The Fun Part of Writing--Traveling for Research:-) Yahoo: Antigua Bound!

It's been some time since I dropped a line and had a chance to read other blogs and posts at Crimespace. Mea Culpa.

I head back to the island of Antigua in the Caribbean--was invited to attend the Antigua and Barbuda Literary Festival that will be held the first weekend in November. Though meant to celebrate Caribbean authors, I've been invited because of my novel-in- progress, Murder Visits Antigua, a Golden Age mystery, and because of my Amazon Shorts story, "Antiguan Memories." (And no, it's not a travel memoir. )

"Antiguan Memories" is about "a disillusioned Anglican priest, a mute Antiguan boy, and the spirit of a murdered slave girl, all of whom are seeking redemption and release from the island."

I'm going with the attitude not only of gratitude for being invited, but also with an open and eager mind to learn. If travelers get outside of the manicured lawns and high fences and gates of the resorts where they are staying, there is much to learn about any Caribbean island's history and people.

While in Antigua, I usually attend a small Moravian church in Five Islands Village. I learned from the villagers that the Moravians were among the first missionaries to open schools and teach the slaves English. I like walking into the small church, brushing by a goat or two nibbling on grass by the front door. Then I usually sit by one of the opened, louvered windows and next to an elderly gentleman, nattily dressed in an old-fashioned suit with a tamborine gripped tightly in his right hand. The trade wind swirls in through the window, picks up the laughter, the muted prayers and joyful music, and underscores them with its own harmony. Outside in the nearby cemetary, there's often a newly dug grave near the large tamarind tree that provides shelter and a watchful eye on the villagers lying at rest.

That's it for now. For anyone interested, too, I have a book trailer up at YouTube and on my website: www.patriciaharrington.com

Yours in mystery,

Pat

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