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...