I am a lifelong learner and science student. I have been an amateur astronomer and active member of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada for many years. My profession as an educational science editor sparked an interest in writing. Elizabeth Goes to Mars!, my third book, is the first in my Elizabeth series. Book 2, Elizabeth’s Enlightening Day at the Zoo, came out in early 2022. Book 3, Elizabeth’s First Total Solar Eclipse, came out in 2023. And I’m currently writing book 4, which is about kitchen chemistry.
I was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and grew up in a Toronto suburb. All my life I have been an art and science student. In fact, when I began looking into universities, I had hoped to take an art conservation program at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. This program combines art and science! However, that did not happen, and I ended up completing my Bachelor of Science degree with the University of Waterloo, of which I am very proud.
For most of my professional life, I have been an editor. Over the past 20 plus years I have been an educational science editor specializing in physics and astronomy. I used to work mainly on high school science textbooks that covered the curricula for various Canadian provinces: Ontario, Alberta, Manitoba, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan. But one day the publisher I work most with invited me to work on grade 4 material for a book for Newfoundland and Labrador. Well, that was it! Turns out I love working on material for that grade level.
Then a few years ago another publisher hired me to write two short STEM readers for the U.S. market. After that experience, and after a few years working on elementary school level material, I began to envision my own series of readers to support elementary school science curricula. This is how the Elizabeth series was born.
I have learned that it is a very different experience being the author instead of the editor!