When I was touring my first novel, sometimes I would test out drafts of other projects, just for fun. I first read an early draft of “Margaret” in the Spring of 2022 at the L.E. Shore Memorial Library. Now it’s out in Issue 169 of The New Quarterly. Enjoy!
Read it online for free for a limited time
Stories take time, and I’m grateful to the audiences who have tolerated the early drafts, and who like to play with me along the way.
It’s been a year since “Between Silk & Wool” was launched and what a ride! I’ve been overwhelmed by the letters from readers, and the willingness of strangers to share their personal stories. I had hoped the novel would find readers; I didn’t expect it would reach thousands through word of mouth. I should have known that stories find their way. Read More...
Twenty-five years seems like enough distance to begin to write about a country that shaped me in so many ways. My love for Veracruz runs deep, and my ongoing relationship with all things Mexican even deeper.
This coming of age novel is inspired by the women I lived with in this historic port city, the countryside I was exposed to and the stories that continue to unfold in real life and on the page.
My love of history sent me back into the 60’s to better understand the 90’s, and three years into this project I wonder now more than ever if anyone understands the complexity of this beautiful, tragic and magical place.
As a young adult, I had no sense of history, no appreciation for student movements, narco violence or political corruption. I was immersed in adventure, exotic fruit and heavily perfumed, high octane macho culture. In other words, superficial Mexico, postcard Mexico, commodified Mexico.
Today, I hope to do justice to some of the nuance beyond what I experienced as a young woman, and paint a portrait of a place and people whose resilience and joy continues to inspire me all these years later.
Photo credit: Lourdes Alonso, Adalberto Ríos Szalay
"For fans of Pam Jenoff, Ruta Sepetys and Jennifer Robson comes a richly told WWII story of unlikely allies struggling together against Nazi occupation in the Netherlands."
The seamstress
As the Dutch flag is torn down and replaced with Nazi swastikas, young Hilde Zontag is compelled to resist the Germans only to discover her beloved father’s collaboration. This shocking betrayal threatens to erode the trust between Hilde and the boy she loves. So when her father warns there’s no resistance without blood, Hilde wonders if her choices will start—or stop—the bleeding.
The chatelaine
When the ancestral home she has sacrificed everything for is seized by the Nazis, Lady Astrid ignores her unwanted guests until she’s forced to dress up and cooperate to save her estate from ruin. She's making the best of things, but her children’s mysterious tutor—a refugee she’s inexplicably drawn towards—knows all too well that it takes more than new clothes to survive a war.
As deception becomes reflex, Hilde and Astrid must choose between following the patterns of the past or stitching together a future of their own making. Once a thread is pulled, everything unravels...
For years I’ve coached storytellers across the city to tell their true, personal stories on stage. My favourites are the poets, because they are so earnest and truth-seeking. My least favourites are the comedians (too much pressure).
COVID put a damper on getting out, but slowly, slowly, people are venturing out. Hallelujah!
Recently I went from backstage directing to side-stage judging, in a unique evening of storytelling where storytellers were invited to write a story based on an original work of art. It was epic! The stories and music were so memorable it inspired me to get back on stage in 2024 and work on some of my own material.
Loved judging alongside Andrew Kaufman (Canadian writer, film director and radio producer) and poet laureate of Owen Sound, Richard Yves Sitoski.
Every writer starts as a reader, and a reader’s favourite place is the library! Ever since Mrs. Wilson handed me “A Diary of Anne Frank”, I’ve been drawn to WWII history. For more information about booking an author talk in your community, click here.
ON STAGE AT MILL’S HARDWARE
I love #HamOnt, and I love all the small venues scattered across the city that serve as arts incubators for the many talented people who call this place home. Want to talk #historical fiction and #indie writing? Let's Connect!
Want a local author to join your book club? Now booking into Fall 2024, click on the contact link to inquire.
Upcoming Events:
April 2024 “The Final Word” - Keynote
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For distribution information, contact Speelman Book House.
The “Valley Hardware” stories revolve around Lorne, a city guy who’s inherited a hardware store from his ex-wife’s late father. (Yes, it’s convoluted. That’s sort of the point.) He’s come to love small-town living in the cozy apartment above the store he shares with his new wife, the Reverend Monica. Across the street, his ex, Sharanne, runs a successful beauty salon. Hopping between these two worlds is Ella, the product of Lorne and Sharanne’s teenage romance, a girl whose head is always in the clouds—birdwatching. Between farmers and townies, city folk and hippie nomads, the stories of life in the Valley portray unlikely souls becoming friends, and the kind of community each of us long for, a place where we truly belong. *
Read the series from the beginning.
Big Love for Local Independent Bookstores
Small bookstores don’t have a lot of room for inventory, so when someone says, “we’ll take a dozen” and asks you to sign the books, it’s the best feeling ever. Are you a curious retailer? Wholesale books available via Ingram Book Group or click here.
Resisting, Collaborating & Survival: Discussion
Photo: The bombing of Rotterdam May 1940
Excerpt from “Between Silk & Wool”
Papa had nailed thick wool blankets to the windowpanes to protect us from the enemy, but a million blackout covers weren’t enough to save us. Holland fell after little more than a week of fighting. The Luftwaffe spared our village but rained incendiary bombs on the centre of Rotterdam, killing over eight hundred civilians. After we heard General Winkelman had surrendered and the queen had escaped to London, Papa retreated to the greenhouse and stayed there for hours. He thought we didn’t see him crying, leaning against his potting bench, but we knew our Papa well enough. I wasn’t sure if he wept because he’d been so wrong, or because we’d been so badly crushed, but either way, defeat sank into the slant of his shoulders as he smoked his pipe. He looked worse than when Mama was taken away, when the infection in her tooth spread to her brain. Grief returned to his deep blue eyes, telling me how scared I should have been. I couldn’t imagine what could be worse than the empty hospital bed in the Apeldoorn Women’s Hospital. But he could.
I promised myself to be a good daughter. Whatever happened next, we’d be alright as long as we stuck together.
I waited for him to reassure us, but he stayed in his garden. Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore. I decided to tiptoe upstairs and see for myself what the world looked like now that we were occupied. I slipped my hand under the heavy blanket covering the window only to discover the streets were completely empty. Coloured papers had been dropped from the skies, the first of hundreds of edicts that would slowly transform our lives. I wanted to sneak out and read them, but I’d promised myself to behave. A promise I was already regretting.