is an award-winning journalist and author. Her work has been critically acclaimed, garnering awards and recognition internationally
As a child, I loved everything to do with puppets, magic and science. I used to put on puppet shows and magic acts for my mom and sisters and cousins. I thought that I could be a magician when I grew up. I also liked to conduct experiments with my microscope, mostly involving paramecium and other microscopic creatures. I used to enjoy inventing stories as well. My aunt, who was also my godmother, encouraged me to write my stories down. She bought me several spiral-ring notebooks and told me to fill them, which I did.
At the age of seven, my family moved to Woodstock, Ontario. We left all my aunts and uncles and friends behind for a new life in the country. We didn't mind so much, because we got to rent a gigantic stone farmhouse and have horses and pets of all kinds. We learned how to ride and fend for ourselves in those days.
When I grew up, I studied English Literature at the University of Guelph. I loved to read and I especially loved to write. But it wasn't until I moved to California that I considered the idea of a writing career. While working as a writer for several publications, I studied communications and novel writing at the University of California, San Diego.
Eventually I moved back to Canada to study Landscape Architecture at the University of Guelph. It was a practical move to secure a profession and ensure stability. I enjoyed the masters program immensely, but my studies helped me to realize that writing is my first love. I left the program and finished two novels in one year. One was picked up by Orca Book Publishers in Vancouver. That novel was Piper. Since then, I haven't stopped writing. I can't imagine doing anything else.