Who is the "Passenger to Paradise"?

She is a dreamer, a creator, and a traveler who began her wanderlust years ago. As a child, she never traveled many miles from home, but instead gathered books all around her and through them journeyed far and wide by horseback, bus, and train. She climbed mountains tall and treacherous. She rode camels over hot desert sands in search of an oasis.

When a love of movies captivated her father, she went with him to see every new picture that came to the small theatre a few blocks away. Her first sightings of the Red Rocks of  Sedona AZ came during Saturday matinee viewings of old cowboy movies.

Eventually, she got to travel on her own. Imagine her excitement when she boarded a flight with her husband and headed to Montego Bay, Jamaica. The perfect temperature, perfumed air, hibiscus, and bougainvillea enchanted her and drew her back again and again to the lush tropical island.

On that first visit to Jamaica, she discovered Rose Hall Great House, and the story of Kathryn Calder was born. Hearts Across Forever is the first of the "Passenger to Paradise" books. 

From the moment Kathryn was assigned to a job in Ocho Rios, her world was sent into a spin. She had unusual dreams that upset her, and she developed an urgency to visit Rose Hall. Although she fell in love with the beautiful island and an handsome stranger who seemed to be no stranger at all, Kathryn was faced with confusion centering on the mysterious and beguiling old plantation and her connection with the past. Kathryn soon discovered that her return to Jamaica was as inevitable as that of the "Passenger to Paradise" who still longs each winter to revisit Ocho Rios, Montego Bay, and Negril to stir up old memories.

Besides her book series, the "Passenger to Paradise" also has an art show currently on view at the Ward Center for Contemporary Art in Petersburg VA. The Grand Opening is this Friday evening, 6 to 9 p.m. All of the paintings in the exhibition are based on travels to Jamaica, the Bahamas, Trinidad, Barbados, and St. Martin.