How do you find time to write?

To be honest I don’t find time to write.  Writing is a compulsion.  I can’t “not” do it.  So the time finds me.  Sometimes (actually often!) I’m at my laptop when I should be sleeping.

Did you always want to be a writer?

Yes.  And you know how “The Secret” says that you can create things by visualizing them?  Well, I’ve been doing that all my life.  And I think it works.  Because I’ve seen myself as a writer and I’ve felt like a writer even before I had anything published.  I think if you want to be a writer, you need to acknowledge that there is something inside of you that makes you that - even prior to publication.

How many rejections have you gotten?

Oh wow.  Do you really want to know?  Too many.  Like stacks of paper.  And some are really nice.  Others were not so nice.  Photocopied, form rejections feel the worst.  I actually got such a nice, personalized rejection from an editor once that I wrote a thank you note.  How crazy is that!?

Do you bring your writing to other parts of your life?

Since I teach high school English, I can’t help but let writing and reading and all the other components of being a writer (like revising) spill over to my daily work with my students.  And I think it’s really cool to be able to give them real examples of how important and rewarding silly things (like editing your work) are.  Even better is being able to remind them that with effort and dreams comes success.

What makes you want to write for teens?

I adore the YA (young adult) population.  Teens are literally on the precipice of taking over the world.  Their enthusiasm for life, belief in their dreams, and their very, very cool brains, personalities and perspectives influence me.

Do you have an agent?

Paige Wheeler at Folio.

How did you feel when your first book came out?

It sounds bizarre, but I felt so satisfied - a huge dream of mine was fulfilled.  And I don’t think there is any better feeling than to be in one of those moments in life when you know you are exactly who you wanted to become and doing exactly what you wanted to do.

Where do you write?

I do my best writing at the kitchen table.

How do you write a good query letter?

That’s a huge question and there is a complex answer.  There are a lot of good websites out there if you have time to poke around on the internet.  In fact, a lot of agent websites have great information.  But I’m planning on participating in some workshops for writers to share some of the “secrets” I’ve learned along the way.

If you could say one thing to people who are struggling to get published, what would it be?

It sounds cliché, but this is the honest truth:  Don’t give up.  And that goes for any dream.  In the writing business, patience and resilience are especially valuable; having a thick skin, a strong dream, and a very funky pair of rose colored glasses helps immensely.

Have you had the opportunity to meet with a lot of other writers?

• It’s funny.  Before I was published, I had the ridiculous notion that “real” writers had to fit into an oddball stereotype.  As a society, I think we actually get pleasure perpetuating the “lonely, depressed” writer, or “crazed” artist.  Naturally, as with most other stereotypes, this is false.  The writers I’ve met along the way have been a wonderful, eclectic mix of personalities.  Here are a few of them:
• Robert Kroetsch:  [A celebrated Canadian poet, Governer Award Winning novelist - My Editor!! for West Wind, North Chatter.  He’s such a kind, wise, and brilliant man].
• Hiromi Goto: [You’ve never heard anybody read aloud like this woman does… breathtaking.  We read together @ the Vancouver Public Library]
• Tompson Highway: [We toured together in northern Alberta.  He has the most wonderful laugh]
• John Seagrave: [Another wonderful man I toured with in northern Alberta - absolutely genuine.  Sadly, John has passed away.  His voice lives on in his book Hudson’s Bay Boy.]
• Barbara Kingscote:  [I met her at a reading in Edmonton - riveting life & beautiful story.]
• Alison Preston:  [We read together in Calgary.  Lovely woman.]
• Barb Howard: [Another great person I met in Calgary!]
• Margaret Macpherson: [Alison Preston & I drove to Calgary in her car… it was fun.]
• Beverly Lein:  [A big-hearted woman.  A NeWest author.]
• Sparkle Hayter: [I took her for a short, bumpy drive in my car.  Long story.  She’s got amazing life stories as well as many in print.]
• Dymphny Dronyk: [An advocate for the arts and for artists - Grande Prairie’s own!]  Author of Contrary Infatuations.
• Alexis Kienlen: [Grande Prairie writer.  I got to listen to her read from her book She Dreams in Red.]
• Linda Smith: [Grande Prairie writer and advocate for writers and the writing community.]
• Glen Sorestad [A poet who was the director of Thistledown Press.  I got to listen to him read & then chat with him about the crazy writing life.]
• Robert Stallworthy: [A poet who we’ve invited to do workshops at my school.  The students really learn a lot from him.]
• Gail de Vos, Merle Harris & Celia Barker Lottridge: [three fabulous women, each of them an amazing writer & presenter. I toured with them and they let me into their chatting circles…]
• John Gould: [His Kilters was shortlisted for the 2003 Giller!  We read together in Vancouver @ the library.]
• Suzette Mayr: [We read together in Edmonton.  Her anecdotes about the writing process were illuminating.]