My amateur sleuth keeps a freezer full of gumbo to trade for favors. This recipe is pretty close to mine.  

I'm toying with the idea of a room filled with potential murderers. So far, I think it's working, but we'll see once an editor weighs in. Here's where I'm going: A horrible woman drops dead at her birthday party. At least 20 people at the party had motives to kill her. 

I think that as long as I eliminate most of the suspects before the reader becomes frustrated, I can pull this off. 

Wish me luck!

The mysteries that keep me reading capture my attention with a full-bodied story. The characters become real people, and I follow the ups and downs, as well as the bizarre events, in their life stories. But the magic happens once a body is found or a murder is announced, and it's time to figure out how all those stories connect to the murder. 

I love thinking I can solve the case with the clues, the breadcrumbs left for me by the writer. I love the difficulty of choosing between this man or that woman, or that family or group of people as the killer or killers. 

And most of all, I like being wrong. If I can guess the killer, it's not as much fun. I may have enjoyed the ride, but it isn't a journey I'd take again. 

Wish me luck as I try to make this next mystery a full-bodied ride that will fool you every time!

And I don't think that's a bad thing. Her name is still Lotus, but now she's had three husbands and speaks Louisiana Creole. We meet Lotus after she's lost her TV news anchor job to a younger model. I drew on my memories as a television news anchor and reporter to build this mystery. 

Life be life-ing!

While Lotus is finding her groove as a fixer (PR for high-profile types caught in scandals), she's also surprised to learn that murder clues come through to her during a voodoo ritual. I handle the voodoo religion with respect, while winding a tale of twisty plots and a few laughs. Lotus is juggling this new life while also being the mother of a brilliant, beyond her years teenager. 

Lotus's nemesis is murdered, and of course, a cheeky police captain wants to humiliate her publicly by naming her a suspect. Lotus uses her Louisiana Creole traditions in Sacramento, California, to find the killer and save herself from being accused of the crime.

Lotus's Journey

This book is about grand life lessons. From great challenges, we receive incredible blessings. But you have to get through the tough times. And often in life, the familiar goes away to make room for something better. Lotus goes through a rough time of being dumped by the job, her husband moves out, and racing the clock on a murder investigation so she's not accused of killing the manipulative little b-word who de-throned her from the morning news show. She numbs this crazy ride with great friends and, of course, martinis!

(My first anchor job in the late 70s. That dress is hideous! LOL)

I found this recipe for stuffed mirliton (chayote squash). It's the way we make it! 

The only difference is we don't use cheese. And if you're a sometimes vegan, like me, you can use vegan shrimp and vegan sausage.  Sa sé bon manjé, wi!

https://www.food.com/recipe/shrimp-stuffed-mirlitons-nola-cuisine-503704

Remember those old horror movies where the woman always falls while running from the monster? Yeah, I'm over it. And as much as I love mysteries, I think I'm becoming irritated when the amateur sleuth goes alone to confront the suspect or walks alone at night in some dark forest or on a lonely street. 

I knew I had had it when I found myself saying, "I can't care if they kill you because this shit is stupid." I've lost patience with them. But... it sells. Bestselling books, Hallmark movies, book club favs, all feature the citizen sleuth---usually a woman, who's smart enough to decipher clues better than trained detectives, but who doesn't adhere to common-sense safety. 

I've always been that odd duck in nearly everything I've done. I guess once a non-conformist, always a non-conformist. 

As I refine my next mystery series, I won't allow my sleuth to do that mess. It's about a former TV news personality (sound familiar?) who is dethroned by a younger woman and begins using her spiritual gift of cultural voodoo to help a homicide detective solve murders. She's a California woman with Louisiana Creole roots who respects her ancestors (also familiar). Lotus Hayes and her homicide detective keep her "consultations" a secret. He's used police psychics, but voodoo is next level. For Lotus, the voodoo religion and practices are not for party tricks. It's a sacred calling. 

And as with any story I write, there's wine, martinis, laughter, and tears. Lotus's life is like all of ours; she makes mistakes, learns from them, and makes new mistakes. She has a smartass but lovable teen daughter and three ex-husbands. I hope to finish this refined version of Lotus Angelle Hayes Johnson Fernandez Gill. She's fun, spiritual, brilliant, and a little crazy. É pi sa, li byen konsa. And that's just fine. 

If you like a little Creole spice in your mysteries or want to laugh and cry while you help to solve a murder, stick with me. I'm working on more of dat, yeah, Chè!

Photo by Bruce Christianson on Unsplash