A lifelong love of books, people and stories has led me into a life revolving around people and the written word.  I studied literature and psychology in an attempt to be able to create realistic and interesting characters with depth and life, as well as building an understanding of the people who are reading the stories.   I produced my first published book when I was 13 years old (our school’s very first ever yearbook!) and have been fundraising for a variety of non-profit societies for 15 years. I finally found a way to combine making books with raising money for great programs (Gumboot Books donates a % of our website sales to various literacy groups and offers our products as a fundraising tool for schools and community groups).   After growing up in a family where everyone is self employed before they can legally drink, I started my first business when I was 18. I travelled around the province doing workshops on leadership, goal setting, event planning, team building and stress management with a number of groups ranging in age from elementary school students to working professionals.   I then moved to Ireland, where I continued to conduct stress management workshops and one-to-one wellness counseling throughout my Masters Degree in Health Psychology.   I am now privileged to be pursuing my dreams of being an author, and also as the owner of a small independent publishing company called Gumboot Books which publishes fun and education books for children of all ages.   I am passionate about supporting groups who are encouraging literacy and a love of reading and learning through the “World of Stories” project at Gumboot Books, in partnership with Rotary District 5020, and excited to be able to help groups all over the world raise money for their community projects!   While I am presently working primarily in the area of children’s picture books and young adult novels,  I am also working on several projects of novel length and a book of short stories for adults in between facilitating workshops in wellness, leadership, writing and publishing! (As in, don’t plan on reading the grown up books for a while yet!).