About Me

During the day, I’m a high school teacher (English and Law this year, with History, Writing, and Student Services/Special Education in recent years). When the marking and planning for the day are done, I fit in as much writing as possible. It’s been my passion for decades, and I love working in a variety of genres: poetry, prose, and non-fiction.

Getting to this point has required a few years in university:

  • Associate of Arts, College of the Rockies
  • Bachelor of Arts (Humanities Major–History, English, and Religious Studies concentrations), University of Lethbridge
  • Bachelor of Education, University of British Columbia-Okanagan
  • Post-Graduate Certificate in Special Education, Queen’s University
  • Master of Arts (English Language and Literature), Carleton University

This has meant a lot of moving around, but I love to visit and experience new places. When I was younger, I had the opportunity to live in New Hampshire, Mississippi, and Maryland. I got to know a lot of great people, and the scenes and experiences have shaped who I am and how I write.

I also love to read as much as possible. With three children, I am constantly exposed to new and exciting children’s books. While I was training to become a teacher, I was blessed to work with our local youth literacy program, reading with students in elementary school. I try to set a list of books each year and fit in a few more around them. Among the books I’m looking at for this year:

  • Octavia Butler – Parable of the Sower
  • Rachel Carson – Silent Spring
  • Miguel de Cervantes – Don Quixote
  • Joseph Crane – The Red Badge of Courage
  • Jackson Crawford – The Poetic Edda: Stories of the Norse Gods and Heroes
  • Tony Danza – I’d Like to Apologize to Every Teacher I Ever Had: My Year as a Rookie Teacher at Northeast High
  • W. E. B. Du Bois – The Souls of Black Folk
  • Umberto Eco – The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana
  • Harry Harrison – Make Room! Make Room!
  • Henry James – The Turn of the Screw
  • James Joyce – Dubliners
  • Nikos Kazantzakis – Zorba the Greek
  • Stephen King – The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon
  • N. Scott Momaday – House Made of Dawn
  • Toni Morrison – Beloved
  • Haruki Murakami – Kafka on the Shore
  • William F. Nolan & George Clayton Johnson – Logan’s Run
  • William F. Nolan – Logan’s World/Logan’s Search
  • George Orwell – Down and Out in Paris and London
  • Eden Robinson – Son of a Trickster
  • Joanna Russ – The Female Man
  • William Shakespeare – The Merry Wives of Windsor
  • Suzanne Simard – Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest
  • Snorri Sturluson – The Prose Edda
  • John Steinbeck – The Log from the Sea of Cortez
  • Booker T. Washington – Up from Slavery
  • Evelyn Waugh – Men at Arms

In reality, the list is a basic outline. I tend to get a bit distracted, change a few, and toss in some others for enjoyment or to get a deeper understanding of current events. Feel free to check me out on Goodreads to see my progress.

I also like to share ideas and work with people with similar interests, so I am a member of:

I also serve as a manuscript referee for Utopian Studies and a reviewer for the journal Autism in Adulthood, was a member of the editorial board of the now-defunct The Best Century: A Journal of the Nineteenth Century, and represented Carleton University’s graduate students on the Association of Canadian College and University Teachers of English.

I also love the beautiful scenery and vibrant arts community where I live, and I’m a member of my local community theatre society, arts council, performing arts society, cycling club, and community forest society.