I am an independent author from Durham Region, Ontario, Canada. I was born in Amsterdam, but emigrated to Canada from the Netherlands before I turned seven, and grew up in St. Catharines, Ontario. My adult years have been spent in the Toronto area where I enjoyed a successful and largely rewarding I.T. career of twenty years before becoming a writer.
My first novel, Upbound, came out in 2008. It takes place in St. Catharines and, though not related to any specific events, reflects my upbringing there. This was followed in 2010 by Melange and Other I.T. Stories, an I.T. themed collection, with the title story a Homeric odyssey through a fictional project. The Dancer's Spell came out in 2012. Its indirect subject, Mata Hari, was given to me by a writing instructor and the story evinces my Dutch heritage, as well as a love of travel that became intrinsic to my work.
I took a detour to explore screenwriting, culminating in three feature length screenplays loosely linked to recycling and packaged in 2017 as Greenplays. Later that year I returned to prose fiction with Thylacine, a story that began as a screenplay inspired by an extended vacation in Australia.
A creative spurt, bolstered by a trip to Eastern Europe, led to my releasing my fourth and fifth novels: The Journal Keepers in 2019 and The Condo in 2020. Alas, 2020 and 2021 were not conducive to travel so my sixth novel, family Values, released in 2022, ventures into the future rather than abroad.
I also offer Coaching for writers to take advantage of my experience.