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About me
I live on a ranch in a tiny community called Bridge Lake with my husband Larry and my daughter Meghan. Just like Ellie and Max in my pioneer series, our house is right beside a lake. All kinds of wildlife visit us on the ranch: bears, coyotes, foxes, rabbits, marmots, pine martins and weasels. Beavers and muskrats swim back and forth in front of our house. Once we even had a skunk! We hear wolves howling quite often but they are very shy and we only catch glimpses of them. Wild animals are not the only animals who live here. We have four horses called Magic, Montana, Tippy and Skipper, and a dog called Robin and a cat called Cookie.
My joy of writing began when I was a child. An avid reader of The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew, I started scribbling my own mystery series at 11 years old. I took a long break from writing when I became a teacher. However, reading wonderful books out loud everyday to young children in schools inspired me one day to give it a try myself - and I've never looked back! I retired from teaching in 2007 to become a full time writer.
Ideas for my books come from all kinds of places. My first books, My Homework is in the Mail and School Campout, drew on experiences right out of the classroom! Although no longer teaching, I frequently visits schools and libraries and find the students a continuing inspiration! A fascinating story in a magazine about young children immigrating to Upper Canada in the 1800's sparked my interest to do further research and my Max and Ellie series about a pioneer family was born.
My daughter Meghan is an avid reader and writer of fantasy, and she urged me to try my hand at the fantasy genre. That was the beginning of the Enchanted Theater series, a fantasy tale about a boy and a cat who travel back in time to Ancient Greece. There are four books in the series, all fast paced, lively and with great illustrations.
I have a lot of fun writing for younger readers, but I have always had a secret wish to write longer novels. My first 'long' novel, Never To Be Told, is a mystery for girls and boys ages 9 to 13. The first part of the book takes place on a remote ranch in the Cariboo in British Columbia (very much like our ranch in Bridge Lake) and the second part takes place in West Vancouver (where I grew up!)
The Cariboo, a region of ranches, cowboys and wilderness, has had a tremendous influence on my writing. My books, Sam's Ride, Whiteout, After the Fire, Missing and The Way Home all have Cariboo settings.
I try to write every day, in between a busy family life and traveling to talk to children about my books. I love the initial stages of a story best when everything is new and full of promise. For breaks, I ride my horse on our ranch, garden, hike, ski and read, read, read!
I live on a ranch in a tiny community called Bridge Lake with my husband Larry and my daughter Meghan. Just like Ellie and Max in my pioneer series, our house is right beside a lake. All kinds of wildlife visit us on the ranch: bears, coyotes, foxes, rabbits, marmots, pine martins and weasels. Beavers and muskrats swim back and forth in front of our house. Once we even had a skunk! We hear wolves howling quite often but they are very shy and we only catch glimpses of them. Wild animals are not the only animals who live here. We have four horses called Magic, Montana, Tippy and Skipper, and a dog called Robin and a cat called Cookie.
My joy of writing began when I was a child. An avid reader of The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew, I started scribbling my own mystery series at 11 years old. I took a long break from writing when I became a teacher. However, reading wonderful books out loud everyday to young children in schools inspired me one day to give it a try myself - and I've never looked back! I retired from teaching in 2007 to become a full time writer.
Ideas for my books come from all kinds of places. My first books, My Homework is in the Mail and School Campout, drew on experiences right out of the classroom! Although no longer teaching, I frequently visits schools and libraries and find the students a continuing inspiration! A fascinating story in a magazine about young children immigrating to Upper Canada in the 1800's sparked my interest to do further research and my Max and Ellie series about a pioneer family was born.
My daughter Meghan is an avid reader and writer of fantasy, and she urged me to try my hand at the fantasy genre. That was the beginning of the Enchanted Theater series, a fantasy tale about a boy and a cat who travel back in time to Ancient Greece. There are four books in the series, all fast paced, lively and with great illustrations.
I have a lot of fun writing for younger readers, but I have always had a secret wish to write longer novels. My first 'long' novel, Never To Be Told, is a mystery for girls and boys ages 9 to 13. The first part of the book takes place on a remote ranch in the Cariboo in British Columbia (very much like our ranch in Bridge Lake) and the second part takes place in West Vancouver (where I grew up!)
The Cariboo, a region of ranches, cowboys and wilderness, has had a tremendous influence on my writing. My books, Sam's Ride, Whiteout, After the Fire, Missing and The Way Home all have Cariboo settings.
I try to write every day, in between a busy family life and traveling to talk to children about my books. I love the initial stages of a story best when everything is new and full of promise. For breaks, I ride my horse on our ranch, garden, hike, ski and read, read, read!