Please tell about your library work or career.  What influenced you to become a librarian, or to work in a library?

     I've loved books since I was a child and wanted to be surrounded with them as an adult. My first job out of university was selling industrial supplies. The part of that job that I liked the best was solving the information needs of my clients. After four years of doing this job, I quit and entered library school.

Do you have a library/information science degree?

     Yes. From the University of Western Ontario's School of Library and Information Science. I have a Master of Library Science degree.

What kinds of library positions have you held and where?

     I worked for Agriculture Canada as the Librarian for the Delhi Research Station.

How long were you, or have you been, a librarian? 

    I only worked as a librarian for about 2 years.

Are you currently working as a librarian?  No

Why did you leave?  To write.

Which came first in your life, your work or career as a librarian, or writing for children?

     Librarian, although that was a stepping-stone to writing.

Did your library work have anything to do with becoming a children's writer?

     Library school did. That's where I was introduced to children's literature. Also, when I quit, I began writing book reviews for the local newspaper. In time, I specialized in children's literature.  That helped me immensely with my own children's fiction.

Did your library work directly influence your work as an author?  How?

     My work as a book reviewer did. And I wouldn't have reviewed books had I not gone to library school.

     Also, my supervisor at Agriculture Canada was a published short story writer. He encouraged me to write after reading a number of my highly entertaining and narrative monthly reports.

Did you respond to children's books in your library collection, or to the lack of books of certain kinds or on certain subjects, or to your interactions with young library patrons and their families?

 In terms of the books I was exposed to while reviewing, I decided to write the stories that I couldn't find to read.

Did librarianship increase your knowledge of children s literature and influence the kinds of things you chose to write?

     Library school did.

Did incidents from your library work ever make it into your books? Yes.

Did you ever set any scenes in your books in the library?

     Yes. There is an extensive scene in my YA novel, The Hunger, in which Paula does a library search.  It's set at the Brantford Public Library.

What were the greatest benefits of being a librarian to you as a writer?

     The ability to do good research, and also to be able to discern the relative value of various sources. As a historical fiction writer, this has proved invaluable. Also, being a librarian helped me figure out how to submit successfully.

Were there any drawbacks to being a librarian and also a writer? No

If you wrote while working as as librarian, how did you manage the time-juggling act?   n/a

Did you find any conflicts or job-related difficulties in being both a writer and a librarian?  n/a

Do you feel that librarianship had specific benefits to you as a writer?  If so, what are/were they?

     In terms of knowing how to do research, yes.