I've been writing all my life, though not often for publication, or at least, not paid publication. Journals, newsletters for various organizations, more reports than I care to think about, (I was a teacher for years), articles for a non-profit website I manage, letters to the editor and to government representatives on issues I feel strongly about, book reviews for the bookstore I used to work for and for a professional organization's newsletter, articles of community interest for local newspapers, and stories to use with my students when I couldn't find appropriate materials for them. I've taught in preschools, elementary schools, several penitentiaries, in inner city schools in Toronto, on an Algonquin reserve in northern Quebec, and in adult literacy programs. I've also taught English as a Second Language to new immigrants. I've worked in banks, stores, libraries and very briefly, as a carpenter's helper on a construction site. Obviously, I'm no spring chicken. I have rheumatoid arthritis now, which limits some of my outdoor activities, but for the last sixteen years I've lived in a cabin in the woods in southeastern Ontario. I have a limited income, so have learned to do without running water or road access in the winter. I keep fit by hiking up and down the snowy hills, hauling groceries and laundry on a toboggan. I've had a full life and met a lot of very interesting people, including the very dear man who has shared my cabin for the last few years. I have no shortage of topics to write about!  

I recently achieved a final grade of 96% in an online course in Writing for Children, and was awarded an honourable mention in Byline Magazine for an article about my cat's encounter with a deer, titled, "Columbia, Big Game Hunter".