I started writing actively when I was in my early teens, encouraged by teachers at Central Memorial High School in Calgary.  Cy Groves, my English teacher, liked to serve tea in class as we discussed and critiqued the assigned reading of the day.  Louis B. Hobson, my drama teacher, very simply encouraged creativity in all his students.  When my creative soul reached for a pen, Louis B. said simply, “Write!”

Over the years I have continued to express myself in writing through poetry, journals and some short stories.  I have even dabbled a little in live music review write-ups as I have a deep and abiding passion for music of nearly every genre. 

My love of music has seen me working, generally as a volunteer, on local festivals or even helping out a band or individual player if they asked.  I’ve always found great comraderies among the music community and met some of my best friends and mentors on one side of a stage or another.  Music is indeed the rhythm, heart and soul of life and my life has had a rich and ever-changing soundtrack. 

I was born in Great Britain but my folks decided to move their young family to the Wild West of Canada when I was still a little girl.  Calgary, Alberta became my new home and I have grown with the city, watching it go from 200,000 people to well over a million over my lifetime here.  One of the greatest joys of living in Calgary is our proximity to the Rocky Mountains and Banff National Park.  I find myself drawn there whenever I need to reconnect with all that is truly important; it is the perfect place to center one’s soul.  There’s a unique sense of majesty and serenity amidst those mountains where the lakes are like turquoise and aquamarine gemstones set in granite and deep green forest frames. 

So many favourite songs come to mind when I try to sum up who I am and what I’ve made of my life thus far.  But none says it better than a song from the Muppets, “Someday we’ll find it, the Rainbow Connection, the lovers, the dreamers and me.”   I am a writer, I am a dreamer.