward. I tripped over the wrought iron gate and crashed to the ground.  



Instead of the cheerleader I’d anticipated, she was watching me like a pastry chef on salted caramel. As if I would turn on her at any moment.

(I bet Hank wouldn't post this photo, but it cracks me up--and reminds me of how deliciously amazing the salted caramel tasted...The photo is from a chocolate shop in Adelaide, part of our foodie tour with Feast on Foot) 

That's it for now--back to work. I know snow is still covering the ground for many of you, but July will be here before we know it, bringing the sixth Key West food critic mystery, FINAL RESERVATIONS. 

You can pre-order it here.