My friendly readers,

Many of you will have already heard (so sorry to repeat myself!) that my biggest news this month is the arrival of THE MANGO MURDERS (Key West food critic mystery #15) on August 12. If you’re in Connecticut, I’d love to see you at RJ Julia Bookseller that evening for the book launch party. Cake! Wine! Door prizes! Book talk! Grab your spot here. By the way, the audio book edition of THE MANGO MURDERS was delayed, but it is coming. I will let you know when it’s out!

You’ll find my other in-person events listed on the website. Meanwhile, I’m busy finishing Key West mystery #16 (no title yet). I can hardly believe I’ve published 25 books, when much of the time I still feel like a beginner. What a journey! Some of you have traveled with me all those years, all those books, and I am so grateful! Here’s what I looked like in the beginning…

I’ve been writing a ton of blogs to get ready for the book launch. You might enjoy one or more:

What I’m writing now, and taking a look back.

Next, a blog post on writing for the long haul…

And another on how to keep a long mystery series fresh…

Janet Snow’s Tuna Noodle Casserole appears in The Mango Murders—comfort food at its best! 

I was invited to write a guest post on Chicks on the Case. This one was about comments, fan mail, and reviews—I read them all and often learn something helpful. 

We chatted last week on Jungle Red Writers about mah-jongg, of all things. That reminded me of the short story I wrote using clues from that game to solve a murder. You can read the story here.

Last quick reminder: if you belong to a book club and might enjoy reading and discussing one of the Key West mysteries, I’ve provided discussion questions and a recipe for each of them here. 

Thank you again for reading and supporting my work!

Love,

Lucy