About the Author
I have one of the best jobs you could ever imagine. I write kids books. I wasn’t always a writer. I used to be just a reader. But an Avid Reader.
In grade one, when I first learned to read, I was so excited. I rushed home and taught my younger brother Bryan to read, too. And he soon learned to love books as much as I do.
When we were kids, we’d hang out at the library every Saturday, taking out as many books as we were allowed which was three each. Then half way through the week, we’d trade them with each other so we’d get double the regulation number. The more we read, the more we wanted to read. So we both grew up crazy about books.
When I finished university, I became a teacher. Guess what my favourite thing to teach was. You’ve got it! Reading. I loved it. After a few years of teaching, I ‘retired’ to have a family of four children, 2 boys and 2 girls. Of course, I read plenty of books to my kids. Sometimes we ran out of books, so I’d make up the stories for them. That’s when I started writing and my first book, See You Later, Alligator was published.
When Jason, my youngest had started school and could read on his own, I went back to teaching and got another terrific job: A teacher/librarian. That job had the best of all worlds for me. Teaching, kids, and books. I loved it!
But after about 20 years, I found I was doing a lot of writing, and I wanted to do more, so I quit the teaching, allowing me to write full time. And that’s what I do now. So far I’ve had 21 books published. Some for little kids, some for big kids, and some for the inbetweens. I hope you’ll find one here that you’ll love.
F.A.Q.
Frequently Asked Questions
I have a sweet cat named Molly. But she pesters me every morning and
follows me around until I sit down at my desk and start writing. Then she
goes off and sleeps the day away. But I keep on writing until suppertime.
At least a year. Then it usually takes another year to sell the novel to a
publisher, go through the editing process, and finally have it published.
I find ideas for books all over the place, newspapers, TV, memories, family
stories, my students, and kids like you. I like to keep scraps of ideas for books
in a small notebook.
Reading. I liked adventure stories like My Friend Flicka, and Treasure Island
and family stores like Ramona, the Pest and Little Women, but I must admit, I
loved comic books. I had a huge collection I kept hidden under my bed.
The best advice is READ. It doesn’t matter what you read, but read as much
as you can. Then WRITE. Write as much as you can. One way to start writing
is by keeping a daily journal. You’ll find the more you write, the more you’ll
want to write.
Spelling.
Spell Check.
You get to create a whole world, including who lives in it, how they’re going
to act, and in the end, what happens to them. That’s a great feeling of power.