VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA

I am a Canadian writer, artist, and illustrator, born in Montreal, Canada. I have lived in several provinces, most recently in British Columbia on a part-time basis, and now full-time in Ontario. I have short fiction, poetry, and academic articles published in journals in Canada, the United States, and Australia, and was co-editor of Outside of Ordinary: Women’s Travel Stories (Second Story Press).

I am currently working on a literary suspense novel and Book 4 in a series of 5 Young Adult Fantasy novels. I have an illustrated postcard novel, a collection of short fiction, and two literary suspense novels completed.

I have artwork in private and public collections. and have exhibited my work in over 50 solo and group shows across Canada.

I have studied Graphic Design, and hold three university degrees, including a Master of Arts in English Literature from the University of Western Ontario (now called Western University).

When I write, paint, or draw, I am often influenced by my travels, especially if I lived in a place for a while. Over time, I am going to continue to add collages of places that have greatly influenced me.

KYTE-LOST BOOKS

I started drawing detailed illustrations for my first coloring book, The Butterfly Garden: A Coloring Book in Four Seasons, several years ago. The 72 drawings, additional front pages, and cover, took about fourteen months to complete. A Steampunk Journey: A Clockwork Coloring Book, took seventeen months. When I say months, I mean about five hours every evening while I watched (listened to) TV. If I don’t draw during a movie, I fall asleep, usually during the action scenes.

As I spent a lot of time in airports and on planes, going back and forth from Ontario to British Columbia, I started drawing alphabet coloring books while waiting. I completed two in 2019: Alphabet Leaves: A Coloring Book, and Alphabet Shells: A Coloring Book. A third, Alphabet Flowers: A Coloring Book, in 2020.

During the day, I either paint, if I am working on a series or a commission, or I work on my writing, which could be new work, editing, planning, researching, or reading.

 

LIVING IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC

I was seven years old when I lived in Nouméa, New Caledonia in the South Pacific. So many strange and wondrous things happened to me while I was there, that I mythologized this time period, made it such an integral part of who I am, that it still continues to shape me, even now, so many years later.

A few years ago, I returned to the island, found the yellow apartment where I lived with my family, walked the road to the beach that we had walked so many times before. I knew that I risked altering my memories, as the present layered its sharp reality over the stories of my past. I was excited to return, but a little nervous, wondering if I was jeopardizing the magic I had conjured around this island, around myself. So much had changed, yet certain landmarks remained. I realized as I left the island that I would probably never return, not physically.

I still go there often. The magic remains.

LONDON, ENGLAND

A highlight of visiting London, England was seeing Pre-Raphaelite paintings at the Tate Museum. My master’s thesis focused on the influences of nineteenth-century discourses, including poetry and Pre-Raphaelite art, in Margaret Atwood’s construction of women.

PARIS, FRANCE

I’m always drawn to Montmartre: walking past le Moulin Rouge on the way there; visiting the cemetery that was built in a former quarry; wandering through the artists’ area; enjoying amazing gelato; eating outside at a sidewalk table; taking in the view of sprawling Paris from the steps of the Basilica of the Sacré Coeur.

 

MUSEE DU CLUNY, PARIS, FRANCE

A townhouse in the early 19th century, le Musée du Cluny near the Sorbonne in Paris, is also known as the National Museum of the Middle Ages. Set in a walled mansion, it is home to the tapestries “The Lady and the Unicorn,” and excavated Roman baths.