Marigold Deidre Dicer

I remember being in grade one (so I would've been six years old) and I wrote a 'big long fairytale'. I thought it was big and long at the time, but it was probably only a few pages. I remember being really proud of myself and I read the whole thing to the class in one of those end-of-year celebrations. I can't remember which fairytale it was. It might have been Snow White, or Rapunzel, though I'm fairly confident it was Red Riding Hood because I remember dressing up as her that year. Red was my favourite colour, you see.

I started writing my first novel when I was fifteen. That was probably what the question was asking, huh? It was a murder/treasure hunting mystery featuring an adventuring archaeologist. I loved it, but it's a self-indulgent mess and will never be published. Having said that, the process really kicked off my hobby and I've been writing novels ever since.

I wanted to write something fun. I had the idea of a character who had some of my faults and then some who could turn the tables after she's thrown into a world with next-to-no-control. Then as I wrote, the characters got deeper and I found them addressing all sorts of questions about perception and fear, where shame comes from and who controls it. All the while there was this dark lore imbedded in the tale, and it's only going to get darker. This magic isn't pretty. It's Macbeth magic: blood, sex and spirit.