Are you interested in the outdoors?
Are you concerned about our environment and how we relate to it?
Do you like stories that pit people against nature and each other?
Then you've surfed to the right site. I am a freelance writer specializing in outdoor and fiction subjects. I write a monthly column, "Rubs, Scrapes and Tangle, signs along the way" for the Alberta Outdoorsmen. I give readings, workshops and presentations to school, youth and adult groups about writing and the natural history of Albertan and Canadian wildlife. I also write and edit reports, brochures and web sites for governments, businesses and non-profit organizations. See my list of services for more information.
I am past president and current Chair of the Board of the Outdoor Writers of Canada. This year the OWC honoured me with the Peter McGillen Award for "outstanding contribution to the Outdoor Writers of Canada, for excellence in outdoor communication and for stimulating interest and appreciation of the outdoors."
As well, I am a member of The Writers' Union of Canada and the Writers Guild of Alberta. I also sit on the Wabamun (Lake) Watershed Management Council representing the Stony Plain Fish and Game Association.
I have written two young-adult, adventure novels. Both books can be ordered through your local bookstores (using the books' respective ISBNs) or on-line through my bookstore:
The Search for Grizzly One
My award-winning second novel, The Search for Grizzly One, is about a teenager searching for his lost grandfather in northern Alberta. It is published (2005, ISBN: 0-595-33964-6) by iUniverse, Inc. and is available in traditional print or e-book formats.
"...a cracking good adventure story set in Canada's North...some of the best writing about northern flying and wilderness life that I have ever encountered" — Merna Summers, Amazon.ca review
Dog Runner
Dog Runner (1989, 2004, ISBN: 0-595-33231-5) is my award-winning first novel about a teenager torn between two cultures in northern Alberta. The first edition was also published in Dutch (De hondenrenner, Averbode, Apeldoorn, Altiora) and German (Das Rennen, Verlag St. Gabriel, Austria).
"Each of the dogs has a distinct, believable personality, and human and animal interactions ring true to life. Dog Runner is a special book." — Calgary Herald
Biology and Communications
As a wildlife biologist, I have worked in the Canadian High Arctic, the boreal forest of northern Alberta and the Canadian Rocky Mountains. Over the course of my work, I came to realize that in the long term good wildlife management was dependent on a concerned and informed public. The problem was that many biologists and wildlife managers were not communicating well with the people upon whom they depend to support their work — either through taxes, licence fees or donations. Always having an interest in writing, I decided to develop myself as a writer and learn effective communication techniques to explain the value and management of our natural resources to the people who make the ultimate, long-term decisions. Please see my brief biography.
Writing
My interests in writing focus on the relationships we have with our natural environment. I am particularly interested in fishing, hunting and trapping and how those traditions are changing in the modern world. I have won several awards for my work in both magazines and books. My Bibliography lists some of my publications. Check out some examples of my published writing.
New & Noteworthy
Book Inventory Clearance
All Novels $7Recent Blog Entries
Alberta Outdoorsmen Column articles
Now On Magazine Stands (September) :
"Hunting the Wind"
Available Here
"Great Slave Lakers"
A trip to Plummer's Lodge on
Great Slave Lake, NWT
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The Politically Correct Climate Debate
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