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?
Wow, what a great way to conclude your book tour, Debs! So many great things to see and do . . . and can I just say any doughnut with candied bacon has to be superb.
ReplyDeleteLovely to be part of your book tour this way, Deborah. I am deep into Garden of Lamentations and loving it. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI have never been to Key West, but it's on my bucket list. I have loved all the Key West details in Lucy's Haley Snow novels, and I would never pass up an opportunity to have Lorenzo read my cards!
ReplyDeleteJust getting there is on my bucket list! Looks like a relaxing and fun end-of-tour for you.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful idea! This is a pleasure just to read it! All Reds are welcome in Boston, of course! Hallie and I will show you the town
ReplyDeleteThank you for this mystery tour!
And I am so close to reading that plot chart… Tell me what it says, and how it works!
ReplyDeleteEach of those headers across the top was one of her plot threads Hank, and then down the page, she would write in what was happening, by time. So a person should be able to see an entire complicated plot unfold....
DeleteLooking out at snow and the remnants of sleet--this post was like a vacation! Thanks for sharing--what a relaxing, fun time! I would love to visit Key West--great to have an insider's view of the best Key West has to offer!
ReplyDeleteGreat pictures! I'm staying in Key Largo for a writers' weekend in late April, and we're going into Key West one evening. I can't wait, especially after seeing these pictures! Any restaurant suggestions?
ReplyDeleteOur very favorite is Seven Fish, which is on Truman. The restaurant we ate at with Deb and Barb is called Michael's. To do something fancy on the water, Louie's Backyard. Also Hot tin roof right near the sunset celebration...
DeleteThe huge smiles on both your faces tell the whole story. It's easy to see how much pleasure you both took in one another's company!
ReplyDeleteThe only way I've been to Key West is through armchair traveling with Hayley Snow and others, but it feels so familiar, thanks to your great descriptions.
What fun you all much have had. I haven't been to Key West in maybe 15 years. That last time was in December, good time to leave the tundra, and we stayed at Duval House, had front row seats for the parade. That was possibly the best parade I've ever seen!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite stop in Key West is the raw bar in Mallory Square. I could live on oysters. Been once to Hemingway House, and it was p piece of fascinating history, was amazed that he had a king sized bed back in the 30s? Unheard of in my memory until the 60's.
Definitely the cats were great but oh those chickens scratching around your feet in My Blue Heaven! Has the health department caught on to this yet?
The pictures of Deb and Lucy/Roberta are frabjous. Thank you for the pictures and the great stories. Next time you do this, I am flying down for a weekend. xox
sounds good Flora! chickens and dogs seem always to be welcome in this town...
DeleteMy stomach literally growled when I read "maple glazed doughnut with candied bacon." I want to visit Key West!
ReplyDeleteRoss and I and the children spent a wonderful week there in the winter of '02 - the last family trip we took with my late father-in-law. It was magical, and ever since then, we've wanted to return. Then, it was a lot of swimming, running on the beach, and kid-friendly restaurants. Now, I'd like to see the many historic houses like Flager House and Truman's Little White House, tour the gardens, enjoy the art galleries and eat at places where they DON'T have paper place mats you can color on!
I'd say yay to a writing retreat at Key West, but honestly, I don't know how much time I could bear to spend in front of a computer with all that on offer...
I'm afraid neither one of us wrote one word, it's a dangerous place to retreat! Though John and I took a writers walking tour here last night. Lots of well known folks came here, but there was an awful lot of alcohol involved!!
DeleteMary,we had dinner at Michaels anf it was delicious!
ReplyDeleteI think I could become a winter regular, Julia. I would need a porch to sit on to write. Lucy, will you find me a porch???
ReplyDeleteI got to see Haley's houseboat, too, and I learned why she needs her scooter to get around. The island is bigger than I imagined. And I came back determined to get back to riding my bike, so that I can bike around town next time I visit.
Off to the farmer's market, more soon!
ReplyDeleteIf I ate those glazed doughnuts very often, I'd HAVE to bike around town all day every day:-)
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine anything more enjoyable than seeing Roberta's Key West -- Lorenzo, the Cat Man, Cuban coffee and an amazing donut, the library, Hemingway's House, Judy Blume's bookstore, and I know there was so, so much more! Did you get to see the cemetery where Miss Gloria works?
ReplyDeleteCelia, I didn't. I wanted the whole Hayley tour but we just couldn't get everything in. Another visit!!
