I'm a fiction writer, travel writer, columnist, magazine features writer, web contributor and playwright. I also take photos to accompany stories and for fun, I'm a part time university instructor and I manage the Osprey Arts Centre and the Shelburne County Arts Council. I'm a member of Writers in the Schools, the Writers Federation of Nova Scotia, the Travel Media Association of Canada and the Canadian Freelance Union. Check out the details inside...
Click the link below to read my latest travel story on the popular webzine, Life As A Human:
http://lifeasahuman.com/2013/feature/paris-is-for-photographers/
http://lifeasahuman.com/2013/feature/paris-is-for-photographers/
My latest book will be published soon...
Monsters of Suburbia is a novel for teens, but adults will enjoy it as well.
Synopsis - Everywhere Ray turns, he finds monsters in suburbia – bullies at his new school, a disfigured stranger in the park, a teenage witch named Theda. When Ray finds himself trapped with the bullies and the witch, he has to call on his know-how as a kid from the country to survive…and try to save the others.
Amazon.com Review of a 2-chapter excerpt:
"I loved it. So real and yet inventive, with characters that are engaging and interesting. I couldn't wait to read what happened next, and really care about the characters and their situations."
Another Amazon.com Review of a 2-chapter excerpt:
"In this excerpt there is a line of narrative I like very much - "if you're good with words, don't stay quiet..." - and that is what I would like to say its author. This excerpt shows real
promise and I can only imagine how good the rest of the story is. It hooked my attention."
Amazon Customer Review of 2-chapter excerpt:
YA readers will devour this story, the alienation of both adolescence and moving from two places of stark contrast as well as the bullying, name calling. The author doesn't hold back either. The portrayal of the bullies are very modern and realistic.
Synopsis - Everywhere Ray turns, he finds monsters in suburbia – bullies at his new school, a disfigured stranger in the park, a teenage witch named Theda. When Ray finds himself trapped with the bullies and the witch, he has to call on his know-how as a kid from the country to survive…and try to save the others.
Amazon.com Review of a 2-chapter excerpt:
"I loved it. So real and yet inventive, with characters that are engaging and interesting. I couldn't wait to read what happened next, and really care about the characters and their situations."
Another Amazon.com Review of a 2-chapter excerpt:
"In this excerpt there is a line of narrative I like very much - "if you're good with words, don't stay quiet..." - and that is what I would like to say its author. This excerpt shows real
promise and I can only imagine how good the rest of the story is. It hooked my attention."
Amazon Customer Review of 2-chapter excerpt:
YA readers will devour this story, the alienation of both adolescence and moving from two places of stark contrast as well as the bullying, name calling. The author doesn't hold back either. The portrayal of the bullies are very modern and realistic.
Buy my latest collection of short fiction...
Longlisted for the 2012 ReLit Awards
Excerpt from Holidays
"Puppy Luv"
Deirdre started it. She gave Braden a candy heart (I M YOURS). We all had candy hearts because Ms. English gave them to us. She went to the dollar store and bought a whole bag of them. She gives us stuff. She’s nice. She’s rich because she’s a teacher. Sometimes she’s mean, but only to the boys because they sass. She gave each one of us ten to give out to our friends. We had to buy our own cards. She bought cinnamon hearts too and decorations.She has a boyfriend.
It wasn’t like Deirdre didn’t know what it said. She read all of hers before. She put them all out on her desk in a row. She picked them up one at a time off her desk and she held them out in front of her and she read them out loud. Everybody saw her do it. Some people even told her to shut up because they couldn’t read their own with her doing that.
We made mailboxes. I coloured mine (red hearts). Braden drew old-fashioned guns and swords all over his and laser guns too. Ms. English didn’t say anything. She’s so nice. She let us go to the bathroom so we drop a card or a candy heart or a cinnamon heart into someone’s bag on the way. Ms. English would say yes Shaun or Brittany or Amad or Shauntay you may go to the bathroom and she would smile and wink.
I gave all ten of mine out to my friends (girls). I had BE MINE and I ♥ U and TRU LUV and TXT ME and I ate KISS ME because I couldn’t even give that one to a girl All the boys gave theirs to girls and all the girls gave theirs to girls so the boys didn’t get any almost and it wasn’t fair because they like candy as much as everybody else.
