Ever since I can remember, I've created stories in my head, sometimes about real people but more often about people I made up. It wasn't until I was in my thirties that I began to put my stories down on paper. I've been at it for thirty years, although I wasn’t published in novel length fiction until 2007. Think of me as the poster child for perseverance!

In my life away from writing, I’m a mother to two grown daughters, a grandmother to one granddaughter, and a wife to my husband Warren. I enjoy golf, yoga, movies, concerts, travel and reading, not necessarily in that order. My husband and I live in Winnipeg, Canada.

Our Pug/terrier cross Allu (Lou for short) passed away on January 3, 2020 at the ripe old age of seventeen. We miss her terribly, but we’ll always remember the fun we had with her and the joy she brought into our lives.

You can read about how we got our dog in a real-life story I call A Dog Named Lou.

After Lou, I didn’t think we’d ever have another pet. My husband wasn’t keen, saying that it was difficult to travel when we had a pet at home. I contented myself with babysitting my daughter and son-in-law’s cat Gibson from time to time.

Then in September 2022, my daughter got an urgent call from her friend Sarah. Her ex-husband had suddenly passed away. He’d been looking after Layla and Leelou, the two cats they’d adopted during their marriage. But now that he was gone, the cats were in the custody of the Humane Society. Sarah knew that her circumstances didn’t allow her to keep the cats herself, so she asked my daughter if my husband and I would adopt them. The clock was ticking. If Sarah didn’t find a home for them within eight days, they would be surrendered permanently to the Humane Society.

So, I told my husband the story. I was concerned about these cats. At thirteen, they’repretty old. These two sisters had been together all their lives and finding someone willing to adopt two senior cats together seemed unlikely. Separating them now would be cruel, and perhaps fatal.Their fate at the Humane Society looked precarious.

To my surprise, my husband said we had to adopt them. They needed us. We let Sarah know and she brought them to us from the Humane Society right away. They were shy the first couple of days, but now they’ve completely taken over the house. And our hearts.

At thirteen, I don’t know how many years Layla and Leelou will be with us. My goal is to give them a loving, comfortable home for the rest of their lives. But they’ve given us even more in return then we’ve given them. There’s nothing quite like having a warm, purring cat cuddled on your lap to make the world’s troubles melt away.