Veen, J.A.R

J.A.R VeenHanna's story arose from the author's dream - filled with gnomes, dwarves and elves, a reminder of his long-held boyhood imaginings of fairy folk and his fascination with the unseen world. The dream stayed with John and he eventually set it down into words...

Bramburger, Jamie

Jamie BramburgerOrginally trained as a broadcast journalist, Jamie Bramburger spent thirteen years in radio and television before becoming Manager of Community and Student Affairs at Algonquin College's Pembroke Campus, a position he has held for the past twenty-five...

LeGear, Margaret

Margaret LegearFor thirty years, Margaret LeGear, now retired, was the director and swim coach of her private Swim School. She is passionate about increasing water safety with her learn-to-swim-safely literature and [email protected]

Rutz, Gillan

Gillan RutzI am so thankful that I have had the opportunity to write down and share memories with the writings within the pages of This Valley I Call Home. I continue to enjoy my love of music, meeting new people and reacquainting with so many over a lifetime as I...

Brown, Robert

Robert Sefton BrownFrom humble beginnings, in a family of eight, I achieved every goal I yearned for. I stood toe to toe with both the powerful and the humbled. Worked the trenches, gambled running my own business, sang and danced in the Orpheus House stage production...

Mulholland, David

David MulhollandDavid Mulholland was born in Kinsgton, Ontario and raised in the Ottawa Valley town of Arnprior. He moved to Ottawa in 1970. Mulholland began his writing career as an advertising copywriter in private radio. He went on to work as a researcher, story...

McKenzie, Lynne

Lynne McKenzieLynne McKenzie has always had a passion for stories. As a child she would sit for hours listening to her parents and grandparents talk about their lives when they were young. Everything they said was interesting to her. Now in retirement, Lynne has...

Lecours, Melanie

Melanie LecoursMelanie was born and raised in rural Ottawa, Ontario. She is a third generation volunteer firefighter in her community, following in the footsteps of her father and grandfather. Melanie has a bachelor's degree in nursing and works full-time as an...

England, Jacki

Jacki EnglandA life-long learner, Jacki England began studying how to write for children after many years as an educator. Inspired by the thousands of picture books shared with her young learners, Jacki dreamed of writing a book of her own some day. EVERGREEN EVERMORE...

Langenegger, Anne-Marie

Anne-Marie LangeneggerAnne-Marie Langenegger is an avid reader and collector of books. She changed careers many times throughout her life, including 38 years as a farmer. Now retired, she has returned to her love of writing. As a lifelong observer of people, she draws...

Tallon, James

James TallonJames Tallon lives in Kingston, Ontario. This is his second book, and his first work of fiction. His first book, Running the Sheets, was the number one selling book in the Rideau Lakes region in Eastern Ontario in the summer of 2013.

Campbell, Wayne

Wayne CampbellWayne Campbell is a biochemistry graduate from Queen's and University of Toronto. He spent most of his career as a science writer.editor for government, a freelancer for newspapers (Globe & Mail, Maclean's, New Scientist), and finally a writer/editor...

Meehan, Susan Taylor

Susan Taylor MeehanA native of Edmonton, Alberta, Susan Taylor Meehan now lives and writes in Ottawa, Ontario, lovingly supported by her husband Ralph, her daughter Amanda, and her stepson Phil—along with a host of family and friends. As an air force brat, Susan grew...

Metcalfe, Donna

Donna MetcalfeDonna Metcalfe was raised on a farm in Ramsay Township, Lanark County. It was a world of woodstoves, kitchen gardens, and horses. There, she learned to value her heritage and tell a good story, listening at the knees of older folks. She attended the...

Bell-Laroche, Dina

Dina Bell-LarocheDina's life changed dramatically in 2001 after the death of her youngest sister, Tracy. Since then, her journey through grief has inspired her to advocate for greater grief and loss literacy. As a death educator, Integral Coach™ keynote speaker, and...

