Like most authors, I use the world around me - especially my own world of experience – to create stories for young readers. So it’s not hard to identify the spark that ignited my latest Middle Grade novel, After ... Read More  

One of the most common questions I get from young readers is, “Where do you get your ideas?” If you’re an author reading this, I’m sure you’re nodding along—it’s very common. I take this question to mean that the person ... Read More  

Iz the Apocalypse took me seven years to write. I’ve honestly lost count of how many versions there were. Characters and storylines came and went as I fought to figure out exactly how to tell Iz’s story. My husband ... Read More  

I’ve always been fascinated by the story behind a book.  What sparks an idea or theme? My latest picture book, A Flower is a Friend with luminous art by Karen Patkau, published by Pajama Press, began with a packet of ... Read More  

I live in a village that remained mostly unchanged for a few decades. We were surrounded by corn fields and horse pastures and that suited us just fine.  But then the nearby big city annexed neighbouring towns including ours ... Read More  

I began writing the first draft of this novel so long ago, its working title was Frozen. Well, we all know what happened to that title, thank you very much Disney! I’d go through several more titles before settling ... Read More  

I love writing science fiction. My very first four books were science fiction: time travel dystopian novels about climate change, corporations taking over the world, false prophets and utopias. Hmm. That was 33 years ago! Seems like I was either ... Read More  

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