As editor and principal writer of the Keys Voices blog, my great joy is sharing the islands I love with readers all over the world.

I began a long-term love affair with the Florida Keys & Key West in the late 1970s. Since then I’ve written about the island chain — in all its unexpected grace, funkiness and offbeat glory — for publications around America.

Ten years ago, in a piece of true Keys serendipity, I began working with the media relations firm for the Florida Keys & Key West tourism council. From my standpoint, it was (and remains) a perfect fit.

These days, from the balcony of my 100-year-old conch house, I can see the sunrise and sunset over the Atlantic Ocean at the Southernmost Point of the continental United States. My friends include treasure hunters, drag queens and internationally acclaimed writers.

While indulging passions like researching the Keys’ renegade history and raising eccentric cats, I write this blog.

Welcome to my world.

Carol Shaughnessy