ReplyDeleteWell, this was just too much fun!!! Thanks for sharing all these adventures with us and now I'm itching to pack and bag and head down to Mile Marker 0!
ReplyDeleteMy father was stationed in Key West in the mid to late 60s when I was very young. All I remember was that we lived across the street from the water and water was everywhere. It instilled in me my lifelong love of the water. I still live by water (the San Francisco Bay). I remember being very happy there.
ReplyDeleteI bet you would hardly recognize the place now! But you sure picked another gorgeous spot!
DeleteI'd love to visit Key West, don't know if I'll ever get there. Hemingway's house would definitely be on my list of places to see, and the cat man sounds interesting. People keep telling me it's not possible to train cats!
ReplyDeleteI'd also want eat at Hayley Snow's favorite restaurants. Oh, before I forget: I got so excited when I read the other day that there's going to be a new Hayley Snow book! The news brightened my whole week! (With our icy weather, I needed all the cheering up I could get:-)
So, Lucy/Roberta, in your spare time (ha!) post an itinerary on your website, a self-guided tour of Key West!(You know I'm joking, right?! I'd rather have you working industriously on your future books!)
Deb Romano
thanks so much Deb--I appreciate your support more than I can say. Funnily enough, I do have some places to eat in Key West on my website (which sorely needs updating)--all told in Hayley's words from the books! now back to work:)
DeleteI am soooo jealous! One of these years I would love to visit Key West. Thanks to Haley and Roberta I know where to hang out. It looks like you guys had a fabulous time. Oops. I lived up north too long. Ya'll turned into you guys.
ReplyDeleteCount me in as a big Key West fan! It is one of my favorite places to visit, and I was lucky that my daughter lived there for a year, teaching and culminating with her wedding. Old Town is where I love the most, as you can walk everywhere, although some friends who met me there a few years back said they would never trust me again when I told them something was only a couple of blocks. My daughter and her then fiance, now husband, lived on Duval, the main drag, and speaking of drag, they lived right across from LaTeDa's, where performances are very entertaining. I am so happy that they lived there and I got introduced to Key West.
ReplyDeleteFlinta, I don't mind the chickens at Blue Heaven. I'm drinking out of my Blue Heaven mug right now, with its motto, "You don't have to die to get in." Another fun place is Hog's Breath, where "Hog's breath is better than no breath at all." My very favorite mug is from there. And, I know I keep pushing the Key Lime Cake at Firefly (on Petronia, same street as Blue Heaven), but it really is to die for. Hmm, there seems to be a theme here. Hahaha!
Debs and Lucy, I so glad that you all got to enjoy some time together there. I admit that I was quite nervous when Lorenzo read the cards for me. And, I do love the Hemingway House. That bathroom is something! Of course, who wouldn't enjoy an office like that, too. My favorite place to shop, to get something special, is The Wild Side Gallery at 1000 Duval, where you can buy works of art and get the story of the artist from the proprietor. My last purchase was a small goat (I do love goats), which was just over $100, but as I said, they are works of art. You can spend much less there or much more.
I was so thrilled when I found Lucy and her Key West series, and I was jumping for joy when you announced recently that there would be more, Lucy. If anybody wants a guide to Key West, read the Haley Snow series. If you've been there, it's a wonderful armchair trip all over again.
Oh, and I would love to meet Judy Blume. One of my favorite books of all time is her non-fiction book she edited entitle Places I Never Meant to Be, about book censorship. She was an early advocate for creative freedom and against book censorship. Judy visited the elementary school where my daughter taught on Key West, and my daughter got an autograph copy of a book for me.
You're the best Kathy--you should work for the chamber of commerce here:)
DeleteI would really like to go back to Key West some day! When I was there, in the days before digital cameras, I took many, many pictures, or so I thought. Turns out the numbers were advancing in the camera, but the film wasn't. I got nothing. I thought it was odd that the roll had so many exposures. One of the highlights was going to Mel Fisher's museum. This wasn't too long after he had finally found the Atocha. I got to hold a gold bar. Can still feel the weight of it in my hand. Key West is a fabulous place.
ReplyDeleteThis is a perfect antidote to a gray rainy day in Seattle! Lucy, how did you come to spend part of your time in Key West? Was your series inspired by living there or was it the other way around?
ReplyDeletethanks Ingrid! we were visiting here before I pitched the series...I'm sure I made some mistakes in the first book, before I knew it as well as I do now. And there is always something new happening--it's part of the island, people and places come and they go. We do love it, and we'll hang on here as long as we can!
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