One Happy Island

I recently (as in yesterday) returned from a Caribbean cruise. We stopped at a half dozen islands. Many of the islands had sun, sand, snorkeling (with sergeant majors – the guppy of the Caribbean). There were similar stores at every port (Diamonds International – they are everywhere, aren't they?). I met wonderful, wonderful people at each stop.

These similarities should make it difficult to pick my favorite island… except there was one point of difference. In Grenada, the Island of Spice, EVERYONE was nice. From the port guards to the taxi drivers to the homeless guy wandering the streets (who gave us directions to Tourist Information and didn't ask for a cent in return) was warm and welcoming. We took the local bus to the beach (for a dollar) and were given an entertaining tour from the locals. "Here's where my uncle fell down the hill." "I met my girl here." "Have fish here, not cow."

Some of the locals in Grenada take their niceness for granted. When I commented on how nice everyone was, they appeared surprised.

I think that is how it is, sometimes, in the romance world. If we only read romance, we forget that not all books have such positive, happy endings. If we only hang with romance readers, we forget that not everyone is optimistic and hopeful. If we only take seminars with other romance writers, we forget that not all writers help and support each other.

We are very, very lucky to be a part of the romance world. It is one happy island.


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Kimber Chin is giving away a freebie story on http://businessromance.com/ .