Hello! I am an author and educator from Hamilton, Ontario.
Originally from New Zealand, with the accent to prove it, I immigrated to Canada in my early twenties to attend graduate school at the University of Toronto where I studied Shakespeare.
After a lifetime of reading, I didn't begin to write seriously until my first child was born. Generated by real experiences with my daughter and son, I sometimes describe my first picture books as a "record of the creative act of mothering." Now, when I write, I'm just trying to have a lot of fun!
Although mainly a picture book author, I also write poetry, fiction and comix for adults. These adult works, published in various literary magazine in Canada, are memoirs of my own, difficult childhood.
As well as having multiple writing projects on the go at any one time, I teach learning skills and scriptwriting to first-year media students at Humber College in Toronto.
I love animals (I have a giant cat and a tiny dog, and would squeeze more in to my little house if I could); walking in the rain; meeting new people; home-made bread; drawing comics; playing the flute; and most of all, my (big) children Audie and Sam and husband Chris.