Van Dusen, Mark

Mark Van DusenMark Van Dusen has reported for major news organizations (Ottawa Citizen, CTV, CBC) and advised the Canadian government on major media issues such as food safety, human rights, and refugees. He won a prestigious intrenational award for his TV...

Chapman, John

John "Chappy" ChapmanJohn was born in Stettler, Alberta and met his wife Janny there, sixteen years later. Together they raised two daughters and travelled throughout Canada and the United States, as John pursued a career in hockey. They settled in Lethbridge,...

Nasrallah, Elie Mikhael

Elie Mikhael NasrallahElie Mikhael Nasrallah who, since 1998, is a certified and authorized immigration consultant, with an active international practice in Ottawa, Canada. He holds an Honours BA in Political Science from Carleton University and a post-graduate...

McCabe-Berardi, Deirdre

Deirdre McCabe-BerardiDeirdre McCabe-Berardi was born in New York City and spent most of her childhood in upper Michigan. She is an elementary teacher and lives with her husband and family in Arnpior, Ontario. She loves to watch movies and dance and read true crime...

Josefchak, Patricia

Patricia JosefchakPatricia Josefchak passed away in November 2019. She had several passions, including history, music, her marriage and family, and their home and garden on a tiny slice of lakefront in Eastern Ontario, Canada. She earned a Bachelor's in Mathematics...

Seymour, Don

Don SeymourDon Seymour was born and raised on an agricultural area of Eastern Ontario. During college, he spent a summer working with the Forest Service in Bristish Columbia, gaining a background in wood lore and firefighting. After graduating as a Biochemical...

Hume, Gord

Gord HumeGord Hume is the author and creator of the popular "Samantha and the Sheriff" adventures. He is also the author of seven non-fiction books on building better cities and improving communities. The books have been highly popular amongst municipal leaders in...

Doucette, Kimberley

Kimberley DoucetteKimberley Doucette was born in St. John, NB, Canada, in 1974 and grew up in Miramichi, NB. A sensitive child, she endured a lot of hardships and bullying in school. Despite her beginnings, she became known quickly for her innate ability to understand...

Armson, Ken

Ken ArmsonKen Armson was born in Newtonbrook, Ontario and attended secondary school in England. After service in the Canadian Army overseas, he studied forestry at the University of Toronto graduating in 1951 and worked in the Ontario Department of Lands and Forests....

West, Terrence Rundle

Terrence Rundle WestSome of you will recognize me from schools I’ve taught at or administered in and around Ottawa (Hillcrest, Brookfield, Glebe, Sir Wilfrid Laurier, Ottawa Tech, Eganville) or from community work in Ottawa’s Hunt Club/Riverside area. Others with long...

Urlocker, Shawn

Shawn UrlockerShawn Urlocker is a transplanted Montrealer living in Pembroke, Ontario with his wife Lynn. They have five children, one, a redhead, still at home, and two dogs, Ruby and Loup.

Tremblay, Wayne M.

Wayne M. TremblayWayne M. Tremblay spent three years in accounting, twenty-five years in the Royal Canadian Navy as a radio telegraphist, electronic technician and self-proclaimed lower deck lawyer extraordinaire. His second career lasted sixteen years in the Canadian...

Thatcher, Guy

Guy ThatcherGuy Thatcher served in the Canadian regular armed forces from 1955 to 1980 as a tank officer, helicopter pilot, anti-tank missile instructor, and computer analyst, serving in Germany, Belgium, Cyprus, Texas, and Alabama, as well as at various bases in...

Taylor, Geoff

Geoff TaylorGeoff Taylor has been telling stories and paddling Algonquin Park for over fifty years. He is a stay-at-home defenceman and a proud dad who grows garlic and plays sloppy mandolin. Geoff lives in Millbrook, Ontario. Tom Thomson's Last Bonfire is his first...

Smith, Bill

Bill SmithBill Smith was born in Shawville, Quebec .He graduated from McGill University with a B. Ed in 1966 and subsequently taught school for thirty-nine years. Retired now, he lives in the peaceful rural community of Bristol, Quebec, with June, his wife of...

