Guest Lucy Burdette, plus #giveaway

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Edith/Maddie writing from north of Boston where I’m blissfully awash in ripe tomatoes and basil.

I’m so happy to welcome Friend of the Wickeds Lucy Burdette back to the blog. A Dish to Die For, her newest Key West Food Critic mystery, is out. Like every book in this series, it’s a fabulous read!

Why I Love Real Places and People in My Mystery Series

A couple of weeks ago I started thinking about the difference between a writer who writes a book completely out of her imagination, and one (like me) who uses real places, real food, and sometimes even real people. Am I just a lazy writer who prefers stealing stories rather than making them up from scratch? It seems so much more difficult to develop an entire series and a setting using only what I might find in my mind.

When I was writing the first book in the Key West food critic series, An Appetite for Murder, a writing friend in Key West suggested that it would be better to use imaginary places. Then as the series progressed, I would not be saddled with an inbox full of complaints about how that particular restaurant was no longer in business or I’d gotten the town’s geography wrong, etc.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized that real places and people are for me what writing prompts are to other writers. If for example, if I travel up the keys to Geiger Key and spend the day sitting on Boca Chica Beach, my imagination begins to go wild. What if a body was found here? Why would a body be found here, when it’s not near much of anything and would be difficult to drag a mile along the beach and then bury? Why is my character, a Key West resident with a Key West police detective husband, involved in a crime this far out of town? As I ask the questions based on what I see and experience, the book begins to take shape. Plus, if I visit a place, I can take note of and use the little details that will bring it to life for readers. And if a friend sends me a link to an old cookbook, I thank my lucky stars that I now have a new plot point.

Back to my writer buddy’s advice: I considered her suggestion seriously but decided to continue with the path I’d started on. I am glad I did, as now my inbox is full of readers who love Key West as much as I do or yearn to visit and thank me for the Key West tourist and restaurant suggestions.

Readers: How about you – do you enjoy books set in real places, or prefer them imaginary? I’ll send one US commenter a signed hardcover edition of the new book.

New Jersey born Lucy Burdette aka Roberta Isleib is the author of 21 mysteries, including A DISH TO DIE FOR, the latest in the Key West series featuring food critic Hayley Snow (Crooked Lane Books.) The tenth book in her Key West food critic mystery series, THE KEY LIME CRIME, won the Florida Book Award’s bronze medal for popular fiction. Her first thriller, UNSAFE HAVEN, was published by Severn House in December. Her books and stories have been short-listed for Agatha, Anthony, and Macavity awards. She’s a past president of Sisters in Crime, and currently serving as president of the Friends of the Key West Library. Find her here:

https://lucyburdette.com

https://facebook.com/LucyBurdette

www.instagram.com/LucyBurdette

https://www.bookbub.com/profile/lucy-burdette

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Published by Edith Maxwell

Agatha Award -winning author Edith Maxwell writes the historical Quaker Midwife Mysteries (Beyond the Page) and short crime fiction. As Maddie Day she writes the Dot and Amelia Mysteries, the Country Store Mysteries series, the Cozy Capers Book Group Mysteries, and the Cece Barton Mysteries (all from Kensington Publishing). She lives north of Boston in an antique house with her beau and cat Martin, where she writes, gardens, cooks, and wastes time on Facebook.

105 Thoughts

  1. Lucy, congrats on your book release and I loved A DISH TO DIE FOR. Yes, I do love seeing real cities in the books I read, especially when I recognize the area. Imaginary works just as well.

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    1. I like real places and real recipes. Sometimes I’ll vacation is in a place that a book is set in and try to recreate the feel of the book. If I’m unable to get away I just might make the recipes.

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      1. You’re a woman after my own heart! So funny that my hub and I went to the town that inspired Busman’s Harbor last year. We liked Barbara Ross’s version better:)

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  3. I do love reading about real places and even better if it’s a place that I have been to. I’ve been to Key West twice and can’t wait to go back and visit. Fictional places are okay too but real is better. Thank you so much for this chance. I’ve read all of the books in this series and in order. pgenest57 at aol dot com

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  4. I think my favorites are real places, especially if it is a location I’ve been to. I also enjoy a fictional location that is based off of a real place. I’m not picky, as long as the book is an enjoyable read.

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  6. I love both! Reading about real places in a book is great, especially if I’ve been there or plan on visiting. Imagining can be amazing, always fun to see what the author comes up with!

    Thanks so much for the chance! Would love to read and review!

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  7. I am drawn into the books based on history and real places! It fuels my imagination of what it used to be like or is now; to see, hear and be in a real place with a real or embellished character. Key Lime Crime was my first read to try a new author-what a fun setting and plot. Would love to keep going with the latest book

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  8. I like both but more so real places. Key West is one of my favorite vacation spots so I really enjoy this series. Its fun to picture places your familiar with as you read. Congratulations Lucy on the new release looking forward to reading it.

