I first started writing poetry and short stories when I could print and spell - four or five. My first published poem, an 'expressive limerick' about falling down a lot while trying to figure skate, was published in our school newsletter when I was in Gr. One. I got hooked at that point.

First off, I'll never get used to thinking of them as 'fans.' They're people who have picked up my books and told me and others that they love them, and for that I'm so grateful. They tell me to keep at it, and they're one of the main reasons I keep pushing myself to get my work out there. I try to write for myself first and foremost, but knowing that there are people out there who enjoy my style - that's great motivation!

I grew up in Glen Cairn, Ontario, Canada -it later became Kanata - a suburb of Ottawa. I think WHEN I grew up influenced me more than the place. In the 70's, you played baseball or hockey or skate boarding outside on the street past dusk. You rode your bike everywhere. I have great childhood memories of my neighbourhood in Glen Cairn, especially Halloween, when parents still made you do a 'trick' - a song or dance - for the treats. I think my writing is also influenced by my love of nature, which was fostered by summers spent at my parents and grandparents' cottage in Quebec.

I love the process of writing - it's mesmerizing and relaxing for me. Sometimes I don't really even know what I've written. It's a bit like when I'm doing yoga or inline skating or swimming - I just get into the rhythm of it and don't know how long I've been at it. I love that writing takes me away and creates other worlds, for me and for my readers.

The sun streaming through the curtains. If it's cloudy and snowy like it often is here, my daughter's voice, the smell of coffee, the possibilities. I try to live in possibility. And hope. Hope hides everywhere, you just need to keep your eyes open, so you can find it.