As an award-winning, T’karonto-based writer of fiction and creative nonfiction, I share stories about resilience, travel adventures, quirky happenings, and magical connections. Looking through stained-glass windows I compose at my standing desk. World music inspires me; writing fills me with joy; and family keeps me dancing on and off the page.
Publications
My writing is published in Canadian and U.S. literary journals and anthologies, The Globe & Mail, and the Canadian Medical Association Journal. A full list is available on my publications page. Below is my recent work published online and in print.
Six-word Story
“Torquing spine’s tough spirit transcends scoliosis.”
Move it or Lose it
Canadian Medical Association Journal March 26, 2024
“I slip on my low-back, sparkly dress and practise my power stance in front of the mirror. Then I twirl and twirl, watching my scar wink and disappear, wink and disappear.”
The Elements
Roots to Branches volume 1, Federation of British Columbia Writers anthology, November 19, 2023
“Suddenly, we are crushed from behind, spun sideways. In slow-motion, I spiral into the blue and rush of wind. My eyelids slam shut, like those of a doll, as I hit pavement.”
Coping With My Husband’s Parkinson’s Diagnosis
The Globe & Mail, First Person, October 16, 2023
“His forehead is plaid with criss-crossing wrinkles. He knows those weren’t the right words. Is this a senior moment, a brain blip, dementia or the new thing?”
Scoliosis
Journal of Expressive Writing, September 7, 2023
“It is incurable. Hippocrates diagnosed it in 400 BCE and had four grown men stand on a patient’s spine to straighten the curve. Guess what? It didn’t work.”
Wild Mustard
Winner, Eden Mills Writers Festival 2023 Creative Nonfiction Contest, Emerge 4 chapbook, September 2023
“‘In the old days, they gave you ether,’ says Mum. She is a tiny mound of skin and bones on a stretcher wheeling to the OR. She closes her eyes, hand on an invisible mask. ‘Sniff, sniff.’”
About Me
I am an award-winning T’karonto-based writer of fiction, creative nonfiction, flash, and lyric essay published in Canadian and U.S. journals. My work includes a draft novel, “Sea Change” and a collection of vignettes. I am currently working on a mother-daughter memoir about scoliosis, “Just Put on Some Lipstick”.
Stories have been central to my life as an educator, editor, CNIB narrator, “Quill & Quire” book reviewer, mum, and nana. In open-mic sessions, I enjoy sharing tales of adventure travel, family, and magical connections. A graduate of The Writers Studio, Simon Fraser University, I hold an MFA Creative Nonfiction from University of King’s College and Dalhousie University.