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  9. Both! Fun to live in an author’s imagination plus fun to learn about actual places. I wonder if authors kinda base their imaginary towns on actual places? I mean, they have to start with some place to build off, right? Either way, I love to get immersed in a good story, no matter where.

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    1. I am a writer who has trouble syncing something up from scratch, so I lean on real places. But you could ask Barb and Edith how hard it is to make something up strictly from imagination!

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  10. I love this series partly because I know when I ever get to Key West, I’ll recognize so much! As a writer, it’s easier to make up a town so nobody calls me on stuff I got wrong. ;^)

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  11. Congratulations on your new book release. I enjoy your books so much and the covers are always delightful. I read books that are set in both places but really enjoy those set in real places so we can imagine a bit more about that place. Thank you for the chance.

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  12. I enjoy both. It’s fun to read stories set in places I’ve been to or want to visit, but imaginary places (either fantasy or realistic) are always fun. The important thing is a good story wherever it’s set!

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  13. Good morning!!! Great to be here! I enjoy books set in real places, especially places I’ve been or lived! If they add fictional places within that location it doesn’t bother me!
    An Appetite for Murder is the one my book I’ve read of yours and I loved it! Is there one that involves Hemingway House?
    Have asked my bookmobile librarian to bring me all Lucy Burdettes she has!! Can’t wait to get back to Key West again!!
    Thank you for a other opportunity!
    ☮️❤️📚📚📚📚📚🏖️

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    1. Thanks for the kind words Patti! Hopefully that book mobile arrives soon. I think the book with the most detail about the Hemingway House is number four in the series, murder with ganache

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  14. I like either. Imaginary cities can be fun because you can do anything you want without worrying about authenticity. But with real settings I learn about the place and get to do a little traveling through the story.

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    1. Congratulations on your lastest book, Lucy! As a writer, I prefer to make up my towns but put them in real-world settings. That way, I can give readers a sense of place and have the freedom to make everything else up!

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  17. First off, congratulations on the release of “A Dish to Die For”! Been on my TBR list since you first talked about it. Can’t wait for the opportunity to read and review.

    Although I enjoy reading both, I have to admit that reading a story set in a real place allows me to armchair travel. It gives me a glance of a place and what I might find there if fortunate enough to travel there some day. With that being said, an imaginary place is probably easier to write about because people will surely call you out if you make a slip up. Imaginary places also give us the place we wished existed where people are nicer, the food is always delicious or just a place we wish we could go to.

    Thank you for the fabulous chance to win a hard copy of this wonderful book! Shared and hoping to be the very fortunate one selected.
    2clowns at arkansas dot net

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  18. Congratulations, Lucy! I like either fictional or real settings, as long as the author has drawn them well. Both my series are set in real places and I love getting notes or seeing in reviews where people enjoy recognizing the places I mention.

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  19. Love it when a story is set in a real place because then I will know what to see if I ever go there.

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  20. Congratulations, Lucy! I like both real and fictional places as long as the author has drawn them well.

    I use real places in both my series. I love it when a reader sends me a note or writes a review saying they really enjoyed recognizing the places I mention.

    (Once again, sorry if this shows up twice. WordPress seems determined to make me log out and back in every day to get comments to post properly.)

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  21. My reading preference is a mix. Real places for geography and locations that are not likely to disappear and fictional for those that are more ephemeral in nature.

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  22. Welcome back to the blog! And congratulations on the new book–you inspire! I tend to make up my cozy towns, but base them on real places. Goosebush MA is Duxbury MA, for example. I don’t want to be limited by real geography. Stories set in Boston are real, but then restaurants go out of business…

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    1. It is inconvenient when places go out of business, but surely it’s worse for them I think to myself LOL. A lot of this happened in Key West during the pandemic what. Then the challenge is figuring out what to say about that…

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  23. Congratulations, Lucy! I love reading stories that take place in real places. I’m a lover of maps so I often look at the map as I am reading. I guess you could say it makes it all so real to me and I feel like I am actually in the story. I would especially love to be in Key West. Well, maybe not right now, but in a few months, definitely!

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    1. Oh yes, me too on Maps! That’s a good point. I’m sure you all saw Barbara’s beautiful map of Busman’s Harbor. And Deborah Crombie always has a hand drawn to map in her books. That makes it really special!

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  24. If it’s a place I’ve been, then I like a real setting. However, if I haven’t been to the country/state/city then I’m blissfully unaware and just go with the flow.

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    1. That makes total sense! I do read fiction about a place or sit in a place when I am headed there.

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  25. Lucy, I love to visit Key West with Hayley and family and I also love the way in which you bring real people into your stories. That would not work for every author, but it works well for your Food Critic Mysteries!! (BTW, when I saw the photos on Facebook of the police officers posing with you, I looked for Nathan and then…whoops…he isn’t a real detective there. HAH! SO real!)
    As you know, I already have a book signed by the author, but I wanted to visit you today because you are Edith’s guest on the fabulous Wickeds!