Shelley, Jane

Jane ShelleyORIGINALLY FROM A farm in Waterford, Ontario, M. Jane Shelley was self-employed in the flower business in Toronto and the coin machine business in Parry Sound and northern territories. She went back to school for five years at the age of forty, attending...

Schaber, Wallace

Wallace SchaberWallace Schaber was born in Ottawa in 1950. He graduated from the University of Waterloo in Environmental Science in 1974. While at university, he created Black Feather Wilderness Adventures Ltd., which formed the foundation for his summer employment....

Rockburn, Ken

Ken RockburnKen Rockburn has been a broadcast journalist for over four decades. He has worked in private radio, atCHEZ FM in Ottawa; for CBC Radio and CBC Television; for CPAC, the Cable Public Affairs Channel, where he hosts Rockburn Presents; and has written for the...

Robinson, Kenneth O.

Kenneth RobinsonKen Robinson was born in an Eastern Ontario farmhouse in 1927. Following World War II, he served for a short time in the RCAF as an instrument technician and then as a chaplain’s assistant, receiving his commission in 1952.He graduated with a BA from...

Lodge Lindsay, Paton

Paton Lodge LindsayPaton Lodge Lindsay was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Her interests have always involved the out-of-doors. She attributes her very early introduction to nature to the days spent with her grandfather in his canoe, and her lifetime love and...

Verdon, Ray

Ray VerdonNot Exactly a War Hero is Ray’s first book.After years as the CEO of a multinational, he wanted to try something entrepreneurial that required nothing more than paper, pencils, and time. Ray has been summering in the Gatineau Hills for his whole remembered...

Smolders, Janet

Smolders, JanetJanet Smolders is a retired land use and environmental planner who worked in consulting for many years. In her previous book, Letters Home, RCAF Overseas, Janet shared her father's experience as a yound RCAF flight sergeant during the Second World War....

Balderston Parry, Caroline

Caroline Balderston ParryCaroline Parry grew up in Quaker Pennsylvania loving libraries and books, thanks to her grandmother who was also her kindergarten teacher! She studied History and Literature at Harvard, and married an Englishman while volunteering in India....

Gibson, Isabel MBA

Isabel Gibson, MBAAfter graduating from the University of Saskatchewan with an MBA in 1984, Isabel taught business at the University of Saskatchewan and the University of Alberta, and worked as a marketing consultant and project manager. In 1990 she wandered into...

Don McKay

Don McKayDon McKay was born in Sydney, Nova Scotia, on October 5, 1937. He had a fascination with flying from a very early age and never lost his desire to be a pilot. He grew up in the Maritimes and calls Saint John, New Brunswick, home. Don is married to his high...

Hepburn, G. Alan

G. Alan HepburnG. Alan Hepburn was born in Paisley, Scotland, in 1944. He was educated at Paisley Grammar School and the University of Glasgow, where he obtained a B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering in 1966 and a Ph.D. in 1970. Alan learned to fly in Scotland in 1968,...

Dave Thompson

Dave ThompsonDave Thompson was born in Belfast, N. Ireland, in 1935. As a child he experienced the bombing raids of the war when the targets were the shipyard and the aircraft factory. Later, he worked as an engineer in the same shipyard. He and his wife, Anne, moved...

Sawler, Harvey

Harvey SawlerHarvey Sawler was born in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, but has lived most of his adult life in Atlantic Canada. He began his career as a newspaper journalist covering such diverse stories as the Pierre Trudeau 1974 campaign train and the 1975 double...

Gaertner, Erika E.

Erika E. GaertnerErika Gaertner immigrated as a teenager from what is now the Czech Republic to Canada with her parents in the spring of 1939, following her father’s recruitment as a farmer by the Canadian Pacific Railway on behalf of the Canadian government. Upon...

