{"id":45,"date":"2019-05-16T18:30:46","date_gmt":"2019-05-16T18:30:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ginabooks.com\/?page_id=17"},"modified":"2025-08-26T22:02:52","modified_gmt":"2025-08-26T22:02:52","slug":"about","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/ginabooks.com\/index.php\/about\/","title":{"rendered":"About"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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My ten-year-old self would never have dreamed that one day I would become either a writer or a teacher. Yet for thirty years I did both. Now I devote my time to writing and being a grandmother. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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My bees give me lots of ideas for new stories<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

My first love in life was animals. I was fortunate to get to know the famous primatologist, Dr. Birute Galdikas, while I was earning a degree in archaeology. Thanks to her, I got to go to Borneo, Indonesia several times. As a research assistant I followed orang-utans through the jungle to gather data on their behaviour. It was one of the most important experiences of my life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During this same time I started writing. I enjoyed it so much I later studied journalism and became a newspaper reporter. My favourite was writing human-interest pieces. When my first child was born I entered the amazing world of children\u2019s books. Soon after I trained to become a Montessori elementary teacher. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A highlight of my teaching career is winning the Governor General\u2019s Award for Teaching Excellence in Canadian History<\/em>. A highlight of my writing career is when my novel, Free as a Bird, was nominated for a Governor General\u2019s Literary Award.  <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Awards and Nominations:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n