About
I was born in Didsbury, Alberta, Canada and was raised on a farm east of town. I am the middle child of three; I have an older sister and a younger brother. My siblings and I grew up enjoying the outdoors and I give credit to my country upbringing for my active imagination; that and my love of books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I spent most of my time outside of school hours playing in the pastures, floating my inner tube raft on the creek, riding my horse, biking to the neighbors or relaxing in the hayloft of the big red barn. On occasion I would bring a book to the hayloft with me and snuggle up in the straw and read until I was called for supper. Other times I spent hours in the barn, imagining, creating characters and acting out the scenes from the stories in my head. Then there were moments when play exhausted me and I'd curl up on the hay and watch the dust motes float softly down, with the sun illuminating them from behind.
Because our family lived 10 km out of town, my siblings and I were the first ones on the bus in the morning and the last ones off in the evening. It wasn’t uncommon for fellow passengers to see my nose pressed into a book all the way to school and all the way home. I had no difficulty putting myself into the roles of my characters, sometimes I even got into trouble, especially if the character I was acting out was not viewed in a positive light. Both my parents thought that upon my graduation I would become an actress, because of my ability to spontaneously portray a role convincingly. I admit, as a child, the thought of becoming an actress sounded very romantic, but soon I realized that it was the story behind the acting that captured my heart. It was those words on the pages that took me places I couldn't go in the real world.
I have always had a fascination for antique and vintage items. It gives me pleasure to walk through an antique store, usually with my mother in tow, and check out all the items that predate me. To physically hold an item that has so many stories to tell and then attempt to extricate the details is a thrill for me. Next to investigating antique and vintage artifacts is my love of exploring old buildings; whether it is the old shack on the hill next to my childhood farm, or a fixed up building centered in my favorite historical village, I will enter them with a story already starting on the doorstep.
I knew by the time I was in my mid teens that I would someday write a book. I have manilla envelopes in a wooden crate with stories and poetry that go as far back as high school to present day. Poetry has always been an outlet for my emotions. When I didn’t know how to process what I was feeling as a child, in a particular moment, I would pick up a pen and allow the emotions to flow out onto the paper. I still put pen to paper when confusing emotions fill my soul and the result often gives me the comfort I need in the moment.
My original intention upon high school graduation was to get an Education Degree, majoring in music and teach elementary education. I competed Grade 10 Royal Conservatory of Music examinations and at the same time receiving a Bachelor of Church Music Degree, while living in Winnipeg, MB, but that is where it stopped. Upon coming back home to Alberta, I worked in an accounting firm for two years and then married the love of my life. Accounting was not for me so I stepped into the world of dentistry by pursuing a career as a Dental Assistant, but knew early into my career that the dental field was not my true passion. I continued to write poetry and short stories to fill the career void in my life and then five years after marriage, my husband and I were blessed with a beautiful daughter, and three years after that a handsome son.
Becoming a mother changed my world on so many levels and all for the good. I determined to be the best mother I could possibly be to our two beautiful souls and to have no regrets someday when they graduate high school. Upon having our children, I became a stay at home mom and taught piano to students after school throughout the week to help supplement our income. Besides that, I spent time with my children and one of the things we did a lot of, was reading books. I read Oh, The Places You'll Go by Dr. Suess to my babies in utero (I know that sounds strange), and once they entered the world, the reading never stopped. They heard the stories of The Berenstain Bears by Stan and Jan Berenstain and Franklin the turtle by Paulette Bourgeios. We read and read and read and to this day both of my adult children are avid readers. I also spent a lot of time outdoors, going for walks, exploring, playing, jumping in puddles, flying kites and playing at the playground. The outdoors is the best classroom there is! During this growing time, after dinner, my husband took over and gave his quality time to the children and I went into my office to engage in a course I was taking through the Institute of Children's Literature based out of West Redding, Connecticut, USA. It was this course that paved the way for me to pursue writing for children. I did well in this program and earned a certificate plus accolades from my instructors to keep going, take the risk and submit some stories to different publishing companies. I never did, but all those stories still live inside my manilla envelopes in my little brown crate.
After my children were both in school full time, I knew the door to dental assisting was closed for good. My love for children stirred my heart to seek another career option and that's what opened the door to becoming an Educational Assistant. I sought out avenues to get my certification and completed the program through the University of Calgary. My heart finally had landed where it was happy, and my new career allowed me to spend quality time with children; I worked as and Educational Assistant until 2020. It was those children and the desire to foster learning and the love of reading in each and every one of them, that finally gave me the push to attempt publishing one of my stories.
I admit that I wish I had started the book publishing process earlier in life, but I do not have any regrets about devoting time and attention to my husband and my children when they were young. I am a firm believer, that to everything a time will come, I have learned to trust the process.
A few of my favorite children's authors are Robert Munsch, Shel Silverstein, Phoebe Gilman and Eric Carle all with colorful books that still grace my library. Some of my favorite adult authors include Kate Morton, Jeannette Walls, Cormac McCarthy, Sue Monk Kidd and Margaret Atwood just to name a few. I am also a huge fan of Jane Austen and Emily Bronte and many other classics for adults and children. Historical fiction books and those with multiple timelines tend to draw my attention more than any other, however I do delight in a good down home mystery to the likes of Where the Crawdad Sings by Delia Owens.
Gracie’s Playful, Dusty Day is a children’s picture book and my first published book. I see it as the beginning and am very optimistic about the future and what lies in store. Presently I have completed the manuscript for a second picture book and am working on a novel intended for adults; this one having been in the works for several years.
It is my hope that my followers feel the passion behind the words they read and that my stories will leave readers wanting more!
