A Poisonous Palate is launched! @LucyBurdette

LUCY BURDETTE: I came across this post from 2022 when I was beginning to write A Poisonous Palate. Today, hurray, we’re celebrating launch day! (That’s a long haul from idea to finished product when you think about it.) 

For me, every idea for a new book arrives a little differently—it could be a new character, or an event in Key West, or a crime I spot in one of the Key West newspapers. This one was a gift from a reader. On August 23, 2022, a fan wrote to tell me about her experience camping in the Keys in 1978. For three months, Kathryn and her friend Denise camped communally near the mangroves on Big Pine Key. She ended her email with this:

Eventually the Monroe County Sheriff showed up one night and informed us that we had 48 hours to leave or be arrested.  That started a gypsy caravan to various locations like No Name Key and camping for a while in a cemetery.  We eventually disbanded and ended up staying at the Bahia Honda State Park, where I was offered a job.  We were also offered a job house sitting.  The locals called us Gypsy Trash which we loved.  

Denise in red, Kathryn in denim

It was an unforgettable experience.  We never discovered any dead bodies.  It was a strange time where we were taking chances on strangers that seems reckless now, but we only encountered good people.  We ended up going back to Michigan but wonder what if we had stayed there?

Can’t you imagine how my writer’s brain was racing? What if the friend she came south with disappeared, and never resurfaced? What if this character returned to the Keys in the present day to ask Hayley Snow to help her figure out what happened? I had to tell this story. I had a long chat with the real Kathryn to hear more details, and obtained her permission to use this idea as my starting point. Of course, my story is not her story. Of course, there are dead bodies. And of course, I took the Monroe County Sheriff’s Police Academy over the next six months and corrected my limited knowledge about the MCSO procedures.

I loved writing this book and hope you will enjoy reading it. The photos are from the 1970’s, with Kathryn, Denise and other campers. This is exactly how I imagined it would be.

Lucy with friend Carolyn 1978

If you don’t believe in coincidences, take a look at this photo of me and a friend Carolyn in 1978. We were operating in a parallel universe along with Kathryn and Denise, only in Tennessee. I'm so grateful that Kathryn wrote, directing me to this new book. Can you think of an eerie coincidence in your life that sparked a new path?

I hope you’ll enjoy the story in A Poisonous Palate, which is available now in hardcover, ebook, and audio!