Veen, J.A.R

J.A.R Veen Hanna’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...

Bramburger, Jamie

Jamie Bramburger Orginally 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...

LeGear, Margaret

Margaret Legear For 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] Contact...

Rutz, Gillan

Gillan Rutz I 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 Brown From 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...

Mulholland, David

David Mulholland David 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 McKenzie Lynne 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 Lecours Melanie 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 England A 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...

Langenegger, Anne-Marie

Anne-Marie Langenegger Anne-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...

Tallon, James

James Tallon James 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. Contact...

Campbell, Wayne

Wayne Campbell Wayne 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...

Meehan, Susan Taylor

Susan Taylor Meehan A 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 Metcalfe Donna 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-Laroche Dina’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...

Van Dusen, Mark

Mark Van Dusen Mark 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” Chapman John 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...

Nasrallah, Elie Mikhael

Elie Mikhael Nasrallah Elie 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-Berardi Deirdre 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 Josefchak Patricia 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...

Seymour, Don

Don Seymour Don 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 Hume Gord 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...

Doucette, Kimberley

Kimberley Doucette Kimberley 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...

Armson, Ken

Ken Armson Ken 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 West Some 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...

Urlocker, Shawn

Shawn Urlocker Shawn 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. Contact...

Tremblay, Wayne M.

Wayne M. Tremblay Wayne 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...

Thatcher, Guy

Guy Thatcher Guy 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 Taylor Geoff 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...

Smith, Bill

Bill Smith Bill 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 Shelley ORIGINALLY 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 Schaber Wallace 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 Rockburn Ken 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...

Robinson, Kenneth O.

Kenneth Robinson Ken 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 Lindsay Paton 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 Verdon Not 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, Janet Janet 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...

Balderston Parry, Caroline

Caroline Balderston Parry Caroline 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, MBA After 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 McKay Don 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 Hepburn G. 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 Thompson Dave 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 Sawler Harvey 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. Gaertner Erika 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 Livermore Daniel 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 Authors Gérard 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 Holloway Born 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 Ainsworth Robert 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...

Bujeau, Carol

Carol Bujeau Carol 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. Contact...