The Journey of Choncey Conch

About the Book

The Journey of Choncey Conch is a story about how to appreciate the culture, music, and the people around you. The idea for this story came from my experience of working on cruise ships traveling to the Caribbean and West Indies. As a musician, I mostly worked at night and had the opportunity to explore the islands, mostly on foot. During my cruise ship journeys, I had the opportunity to explore Nassau, New Providence, Freeport, Grand Bahamas, St. Thomas, St. Johns, St. Martin, St. Kitts, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Barbados, Aruba, Curacao, Antigua, Cancun, Puerto Rico, Cozumel, Ensenada, Martinique and other islands in the West Indies. I enjoyed seeing the colorful costumes, hearing the island music, and observing the people that live on these unique islands in the sun. I loved to hike up to the tallest peak and see the island and the ocean together. I enjoyed scuba diving and seeing what lay beneath these waters. I would always collect musical instruments from each island I visited. I would collect maracas, small steel drums, and my favorite the conch shell. The conch shell is a natural acoustical instrument that I perform like a french horn. This is the instrument that inspired me to write the Journey of Choncey Conch. When I left the cruise ships and started teaching, I began to write musicals for my students to perform. I wrote musicals about the circus, outer space, the seasons, the weather, Medieval music, and many other thematic subjects. In 2005, I decided to write a story about my journeys throughout the Caribbean. I wrote the musical and presented it with my students at Manatee Elementary. At that time I entitled it Islands in the sun. In 2006, I used this musical with the St. Lucie County All County Elementary Chorus with the same title. This year I contacted Mary Jo Seagrist to illustrate the book for me and she suggested I give the conch a name. I decided to use a version of my middle name, Chauncey. I also contacted the XLibris publishing company to help me print and publish the book. I hope this book will be as enjoyable for you to read as it was for me to write and help put you in that happy island spirit.

About the Author

Bryan Chauncey Mays is a native of Beattyville, KY. He is a musician, composer, arranger, and teacher. Mr. Mays is currently writing children's books about music, musical cultures, and musical instruments. This book was performed with the Saint Lucie County and all county Elementary Chorus. A CD accompanying the songs in this book is currently being recorded. If you would like to purchase the CD, send requests to: Brayn Chauncey Mays 3329 North Park Drive Fort Pierce FL 34982 Email: familymays@aol.com