My new story, Miss Guided, takes place in St. Lucia. And in celebration of its release, I’m going to revisit the Caribbean island where my husband’s parents were born. We went there in 1999 and I have been trying to get back ever since.

We stayed at the most amazing resort, called Le Sport. Despite its name, it is actually more of a spa resort, although all water sports are included in the price so I guess that’s why they called it what they did. However, as one or two spa treatments are also included in the all-inclusive price it seems to have everything a couple could want. I sat on the beach between spa treatments and raised my flag to order another cocktail—my choice determined entirely by the colour of drink I fancied at the time. My husband did ever sport they offered. Since our visit, Le Sport have changed the rules and now children are only permitted during certain periods. So an even better couples retreat.

In St. Lucia, we did a tour similar to the one Crescy guides in Miss Guided. We visited Morne Fortune, Soufriere, the botanical gardens and the drive-through volcano. As there was some minor construction going on at the resort during our visit, they gave all guests a courtesy catamaran cruise where we also visited Marigo Bay and viewed the Pitons from the water.

But the most interesting experience was went we went to visit my husband’s grandmother. When we asked for her address we were simply told, go to Hess and ask for Helen. So, when we got in a taxi, that’s what we did. The taxi driver didn’t even bat an eyelash. We drove an hour from our resort to get to the small town of Hess. There was a big market full of people just off the highway. So the taxi driver rolled down his window and asked where Helen lived. He was directed up the hill and after asking three more people as we got closer, we eventually arrived at granny’s place. And although we told the taxi driver that he didn’t need to wait, his friend lived right across the street so he stayed there until we were done.

The trip to visit granny gave me the opportunity to see how real St. Lucian’s live. Chickens and dogs roamed the neighbourhood. The windows were, in fact, plastic louvres with metal grates on the outside. And of course, there were bananas, mangoes, and papayas growing beside the house. My kind of place.

Unfortunately, our week in St. Lucia was over all too quick. But I did bring home one amazing souvenir. Nine months after our visit, my first child was born.