I was born in upstate New York and lived in Australia and then Canada from 1964-1979. I've always been a writer and wrote, illustrated, and "bound" my first book when I was 9-years-old. Following graduation from college I worked as a writer/research for the Nova Scotia Museum. Aft ...
I started writing and illustrating "books" when I was nine years old. My parents were very supportive of my writing. However, my dream to become a professional writer was squashed when my family moved and I transfered to a new high school in the middle of nineth grade. Our first assignment was to write an epic poem. I attacked the assignment with gusto and turned in what I thought was a well-written poem. The next day my new English teacher, Miss Hudson, stood up in front of class and read my epic poem to the class. I felt good until she then ripped it up and accused me of cheating and copying it from somewhere. I was so stunned that I didn't know how to respond. I'd never cheated, nor been accused of cheating. She made me sit in the back of the class for the rest of the year and I was taken out of the college-track English classes. It was very humiliating and I didn't even tell my parents about it I was so devastated. I avoided writing unless absolutely necessary until I was starting my senior year and petitioned to be moved back into college track English class since I wanted to go to college. In college I avoided taking any writing or literature classes. It wasn't until I finished college and applied for a job at the Nova Scotia Museum as a researcher that I got back into writing. The director of the museum read a research report I'd written and praised my writing style. After that my official title was research/writer. Thanks to his encourage and influence, I've been back on track every since.
