Happy Halloween!

It’s the time of year to visit a cemetery if you want a good scare. Cemeteries are haunted with all kinds of spooky stuff like ghosts, zombies, demons and vampires. But otherwise, stay away from the land of the dead, right? Wrong. Cemeteries are actually full of...

Done to death?

I recently read a list of things not to have in your YA novel, because they’re so common they’re considered clichés. A car crash and a dead mom were right up there at the top. Cringe. Got both in my new book, How to Tend a Grave.   As a reader, I say death to clichés....

Happy Canada Day!

O, Canada! I am so grateful for this country and feel incredibly lucky to live here. And in celebration of Canada Day, I’d like to show you some of my favourite places on Vancouver Island, BC, where I spend half the year. Little Qualicum River Falls is always scenic,...

For Father’s Day

My father is a yellow butterfly. No, really. As out there as it seems, I totally believe that my late father appears every summer as an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail. Why would I admit this? Probably something to do with missing him on Father’s Day. But how do I know it’s...