by Zaida Alfaro

Mystery author Zaida Alfaro has written this guest post from the perspective of her main character, Vy.

Hi! You caught me in the middle of getting ready for my recording session tonight at Interlude Records. I am working my way towards performing at the Madison Square Garden in New York. It is my dream to see my name VY in big, vibrate, flashing letters. As of tonight, however, I am currently a speckle of dust as a rising star in the Miami music industry. I was fortunate enough to be recently discovered at my last gig at the Zebra Bar, in South Beach, by the one and only Destiny Martin. Right now, you might be asking yourself what is a gig? No worries; I had to teach my sister big Alexia, a singer’s terminology as well. A gig is a performance, or a show.

But I digress, I figured that dressing up for a recording session would be a lot easier than getting ready for a gig, but I was wrong. First impressions are key, especially when you are going to be in a studio with your producer, sound engineer, studio musicians, and the background vocalists, for a few hours.

I give myself about two hours to get ready for a recording session. My cat Marilyn, named after the infamous Marilyn Monroe, has the privilege of watching me get ready. Out of the two hours I give myself, I take about half the time choosing my outfit. Aside from the skill set, the proper outfit is the key to becoming an unforgettable recording artist and lead vocalist. I have to come across as stimulating, but not loose; excited, but not desperate. There is a special technique and method to my fashion madness.

Little did I know, though, that tonight was going to be an unforgettable recording session, not because of my outfit, but because I find myself, yet again, at the center of a murder investigation that may change the course of my music career. Apparently, someone does not want me to record my album, and is doing everything to sabotage the release date, including murdering a key member of the production team. I have to once again, call upon my sister Alexia, so that we can use our super sleuthing skills to ensure that my record makes it to the Top Billboard 100 list before the murderer makes it to the Miami Beach Police Department’s most wanted list.

They say the music industry is cutthroat, but I have never taken that statement literally. Could this be the strum of my guitar playing the last note In The Key of Dead?

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The Miami Music Mystery series’ main backdrop, the amazing city of Miami, Florida, is beloved and well-known to me. I was born and raised in Miami, and like the novel’s main character Vy, I am a singer/songwriter, Grammy considered, independent artist. Many years ago, I became an avid reader of cozy mysteries. The storylines were intriguing, engaging, and funny at the same time. I was so inspired by the authors, that I then decided to take my musical experiences, and put it on paper. I published my first novel, through Cozy Cat Press, The Last Note: A Miami Music Mystery. Thanks to the success of my debut novel, I have once again, brought my characters back to life, in the sequel, In the Key of Dead: A Miami Music Mystery. I hope that I was able to, once again, show the readers of my novels, the love I have for Miami, the Cuban culture, my family, and music.

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