Now it’s time to learn more about the authors we read. . .

Why do you write the genre that you write?
I’ve read and loved mysteries for most of my life, beginning with the Bobbsey Twins and Nancy Drew and my brother’s Hardy Boys. I find it interesting that all of them are series, which I write now. I love returning to familiar characters with each book and watching them grow and stretch. This works well with my background as a clinical psychologist too. Finally, and honestly, the expected skeleton of a mystery—crime, detectives, clues, suspects—is easier for me than a novel without that kind of plot.

What’s the quirkiest quirk one of your characters has?
I suppose the quirkiest character in the Key West series is also the most popular, Hayley Snow’s next-door neighbor on houseboat row, Miss Gloria. She’s been described by fans as a role model for senior citizens. She’s funny and full of zip and she stays glued to her police scanner and gives tours in the Key West cemetery. In the book I’m finishing now, she’s managed to get her scanner to feed to her Apple watch. So she doesn’t miss a beat.

How did you come up with your pseudonym?
I had written two other short series under my own name, Roberta Isleib, when I was offered a contract for the Key West series by NAL/Penguin. But they requested a pseudonym to differentiate the older books from the shiny new series. I happily chose my grandmother’s name, Lucy Burdette—I love carrying her legacy forward with me. Plus, Burdette is also much easier to spell and pronounce!

Tell us how you got into writing?
I tell people it all started with bad golf. I began writing articles about the psychology of the game to explain how hard it was to learn. From there, I jumped to writing mysteries about a neurotic lady golfer—they say write what you know! Cassie, my aspiring and talented but neurotic golf professional, came from my obsession with learning to play golf back in the 90’s. Like writing, learning to be a good golfer is very challenging, especially if you start in middle age as I did. I took dozens of lessons, maybe even hundreds, and began to wonder what in the world I could make from that time spent. Cassie was the jewel that emerged from my bad golf game.

What jobs have you held before, during and/or after you became a writer?
Long before I returned to graduate school (twice!), I had some unpleasant jobs that probably shaped my character, and also some good ones. My worst might have been feeding axolotls in a biology lab. These are primitive looking amphibians about a foot long who will only eat if the food is moving. I had to take tweezers of liver from box to box and wave them in the water in front of these creatures. 3 or 4 bites for each of maybe 250 axolotls. I challenge you to describe a more tedious and weird job! I also cleaned motel rooms, sewed leather handbags in a factory (that lasted 2 days), waited on tables, and clerked in a bookstore—my favorite! After grad school, I worked first as a vocational rehabilitation counselor, and later on, a clinical psychologist.

How many books do you have published?
24. 22 mysteries, one women’s fiction, one suspense.

Where do you write?
Embarrassingly enough, most of the writing happens in bed.

What is your favorite deadline snack?
Lately it’s been tiny Italian crackers called Taralli.

Who is an author you admire?
So many of these that it’s hard to choose! I’ll mention two: Diane Mott Davidson for her early and long-running culinary series, and Ann Cleeves for three remarkable character-driven series with wonderful settings.

What’s your favorite genre to read?
I read a lot of mysteries because I enjoy them, and I like to see what my author pals are doing; women’s fiction and memoir for a change of pace.

What are you reading now?
I’m reading for a Mystery Writers of America award that I’m under oath not to discuss!

What is your favorite beverage to end the day?
Water or sparkle water, as my 8-year-old granddaughter calls it.

What is next for you?
I’m finishing the fifteenth book in the Key West series (no title yet), and noodling around with both a women’s fiction title and another mystery. Plus, I’m deep into an array of other volunteer projects as always!

Where can we find you?
At lucyburdette.com, on Facebook at LucyBurdette, on Instagram at LucyBurdette, and on Bookbub at Lucy-Burdette. I also blog with the fabulous writers at Jungleredwriters.com and mysteryloverskitchen.com.

Now to have some fun . . .

Chocolate, vanilla, or another flavor
Vanilla. Hmmm, maybe chocolate.

Ice cream or cake
definitely cake, especially homemade.

Fruits or vegetables
Both!

Breakfast, lunch, or dinner
Breakfast if going out to a diner, otherwise dinner

Dining in or dining out
A little of both

City life or country living
At the risk of getting boring, both!

Beach or mountain
Beach for sure

Winter, Spring, Summer, or Fall
Winter in Key West, or autumn in Connecticut

Extrovert or introvert
Right in the middle

Early bird or night owl
Early-ish. Not like you though Dru!

And even more fun . . .

What’s your favorite movie?
Love Actually

You are stranded on a deserted island. What are your three must-haves?
Lottie the puppy, T-bone the tiger cat, and John:)

My bio:
Clinical psychologist Lucy Burdette aka Roberta Isleib is the author of 24 novels, including the latest Key West mystery, A POISONOUS PALATE (Crooked Lane Books.) The 13th book in the series, A CLUE IN THE CRUMBS, was a USA Today bestseller and the Florida Book Award gold medal winner in popular fiction. Both the twelfth book in her Key West series, A DISH TO DIE FOR, and the tenth, THE KEY LIME CRIME, won the Florida Book Award’s bronze medal for popular fiction. LUCY BURDETTE’S KITCHEN, a collection of recipes and stories from the Key West mysteries was published in July 2024. Lucy’s first women’s fiction title, THE INGREDIENTS OF HAPPINESS and her first thriller, UNSAFE HAVEN, have been published by Severn House. Her alter-ego, clinical psychologist Roberta Isleib, has also published eight mysteries including the golf lover’s mystery series and the advice column mysteries. 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 president of the Friends of the Key West Library.