1. How long have you been writing?
I started writing as soon as I learned to read! I've saved everything I've ever written too, including my very first composition called "A Narrow Escape for a Mouse."
2. Did you always want to be a writer?
No, not always. At one point, back in elementary school, I wanted to be an astronomer, a zoologist, an archaeologist, a biologist. But I wasn't very good at math, so all of those career choices were out of the question. I wrote very good poems, stories and essays in high school English, though, and my teachers always told me I was a good writer. My university profs kept telling me, too. I guess I listened to them! I started on my very first novel in grade 10, which has never been published, but I've saved it, of course. The way I save everything I write! And that was the start of it. From then on I was hooked. I knew that writing was going to be a passion all my life, and with hard work, maybe even a career. Turns out I was right on both accounts!
3. Where do you get your ideas for your stories and children's poetry?
Ideas are everywhere, so I never have trouble finding one. I had this problem years ago when I was a beginning writer. I'd ask myself "Let's see, what should I write about?" Sometimes I used the "What if..." method to come up with a story or poem idea, like in my poem "Elephant Walk". I asked myself what would happen if an elephant went for a walk down my street, and wrote down all the possibilities. Then I turned it into a rhyming poem. Nowadays I seem to have too many ideas and not enough time. I have idea folders in a drawer, and I keep on adding to them. Whenever I see an article in a newspaper or magazine that sounds like it might be a puzzle piece for a good story, I clip it out and tuck it away. I probably have ideas for about six more books stashed in my desk drawer, all based on something I read that triggered an idea. Reading is a great way to stimulate your imagination!
4. When and where do you do your writing?
I try to write for at least a couple of hours every weekday, but when I'm deep into a novel, I'll spend at least three to four hours a day on it, sometimes even more. My mind stays with my story constantly though. I carry that character and his/her problem around with me everywhere I go. Sometimes I even talk to myself. I write in an office off the kitchen that's filled with all my favourite things, talismans and mementos of objects that have surfaced in my stories, and cool stuff that I've picked up here and there. Usually one of my two cats tiptoes in for a visit or parks on my desk to keep me company. And my Jug puppy, Cleo, hangs out in there too, trying her best to convince me that I should take her for a walk by squeaking a toy at my feet! There is a wall of shelves lined with books, of course. I have a bad habit of collecting books, and even have some early editions of classics like "The Secret Garden" and "Peter Pan". I'm addicted to books! I have pictures on my walls of some of the illustrated pages of my poetry that have appeared in Chirp Magazine. The room is painted a nice warm pumpkin colour. It's an extremely cosy writing spot!
5. What happens when you have writer's block?
My solution for writer's block is to do something completely unrelated to writing. I'll go for a long walk or do some ironing (boring!). Sometimes I'll go out and work in the garden or go for a swim or a bike ride. It's surprising how ideas suddenly burst into your brain when you haven't got a pencil and paper to jot them down. I think that if you distance yourself from the writing project for a while, your mind is set free and ideas begin to flow again. Works for me, anyway! Might work for you, too!
6. Are you working on anything new right now?
I'm ALWAYS working on something new! I'm working on several projects at the moment. (I always work on a few at once so that if I get stuck with one of them, I can slide over to another one.) One of the books I'm currently working on is an adult novel called "Whatever Will Happen". This is an ongoing labour of love which might take me years to complete, because my ideas keep evolving and I'm not quite certain yet exacly which direction it's heading in. I have a new book called Northwood Trails--a horse book!--coming out from Stabenfeldt in 2011, and I'm currently working on the sequel, starting in on the first chapters and trying to create an outline. I'm also at work on a short adult novel.
7. Do you have any personal appearances coming up in the near future?
On Saturday June 19th 2010 I'll be appearing at the CARDathon in the Park, in Toronto's G. Ross Lord Park, reading from and signing my books. Come on out and meet some of my favourite horses! Hope to see you there! Listen to a podcast that Jocelyn Shipley and I did for Cleavage: Breakaway Fiction for Real Girls on thatradio.com Friday September 19th, 2008-- thatradio.podhoster.com/index.php?sid=1070
I started writing as soon as I learned to read! I've saved everything I've ever written too, including my very first composition called "A Narrow Escape for a Mouse."
