Lise Saint-Aubin de Teren was born in London in 1953; her mother was English, her father was from South America. At the age of 16, she left school and her parents' home and married a 35-year-old Venezuelan political emigrant, with whom she traveled around Italy for two years; This romantic and often dangerous journey became the basis for her novel Slow Train to Milan. She then lived with her husband for seven years on his sugar plantation in the Andes. When he fell ill, she took over the management of the estate, initially causing fear and hostility, but then gaining the respect of his family. She eventually divorced her husband and returned to England in 1978 with her young daughter Iseult. Her years in Venezuela provided her with material for her critically acclaimed novel The Keepers of the House. Her second marriage, to the Scottish poet and novelist George Macbeth, recently ended. She is now married to artist Robie Dough-Scott. She published four more novels, a collection of short stories, a book of poetry, and a book of autobiographical essays. The story “Is a Cruise a Curse?” Reprinted with the kind permission of A.M. Hit and Company Limited. Copyright 1990 by Lise St. Aubin de Teren. It was first published in Story 3 by Pandora Press.