What We’re Writing: Lucy is Scrambling!

LUCY BURDETTE: This time of year, with the two holidays tumbling one after the other and the high season launching in Key West, it’s hard to stay focused. In spite of that, I finished the edits for Key West food critic mystery number 15. It’s up for preorder, and I think it's now called The Mango Murders, though it's still minus cover art. It feels a little naked without a cover, but let me assure you that the words are all there and the rest of it will come.

If you followed the blog post a couple of weeks ago in which Julia begged for tips to keep focused, you might remember that several of us threatened to start a mini group designed to keep our our goals for the next books on track. I always find this helpful. I managed to type out 4300 words the first week, reinventing my thumb and forearm tendinitis in the process. But I’ve got a good start on a new book and have spent some time this past week figuring out what could be happening after a strong opening. (Hopefully you will find it strong!) This isn’t the very very beginning, because I don’t want to give you a spoiler. Deputy Darcy Rogers, who’s been Hayley’s nemesis in the past, arrives at their home with a proposal. Nathan’s gone to fetch her a beer, leaving the two women talking.

“My grandma always said the present moment was a precious gift that often went unappreciated. That present moment is the only moment where we are.”

“Wow,” I said, bringing my rocker to a standstill. “She was deep.”

Darcy Rogers laughed. “She was. I didn’t get my personality from her side of the family.”

Nathan returned and handed her a Stella Artois beer. They chatted for a few minutes about the fentanyl bust that had almost brought Fantasy Fest to a standstill. I watched, wondering what in the world she was really after. She had never, not once, dropped in on us for a friendly chat.

“I’ll get to what I came for, because I can see Hayley is wondering.” She winked at me. “You probably read about Florida's new law, called the Safe Exchange of Minor Children?” 

Nathan nodded. I shook my head no.

  “It’s also called the "Cassie Carli Law", after Cassie Carli, a Florida mother who went missing after a custody exchange. The law requires all Sheriff’s departments to arrange a neutral place with video recording available where parents can safely exchange their children,” she explained to me. “You can’t imagine the horror stories we’ve heard about uncooperative parents fighting like demons. This cuts down on a lot of potential problems.”

My husband’s face was beginning to morph from curious to slightly stony. “This concerns us because?”

Darcy drained the last of her beer and settled it on the table between us. “We’re looking for a civilian who might accompany a young woman on a child custody exchange, and I thought of Hayley.”

LUCY AGAIN: I’ve also been working on the beginning of another project which I’m not going to tell you about for fear of jinxing myself. But I’m confirming what I thought about myself which is it’s hard to work on two things at the same time. I am going to figure this out! 

How about you Reds, do the holidays derail you or are you able to enjoy them as ‘the precious moment where we are’?

ps three of the Key West ebooks are on sale for $1.99 through December!

A CLUE IN THE CRUMBS

A DISH TO DIE FOR

LUCY BURDETTE'S KITCHEN