Who you are ?

I’m an aspiring author who loves living in the Northumberland with my wife Caroline and two dogs. Previous incarnations have included ownership of a horse breeding farm and a marketing company, president of a printing company, VP Finance of a steel company and executive with a Canadian Bank. The common denominator of all positions has been the opportunity to create something new (except at the bank – poor choice on my part). Writing (and all art genres) is the ultimate creative pursuit – everything involved in writing is original.

Why do you believe in NFOTA?

The Northumberland Festival of the Arts provides a forum for artists of every genre to showcase their work and receive recognition for their creative talents whether it be by sales, audience reaction, publicity or general discussion with the attendees. This event could be the best way for any artist to publicize what they are creating.

What are your passions and talents?

I have now settled upon writing novels as my “passion.” My writing began as a project 15 years ago when I decided to write the early history of the Morden family who were United Empire Loyalists. Work, family, travel, hobbies, farming and social occasions hampered the effort until three years ago when I revived the Morden project. I had written short stories for my own interest up until then but how hard could it be to write a book?

Two years later I found out, but by then I was hooked. I loved the combination of research and making a story come alive with words. The most difficult thing was imparting feelings, emotions, reactions, etc. into the story, but I am fascinated with how to do it and how it can never be good enough. The great writers are great for a reason – they bring you into the story – intimately. I’m getting better.

My current objective is to write 5 fiction books and then evaluate my level of success. To date I have completed and published two books, and have the other three in various stages of completion. I do self- publishing since I don’t think they are good enough for the professional publishing houses. I am a member of 2 writing groups, and their feedback is both invaluable and absolutely essential for me to keep going.

What are your roots and groups?

I have lived here for 25 years. Over 10 years ago I was recruited to the Board of Friends Of Music, primarily because of my business background. FOM had been operating for over 40 years with the purpose to bring nationally and internationally recognized classical music artists to Port Hope. I served as president for FOM and currently am also president of Spirit of the Hills Arts Association. I served on the steering committee for the Festival in 2022, and am back again this festival.

What does art mean to you?

Art is anything that is the result of creative thinking.