Livermore, Daniel

Daniel LivermoreDaniel Livermore graduated from Brock and Carleton Universities and has a Ph.D. in history from Queen’s University. After serving in the Canadian foreign service for more than three decades, he became a Senior Fellow at the Graduate School of Public...

The Early History of Cumberland Township Authors

The Early History of Cumberland Township AuthorsGérard Boyer – The idea of writing an early history of Cumberland Township became a necessity for the following reasons :I could not find a complete historical context for the arrival of my ancestors, the Morins, the...

Holloway, Aline

Aline HollowayBorn in the small northern Ontario town of Warren, Aline Holloway now resides in Vanderhoof, Bristish Columbia, with her husband, Don, and cat, Illick. She graduated from Memorial University of Newfoundland in St. John’s with double majors in French and...

Ainsworth, Robert

Robert AinsworthRobert Ainsworth divides his time between writing stories, working as a high school English teacher and dancing Argentine Tango. He has published two books of poetry, Prismatic Poetry, and Children of the Hectic Kingdom. Boogie's Law is his first...

Bujeau, Carol

Carol BujeauCarol Bujeau is a former communications strategist, who has a keen interest in interior decorating and furniture design. A Cordon Bleu graduate, with a certificate in diamond grading, she is a student of ikebana and calligraphy. Carol has travelled the...

Long, Corey

Corey Long Corey Long is the executive director of communications at Seneca. He grew up in Alliston, Ontario, and has studied in the United States and Norway. Corey lives in Newmarket, Ontario, with his wife, Shannon, and their daughters, Clara and June.

Baird, Ken

Ken BairdKen Baird was born on the east coast of Canada, traveled to the west on many occasions and now resides in Renfrew County, Ontario. He chose this area because this is where it all began and the people here have made me think of it as home. "I'm just like...

Ogle, James

James OgleJames Ogle was born in Toronto. Ontario and served in the Royal Canadian Regiment for three years. He has been a correctional officer since 1994, serving in the Toronto Jail and then the Central North Correctional Centre in Penetanguishene, Ontario. And...

dusseault, l.h

l.h dusseaultBorn in Alberta and adopted at the age of four, l.h dusseault spent much of his childhood being shuffled from one boarding school to another. By age twelve, he had spent nine years in institutions. Roaming much of the country he has lived in British...

Doran, Ken

Ken DoranKen has worked for three decades as a Recreation Therapist at a psychiatric hospital in Hamilton, Ontario. He was a career house leaguer in his youth and is a retired hockey dad. A lifelong Toronto Maple Leafs fan, he lives in Cambridge with his wife and two...

Goldman, Kylee

Kylee GoldmanKylee Goldman is a Registered Psychotherapist. She works with adults, families, and children struggling with mental wellness and experiences of violence, abuse, and trauma. She also teached in the field of social services and enjoys mentoring new helping...

Christy, Robert

Robert ChristyRobert Christy was born and raised in Ottawa, where he currently lives. Christy began writing and jotting down story ideas throughout his life. Once retired from a career that paid the bills, he seriously began editing his collection to produce this...

Sheppard, Dani

Dani SheppardDani Sheppard grew up on a little hobby farm in a small town. She moved to northern Ontario with her military husband and twin daughters. She is an Early Childhood Educator. Dani works as a daycare teacher and finds the children a great source of...

O’Quinn-Lee, Sherry

Sherry O’Quinn-LeeSherry is married and is a mother of three, focusing on her career and her busy family life. Born and raised in Newfoundland and currently residing in Ontario, she has carried a passion for fiction and literature her entire life. This is her first...

Gastmeier, Ralph & Kathryn

Ralph & Kathryn GastmeierThe second of seven children, Ralph Gastmeier spent the free time of his formative years tramping through the rural landscape surrounding the city of Kitchener. He developed a deep affinity for the natural world and was struck with...

Belder, Amy

Amy BelderAmy Belder grew up in Petawawa, Ontario. She graduated from Redeemer University in Ancaster and currently lives in Pembroke, Ontario with her husband and three children. Amy enjoys spending her time reading, spinning a good yarn and making people laugh. She...

