Vicki wanted to write for many years but the pressure of a growing family and career made it impossible. But now that her children are older, and her career as a systems analyst is well established, Vicki devotes most of her spare time to reading and writing. Whiteout was her first completed novel. It was a semi-finalist in the Chapters’ Robertson Davies First Novel Competition for 2000, and winner of the EPPIE award for the best mainstream novel published electronically in 2000.

Vicki lives in Oakville, Ontario, but her first love is the Canadian wilderness where most of her stories are set. With one daughter living in Nelson, B.C. and another summering in Sioux Lookout, Ontario (plus another daughter attending the University of British Columbia), she has plenty of opportunity to discover the more remote areas of Canada.

“I want to write what I love,” she says. “The trees and rocks and lakes and rivers of Canada are where I want to be, so I put my characters there.” Her second novel, Murder at Lost Dog Lake, takes place on a wilderness canoeing expedition in Algonquin Park.

She has a collection of short stories, both for adults and children. One of her stories, My Seat, was the runner-up in the 2000 Bloody Words Convention short story contest.

Vicki’s other interests include hiking and quilting, which has lately taken a back seat to her writing. “I started a quilted wall hanging for a good friend’s twenty-fifth wedding anniversary,” she says. “But then I got so involved in the book, that I might get around to finishing it for their fiftieth.”