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  26. CONGRATULATIONS!!!! Wonderful books Lucy! Please continue as you have…the settings are part of the mystery, and the books are fictional, so take us to the places in your unlimited imagination, and we will be cozy inside them, interacting in our minds with your characters. Thank you for sharing your writing talents with us eager readers!!! Luis at ole dot travel

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  27. Lucy, I love the way you bring real people and places into your Key West Food Critic mysteries.

    As you know, I already have a book signed by the author;-)

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  28. Welcome to the Wickeds, Lucy! I love your Key West setting especially so because I know the town. I’ve fictionalized a real seaside town for my purposes, hoping for the best of both worlds, but definitely sacrificing recognition along the way.

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  29. I love visiting vicariously, and I think it’s the opposite of lazy to take the trouble to include real places, people, and history. Thanks for safe travel within the pages of a book. ❤ I LOVED this one (and should my name be drawn, please move to the next person, to be fair).

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  30. I enjoy books set in real places, or barring that, places that could be real. If it is place I have been, I enjoy re-visiting it in the pages of a book. If it is a place I have not been, I enjoy visiting it as an armchair tourist. I do love your Key West series!

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  31. Thank you for the review the book sounds amazing. I do enjoy real settings but imaginary ones are ok also.

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  32. I like both, especially since so many imaginary sites are sometimes comprised of real. Three Pines, Deep Valley–I was actually in Mankato earlier this summer and was amazed how close together many of those sites are!

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  33. Congratulations on the book! I never thought about this question before. I like real settings because I learn about places I’ll probably never get to (like the Homeswappers Series by Adriana Licio set in Europe). I like imaginary places because they start to seem real to me (like the pet-themed town in Paws and Claws Mysteries by Krista Davis).

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  34. I like them both! If something is completely fictional or inspired by a real place, I am happy to delve into that world as long as it is believable. If you are writing about a certain city or place that exists, I am on the side of having the real spots mentioned. Why overly fictionalize a place that exists? For that, write about a place that doesn’t exist. If I am reading a book in Key West, I want to feel as though I am actually there. I want to learn about the little holes in the wall and the common tourist attractions. That’s all part of it. If you take away the truth, it’s not the real Key West at all. Congrats on the new release!

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  36. I like both. I always get a thrill when I see a place I know pop up in a book. But I also enjoy reading about a place the author has completely made up. (No need to enter me in the giveaway.)

    Mark

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  37. Like Mark, I like both. It’s fun to recognize real places, especially accurate details about them. But, it disturbs me when an author gets something just down right wrong. Well written imaginary places make me look at a map to see if the place is real. The key here for both is “well written”. Looking forward to being introduced to this series.

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  38. I enjoy both real places and imaginary places for settings. Sometimes an author makes up the name of a town but bases her story on her remembrance of an actual place that she has either visited or lived. That works very well, too! Sometimes the author takes an actual setting but makes some changes to it, and that does not bother me in the least!

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  39. Congratulations! I love books set in real places, especially when I’ve actually been there! It makes me feel like part of the story if that makes sense? Almost like you’ve been there before! Love your books!

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  40. Lucy, real places and scattering of real people make good fiction stories. Thank you for all the Key West mysteries! Living on Florida’s east coast for 2 years getting to the Keys is my dream road trip…Covid and some other life happenings (good ones!) have kept that road trip from happening. Thanks to you, I can visit all those good restaurants, have Lorenzo read my cards, and with Miss Gloria as my guide, tour the historic cemetery. Keep on writing “real mixed with fiction”.

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  41. Real is great because then you can visit but imaginary can be fun too since it requires you to use your imagination.

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  42. Congratulations on the new book! I love the cover. I also love that you use Key West! It was so fun to see the places you mention in the books when we visited Key West!

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  43. I think I like real places more when I’ve been there. Unfortunately it’s been so long since I went to Key West that I only recognize a few places. Otherwise fictional places can bring the essence of a place. Raquel V. Reyes’ series reminds me of Coral Gables where my aunt used to live. She says it was one of the towns she based her fictional town on. Looking forward to the new book.

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  45. You know, it really doesn’t matter to me as I am all about the storyline. If it doesn’t have a story and characters that I find interesting and can really get into, it doesn’t matter if it’s a real place, an imaginary one or if it is set on the moon, I’m not going to read it.

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  48. Congratulations on your new release! Looking forward to reading it. I like reading about real places especially if it’s some place I’m familiar with or have visited. I also read books featuring fictional places and I have no problem with it.

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  49. Congratulations. I just finished Key Lime Crime where I will put a review in on Goodreads. Then starting the next book in the series. I plan to put your new book on my list as well. I have been getting your books from the library. I honestly prefer books of real places. In fact, I plan to visit Key West at the end of November. So it will be interesting to see what Key West looks like.

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  50. I love the cover. I do not mind either way. I cannot travel so I do not have an idea of a lot of the towns being written about. Thank you so much for sharing. God bless you.

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