I was born in Stratford, Ontario, and grew up on a farm near Woodstock, in the backyard of Toronto. One would think that someone living so close to the Stratford Festival would have been indoctrinated in the sacred works of Shakespeare, but alas, it was not so. Instead my early appetite for books was fed with other fare, including my own library of Nancy Drew mysteries. I was particularly drawn to the Black Stallion series, and fell in love with Lord of the Rings.
My Grade Eight teacher loved my sarcastic stories, so much so that I began to contemplate writing seriously. Unfortunately, high school happened, my writings took on a darker tone, and I lost my direction in regards to a career in writing. Instead I decided to pursue a degree in science at the University of Ottawa. Ten years passed. I wandered through a career in nursing and dialysis until I began to tap on the keys and got my rhythm back.
Fortunately, throughout my lost years, I enjoyed a very happy marriage and two lovely (if over-indulged) children. We all share an interest in a good story, and a fascination for the natural world. Exploring that world is our passion, and a favourite place to pursue it is in the unspoiled wilderness of Algonquin Park.
When I began writing again, I started with short fiction, but soon found that my stories were bursting at the seams. Writing colleagues pointed out that everything I created sounded like a novel. So I wrote a couple of science fiction novels and a horror novel. These are all neatly packed away in the back of my filing cabinet, where they continue to generate additions to a file I call “Those Blasted Rejections.” Ice Tomb, on the other hand, while probably the most difficult novel I've ever written, was instantly snatched up by a publisher. Background research took me deep into my worst nightmare - physics - and right up to heaven - space, the final frontier. It took me to the coldest corner of the earth and had me digging through the obscurest NASA files. When I found myself standing beside the 363-foot Saturn V rocket, I knew that this was where I was meant to be.
Having children, though, filled in blanks I didn’t know were there, as I became acquainted with Curious George and Dr. Seuss. When Harry Potter came along, I was thrilled. An imaginative fantasy - set in the current age. Even though my daughter was only in the second grade at the time, she had to learn to read this. We started small - she would read a sentence or two and I would read until my voice was hoarse. But it sparked a love for reading in her that George had never done. So I thought, why not some children's science fiction?
Time Meddlers was born from the ashes of Curious George. (No, I didn't really burn the books!) What a concept - a time travel series that showcases history in an exciting adventure. Of course it’s been done before, but I incorporated a little twist: The main characters are deliberately meddling with powers they can’t control, and perhaps shouldn’t. I even put the physics I’d studied to use, and inserted some quantum theory into the books. By this time, I found I liked writing for children so much that I joined the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, where I found friendship and constant support for my writing endeavours.
I am often asked, “Where do you get your ideas?” Writing isn't rocket science (well, some of it is!), and there are ideas in everything we do and see. I can read a certain story and an idea will pop into my head, or I just look around my neighbourhood at the relationships and values of different individuals, and certain aspects of my characters emerge. My life experience is a vast storehouse, and I often incorporate personal tidbits into my stories. Every new theory or breakthrough in the scientific community is riddled with ideas. Some ideas grow into stories while others lie dormant like tulip bulbs until they receive the right stimulus. Ice Tomb was an idea for two years before I made it a reality. It had to germinate in my mind, through a few sleepless nights, until it finally blossomed into a novel. Insomnia, although torturous, is fundamental to the growth of my ideas. So next time you have a great idea and can't sleep, pick up a pen, not a pill!