News
Festive times
The festive season is drawing near and I am looking forward to gathering with friends and family to enjoy some holiday spirit. At this time of year, the days are short and the nights are long and dark. It’s good to find ways to come together and share some light.
The partiers in these illustrations are created by Lisa Cinar, the wonderful illustrator of our book, Bear’s Winter Party, a story about finding friends on a cold winter night.
As the season gets underway, I wish you happy times, warm gatherings and many lovely books to read.
Changing Seasons
I love living in a place where we experience four distinct seasons of the year. Most recently, we have been in the throes of fall (or autumn, as many call it). I live in a neighbourhood full of beautiful old (and giant!) trees. It is wonderful to take an autumn walk every day and see the gorgeous changing colours of the foliage.
With one season moving to the next, it reminds me that, even though I live in a city, nature is still very present in my life. And, if you read my books, you will see that nature is of utmost importance to me.
Happy fall!
Back to School
September is here and the children and teachers are back to school. The memories of summer vacations and wandering the shoreline of our wild beaches are quickly slipping away.
As a former teacher, I always enjoyed the September start. The classroom was full of anticipation, excitement about being reunited with friends and the thrill of a whole new year of learning.
It’s been years since I was a teacher, but I will never forget how wonderful it was to spend time in the company of my students. They always inspired me, and I continue to think of them every time I write a book.
If you are back in the classroom this September, I wish you a happy and productive year — and many good books to read!
Happy Book Birthday
Happy Book Birthday to Karen Reczuch and I, who are celebrating our new book released today!
The Tufted Puffins of Triangle Island is now available in your favourite bookstore. We couldn’t be more pleased!
And we are delighted to share the day with our Groundwood colleagues who also have new books released today. Congratulations to all!
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library
Screenshot
Karen Reczuch and I are thrilled and honoured to have one of our books selected for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. West Coast Wild BABY ANIMALS is on the 2025-26 list. Hooray!
This wonderful program is a (free!) literacy initiative for young children – aiming to inspire them with a love of reading. The famous and talented singer, Dolly Parton, said she grew up with a father who was the smartest person she knew – yet he could not read. She remembered how it troubled him and so began this wonderful give-away program of books for young children in his honour.
Small children in many places will receive our little book in the mail, and we couldn’t be happier!
West Coast Dreaming
I’m at home in the city, dreaming about the beautiful west coast of Vancouver Island and wishing I were walking on this long, wonderful beach. It is my favourite place in the world to explore.
We had a lovely adventure there in June and I am hoping to get back again before too long. Some folks love to jump on an airplane and visit international destinations, but I am very happy to be in my home province enjoying all the beauty and nature of the Pacific Northwest.
Will I get back to the wild west coast this summer? I sure hope so. Until then, I’ll dream about it and keep enjoying the photo of this gorgeous beach with its endless sea and sky.
West Coast Summer
Summer in our part of the world is a lovely season, and I was fortunate once again to spend a week on the west coast of Vancouver Island.
As always, I walked many beaches and revelled in the wild and beautiful coastline.
These are a couple of photos, taken on the beach where we stay: one in the daytime and another at sunset.
Every summer, when I visit this magnificent place, I get some much-needed inspiration that lasts for a year and encourages me to keep writing.
Tufted Puffins, Coming Soon!
Gorgeous art
I feel very lucky to have such a talented illustrator partner for my books these days. Karen Reczuch creates extraordinary paintings in all of our works and I couldn’t be happier! As well as that, over the last 12 or more years, we have become very good friends and gone on multiple adventures to see beautiful nature spots and fascinating creatures, while doing the research for our books.
We are excited about the upcoming release of The Tufted Puffins of Triangle Island on Aug. 5. As a preview, here is an image of a couple of the interior pages — so lovely!