You Did Not Get the Corazón, I Assume??

So that’s how Marcano gets greeted by his first mate after surviving a bullet wound to the arm? Well, this is no ordinary piece of treasure…

The Corazón is based on an object from a tale I read years and years ago. During one of my visits to Puerto Rico in my 20’s, I bought a book at a gift shop in the San Juan airport on Puerto Rican legends (still apparently in print.) The book contains the story Marcano tells Jolie at dinner, about two Spaniards named Orozco and Guilarte, explorers in Puerto Rico who found an enormous gold nugget together. Orozco died attempting to cheat Guilarte out of the nugget, but repented and apologized to his friend just before expiring. Guilarte, so goes the legend, donated the nugget to the Cathedral at Seville rather than cash in on his friend’s death.

In Caribbean Jewel, I took the story from there, inventing a title for the nugget, “El Corazón de Isabela” or Isabel’s Heart, and commandeering it as a national treasure of Spain, the treasure Marcano and his first mate Guillarte are looking for on Crab Island (Vieques, Puerto Rico.) I also pretended “Guilarte,” the Spaniard of legend, has a descendent named Luis, Marcano’s rather cocky first mate.  (I don’t remember why I changed the spelling of Guilarte to Guillarte, but “Guillarte” has a better ring to it, since two “lls” sound like a “y” in Spanish.)

While I was writing Caribbean Jewel, I even thought about naming the novel “Corazón”-something, but I was worried it wasn’t mainstream-romancey-enough to catch the eye of potential readers.

Anyway, there you have it - the history of the history of the Corazón in Caribbean Jewel. Happy reading!

Damn if His Pillows Weren't Going To Be Scented With Heather-Rose Soap!

When I read Caribbean Jewel again after all those years, I was really curious about Jolie's "Heather-Rose" scented soap. I honestly have no idea where that idea came from; I don't think I've ever owned any toiletries with that fragrance. (More than likely, I chose it because it just sounded so old-fashioned.) I Googled it and came up with little to nothing, until I came across this site: http://www.berrysweetstuff.com/welcome.html. They were offering a "Heather & Rose" scented soap as a limited-time special, so I ordered a bar. I just HAD to feel like Jolie in that tin tub lathering up with Marcano's gift of French soap. :-)

(By the way, I don't see Heather & Rose on Berry Sweet Stuff's site at the moment, but I'm sure she'll make it for you if you ask.)

What came in the mail was this large homemade pink bar of intense-smelling heather and rose delight. You definitely have to be a fan of the scent of roses (which I totally am) to like it, but the fragrance completely won me over.  (I approve, Captain Marcano.)

Of course, the question could come up, where did Marcano get that sweet-smelling French soap in the first place, to have it available to give Jolie the night she escaped Crab Island on his brigantine? Well, he's a privateer, constantly moving goods and costly cargo back and forth between Europe and the Caribbean, so I think it's safe to assume he could have had it somewhere in the cargo hold on this particular trip from Europe to the New World.  Let's hope it's that and not a gift he bought for some tavern wench in Santo Domingo.