Dear friendly readers,

I won’t go on too long this month as I’m just back from a wonderful vacation and behind on everything! John and I visited Saint Malo in Brittany, followed by a week in Paris which has been my travel obsession forever. We saw amazing historical sights such as the World War 2 memorial just outside the walled gates of St. Malo, where my father served with his Army engineer corps after the Normandy invasion. Most days we walked six or seven miles, followed by eating our weight in wonderful French food. We celebrated our 33rd wedding anniversary at the Paris Opera—divine!

This trip was a bit of a busman’s holiday for me, as I was also trying to shape the vague notions floating in my head into a plot for a new novel. I’ll talk more about that as it develops, but one of the great benefits of focusing on food was that I was able to set up lunch or drinks with several of my foodie French idols. Here’s Emily, the brains behind a wonderful Paris and food blog, The Real Emily in Paris. 

And this is me, pinching myself as I enjoyed a drink with cookbook author Dorie Greenspan and Jane Bertch, the founder of La Cuisine Paris. Could there be anything more fun than talking about my imaginary French chef character with these talented women?

Sometimes people ask me—or ask John—what does she do all day? Why is she still working this hard? Here is one of the answers, an email from a reader that filled my heart with joy:

“Your books have kept me afloat as my sweet mother-in-law lived her final days. Binging on them, I feel as if I have been on your streets, absorbing all the noise, crowds, distinctiveness, and magic that is Key West and fills Hayley’s life. THANK YOU for such a sweet interlude in an otherwise sad time.” 
—Rebecca P

Now it’s back to work for me, but I will leave you with some links you might enjoy:

Here’s a blog about the real people in Key West who inspire my characters…

And two recent interviews with Cozy Crime Reads and Cathy Salustri at the Gabber newspaper.

The ticket link for the November 14 brunch sail on the Argo Navis is now live! (I know this is ages away, but I don’t want you to get shut out.)

As for something to eat, try my asparagus and white bean salad
or easy, crispy smashed potatoes.

That’s it from me! As always, thank you for reading, and sharing your thoughts with me and others, and for pre-ordering books when that’s possible! Coming up are the paperback edition of A POISONOUS PALATE, and Key West food critic #15, THE MANGO MURDERS!

Love, 

Lucy

Paperback coming July 8th

Coming August 12th