Jacque always thought she was going to end up in the Caribbean. She saw herself as an aging eccentric with billowing muumuus, impatiently dictating children’s books into a portable tape recorder (she didn’t know about Siri when this vision took form) while striding down a deserted beach. Several years later, sans muumuu but still somewhat impatient, she walks the beach while listening to books and confines the writing to her porch and her Apple Air.

It took her some time to get to the Caribbean. Many years were spent working as a journalist in Stockholm, Sweden, and then as a real estate broker in Florida. Kids grew up, went to college, got married, and moved away. By 1999, she and her husband bought a big piece of an empty beach on Cat Island. What was originally going to be a weekend gathering spot for their two sons and extended family quickly became the only place where she wanted to live.

An adjustment here, another there, and the weekend cottage became her permanent home. Now she blogs about her island and the food she cooks everyday.