My lovely readers,

Happy New Year! We are back from our Christmas visit to see the grandkids in California. They are 9, 7 and almost 4, and oh-so-lively! We played pickleball and ping pong, ate many sugary snacks, and enjoyed the marvel of their growing brains. The first photo is John reading a book he wrote for Henry and Thea. The second shows Henry and Cal assisting me with chocolate peanut butter cookies production. Then we headed home to Key West, exhausted but happy. (These visits do make us wonder how John’s parents handled 7 children, and mine, 4. It takes a lot of energy!)

In my last newsletter, I promised to share more about my Key West short story. You can find that here in ‘what I’m writing’ for Jungle Red Writers.

You’ll also find my list of the top ten things I ate this year posted on Mystery Lovers Kitchen. Some of them I cooked, and others came from our travels. There were more that didn’t make the cut, but I hope you’ll drool over the ones I chose.

And finally, here’s one more post on what I’m reading—since writing it, I also added Emily Henry’s Great Big Beautiful Life, Paula Munier’s The Snow Lies Deep, Ruth Reichl’s Delicious!, and Laurie Colwin’s More Home Cooking.

The Friends of the Key West Library are sponsoring lots of exciting events this winter, including our second annual murder mystery tea party on February 7. I wrote the script and I promise it will be fun (and silly!). Admission to this is free, but you will need a ticket.

The following day, February 8, the Key West Woman’s Club is hosting an old-fashioned garden party, and I’ll be one of the speakers. This is a ticketed event catered by my own character, the real Martha Hubbard. 

February 23 brings the Friends of the Library annual fundraising gala. I’ll be interviewing our guest of honor, Ruth Reichl. The interview will be followed by a magical party in the library’s Palm Garden. Tickets can be purchased here. 

PS: In case you’ve yearned for a copy of the Key West Woman’s Club Cookbook but aren’t in town to snag one, you can now purchase one online.

And finally, Key West food critic mystery #16, A DELICIOUS DECEPTION, is up for pre-order. 

I think that’s it for now. Please know how grateful I am to have each of you as friends and readers! Your reviews, notes of encouragement, and even complaints, are always welcome! I wish you all the best in this New Year!

Love,

Lucy