2. Did you always want to be a writer?
No, not always. At one point, back in elementary school, I wanted to be an astronomer, a zoologist, an archaeologist, a biologist. But I wasn't very good at math, so all of those career choices were out of the question. I wrote very good poems, stories and essays in high school English, though, and my teachers always told me I was a good writer. My university profs kept telling me, too. I guess I listened to them! I started on my very first novel in grade 10, which has never been published, but I've saved it, of course. The way I save everything I write! And that was the start of it. From then on I was hooked. I knew that writing was going to be a passion all my life, and with hard work, maybe even a career. Turns out I was right on both accounts!
3. Where do you get your ideas for your stories and children's poetry?
Ideas are everywhere, so I never have trouble finding one. I had this problem years ago when I was a beginning writer. I'd ask myself "Let's see, what should I write about?" Sometimes I used the "What if..." method to come up with a story or poem idea, like in my poem "Elephant Walk". I asked myself what would happen if an elephant went for a walk down my street, and wrote down all the possibilities. Then I turned it into a rhyming poem. Nowadays I seem to have too many ideas and not enough time. I have idea folders in a drawer, and I keep on adding to them. Whenever I see an article in a newspaper or magazine that sounds like it might be a puzzle piece for a good story, I clip it out and tuck it away. I probably have ideas for about six more books stashed in my desk drawer, all based on something I read that triggered an idea. Reading is a great way to stimulate your imagination!
4. When and where do you do your writing?
I try to write for at least a couple of hours every weekday, but when I'm deep into a novel, I'll spend at least three to four hours a day on it, sometimes even more. My mind stays with my story constantly though. I carry that character and his/her problem around with me everywhere I go. Sometimes I even talk to myself. I write in an office off the kitchen that's filled with all my favourite things, talismans and mementos of objects that have surfaced in my stories, and cool stuff that I've picked up here and there. Usually one of my two cats tiptoes in for a visit or parks on my desk to keep me company. And my Jug puppy, Cleo, hangs out in there too, trying her best to convince me that I should take her for a walk by squeaking a toy at my feet! There is a wall of shelves lined with books, of course. I have a bad habit of collecting books, and even have some early editions of classics like "The Secret Garden" and "Peter Pan". I'm addicted to books! I have pictures on my walls of some of the illustrated pages of my poetry that have appeared in Chirp Magazine. The room is painted a nice warm pumpkin colour. It's an extremely cosy writing spot!
5. What happens when you have writer's block?
My solution for writer's block is to do something completely unrelated to writing. I'll go for a long walk or do some ironing (boring!). Sometimes I'll go out and work in the garden or go for a swim or a bike ride. It's surprising how ideas suddenly burst into your brain when you haven't got a pencil and paper to jot them down. I think that if you distance yourself from the writing project for a while, your mind is set free and ideas begin to flow again. Works for me, anyway! Might work for you, too!
6. Are you working on anything new right now?
I'm ALWAYS working on something new! I'm working on several projects at the moment. (I always work on a few at once so that if I get stuck with one of them, I can slide over to another one.) One of the books I'm currently working on is an adult novel called "Whatever Will Happen". This is an ongoing labour of love which might take me years to complete, because my ideas keep evolving and I'm not quite certain yet exacly which direction it's heading in. I have a new book called Northwood Trails--a horse book!--coming out from Stabenfeldt in 2011, and I'm currently working on the sequel, starting in on the first chapters and trying to create an outline. I'm also at work on a short adult novel.
7. Do you have any personal appearances coming up in the near future?
On Saturday June 19th 2010 I'll be appearing at the CARDathon in the Park, in Toronto's G. Ross Lord Park, reading from and signing my books. Come on out and meet some of my favourite horses! Hope to see you there! Listen to a podcast that Jocelyn Shipley and I did for Cleavage: Breakaway Fiction for Real Girls on thatradio.com Friday September 19th, 2008-- thatradio.podhoster.com/index.php?sid=1070