My (Writing) Life Story

Me as a teenager

I grew up in Kingston, Ontario, the youngest of five children. My earliest memories are those I carved out alone with nature: catching snakes, taming squirrels, sketching ducks.

I studied political science at Queen’s University and environmental studies at York University before moving to the Ottawa area to work in the conservation movement. As a student, I practiced “productive procrastination” and wrote short stories whenever major papers were due. A dozen of my stories were published in small literary journals in the 1990s (Quarry, Writ, The New Quarterly — it was new back then) .

Me as Mary Poppins

I didn’t write much fiction for several years, while working full-time and starting a family.

I wrote my first story for children in 2003, and I was rejected for several years before I got the hang of it. My first children’s novel, Walking Backward, was published by Orca in 2009, to critical acclaim. My first picture book,  My Cat Isis, illustrated by Virginie Egger, was published by Kids Can Press in 2011, and is now out of print.

My teen novel, All Good Children (Orca), and my middle-grade comedy, 26 Tips for Surviving Grade 6 (Lorimer), both won multiple awards, and my middle-grade novel, 28 Tricks for a Fearless Grade 6 (Lorimer), was nominated for a Diamond Willow. My second picture book, When the Squirrels Stole my Sister, illustrated by Sean Cassidy, was published by  Fitzhenry & Whiteside in 2021.

Now that my kids are grown, I write mostly for adults again. My recent stories have appeared in The Fiddlehead, The New Quarterly, and many more Canadian literary magazines and anthologies.

I’m a member of The Writers’ Union of Canada, the Quebec Writers’ Federation, and The Gatineau Anglophone Writers’ Group.

I’ve been a literacy tutor, a creative writing teacher, and a mentor to writers of all ages and genres, and I feel blessed to have played a tiny part in Canada’s vast and vibrant literary community.

I am grateful for the financial support of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec.

Read more about My Interests and Addictions.