Cosentino, Frank

FRANK COSENTINO has been playing, coaching, teaching, or writing about sport for five decades.As one of the last Canadian quarter-backs, Cosentino played for Hamilton, Edmonton, and Toronto, participating in five Grey Cup games from 1961 through 1965 with two...

Gazarek, Dennis

Dennis Gazarek graduated in 1972 from the University of Windsor with a Bachelor of Commerce in Honours Business Administration and has spent almost his entire life immersed in the auto business. His father, uncle, brother, and cousins all were employed in the...

Van Dusen, Shirley

Born in Ottawa, renowned portrait artist, Shirley Van Dusen, wife of the late Tom Van Dusen Sr. and is the mother of seven children, grandmother to fifteen grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.Widely known for her paintings of Parliament Hill, her work is...

Lewis, Sandra Marie

Once upon a time, Sandra Marie Lewis was a teacher/chairperson in Ontario’s public school system. Since retirement, she has written novels, a few poems, short stories, picture books, and family history narratives. Genealogy is a source of huge fascination, and her own...

MacGregor, Bruce

Bruce MacGregor has been a resident of Ottawa since 1952. He was involved in the Ottawa sports scene as a participant in the 1950s and '60s and as a coach in the '70s. He taught English at Ottawa's Glebe Collegiate for 30 years.For 25 years, he was a member of a rock...

MacIntosh, Robert

Educated at McGill and Cambridge Universities, Robert MacIntosh has lived over fifty years in Toronto. After a brief career as an academic economist and long one as a banker, he wrote Different Drummers: Banking and Politics in Canada, published in 1991. A collector...

Malak, Marina Abdel

Marina Abdel Malak is a nursing student with an interest in medicine and mental illness. She is an active advocate for the National Eating Disorder Information Centre and volunteers with many organizations. She loves to read, write, laugh, and learn new things. She...

Mansfield, Kimberley

Ms. Mansfield is an author, pioneer in harm reduction programming and development in Canada, and a former sex survival worker. She has lectured at universities and colleges where her first book, Danced in my Brain, was used as required reading for social work and...

McIntyre, Gord

Gord is a unique blend of Renaissance man and skilled outdoorsman. We use “unique blend” advisedly, as he is without any mechanical skills and his shotgunning remains mediocre.Married to Michelle since 1955 and father of three achieving daughters, he is a retired...

Millar, Judith

JUDITH MILLAR’S 1992 fiction collection, The Rules of Partial Existence, explored themes of escape and difference in the exotic setting of Nepal. With its return to her small-town Ontario roots, Grave Concern (2012), the first of her playful “Pine Rapids” mystery...

Miller, Glenn Forbes

Glenn Forbes MillerGlenn Forbes Miller has spent the leisurely years of his retirement (he was formerly a teacher of English) travelling the world with his wife and writing; namely, two books about their travels in Nepal and two volumes of poetry, of time and desiring...

Oakley, L.W.

Larry Oakley was born and raised in downtown Toronto, Ontario.He graduated from Riverdale Collegiate and Ryerson University before becoming a professional accountant.He became passionate about hunting and the outdoors when he moved to Kingston.The Kingston...

Paproski, Peter

Peter Paproski was born in Edmonton, where Ice Cream Stories about Dad is set. He moved to Ottawa with his family in 1968, at age twelve. He attended the University of Alberta (B.Sc.) and McGill (M.A. Education), and for thirty years worked in international...

Kelly, Kate

Kate Kelly, MD, FRCSC (“Dr. Kate”) Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery Kate has been at various times an author, artist, photographer, teacher, historian, and medical doctor. Her creativity and love of discovery keep her seeing the world through the eyes of a...

Paton, Richard, MA, MPA

Richard Paton had a unique career as a senior executive in the federal government and as President of a nonprofit business association for 19 years.  Throughout his career he has applied his forty years of management experience in two sectors to research and learning...