At present I am in the last throes of writing a contemporary novel set in Northern Ontario in which a middle-aged woman travels to the family cottage to scatter the ashes of her husband, father and twin sister, only to discover that a mysterious and menacing stranger has claim staked a portion of her property. Needless to say, in the course of dealing with this intrusion, she must also contend with her troubled past, her adversarial relationship with her sister and her own self-destructive tendencies. Surface Rights is about belonging, family, dogs, fear of fat, ghosts and place.

I would like to acknowledge the support of the Ontario Arts Council for Surface Rights and to thank those presses that recommended my work for a Writers Reserve Grant in the 2007-2008 round of funding – Porcupine’s Quill, Sumach Press and Your Scrivener Press.

Here is an excerpt from Surface Rights.