My world is saturated by the written word! What influences your world?

When I was a little girl living in Cumbernauld (Scotland) my mother had to chase me outside to play. I loved the company of Enid Blyton’s “Famous Five” and “Magnificent Seven.” My favourite day of the week was the one that included a visit to the local library. I read Blyton’s adventure books over and over again. I rode a bike, played rounders, roller skated, and swung on the local “monkey bars,” but the truth is, whenever I could, I read.

The first story I ever wrote was a parable. I was about twelve or thirteen at the time. Everyone in my second year class at Our Lady’s High School had to write one, courtesy of Sister Margaret, the girls’ Head. She taught both English and Religion. All the students in the school were afraid of her...and her strap. When she called me out of science class one afternoon I was terrified, wondering, as I followed her down the hall, what I’d done. She told me that my story was good, that I had a gift, and that I should cultivate it.

It took more than twenty years before I did that: I submitted a portfolio for consideration for the Level I Creative Writing course at the University of Calgary in 1998.

My journey since then has been filled with many joys, including those I’ve experienced writing fiction and poetry.

If you love words, if you think, eat, and sleep stories, don’t wait! Write them down!

CHECK OUT THE 2011 MEDIA PAGE TO LINK TO ARTICLES OR LISTEN TO RADIO INTERVIEWS!