And where is Winnipeg, you ask? It's practically at the centre of North America!

And the magical portal to the world of MiddleGate is through Winnipeg's historic Kelly House. A lot of the action happens at the snake dens of Narcisse, Manitoba too!

Where do ideas for The MiddleGate Books come from?

The MiddleGate Books are inspired by the red-sided garter snakes of Narcisse and Inwood, Manitoba. These garter snakes brumate together by the tens of thousands in limestone caves over the winter months, and then emerge by the thousands in spring-time. Their mass brumation (brumation is similar to the hibernation of mammals) is unique in the world, and an estimated 50,000 people come annually from all over North America and beyond to visit the dens. Watch exciting footage in a Radio-Canada film about the red-sided gartersnakes (en français)—look for the link to vidéo. More information about these snakes (films, learning activities, etc.) are posted under the Teachers site.

Many societies around the world revere snakes, although within Judeo-Christian mythology the serpent is most often regarded as a tempter. Aztec mythology speaks about the plumed serpent Quetzalcoatl. Hindu mythology features Sesha, the thousand-headed serpent. Typhon in Greek mythology is a monster-serpent, whose head touches the stars. Snakes play important ecological roles through controlling rodent populations and snake venom has been useful for treating human diseases. Unfortunately, many snake habitats are now being threatened by human activity, including the snake dens at Narcisse.

Many MiddleGate's expressions of speech feature snakes. Here are some of the snake idioms you'll find as you read the MiddleGate Books.

How do you do your illustrations?

I love working with an ordinary pencil (there is nothing quite as nice as a freshly sharpened pencil), a rubber eraser (there is nothing quite as nice as a brand new eraser), watercolour paper, an old-fashioned quill pen (usually a crow quill pen nib), a bottle of India ink and PanPastel Colours. (You have to be careful because it's a real mess if that bottle of ink spills. ADVICE: Do not wear your best clothes when working with ink, or any art materials, for that matter!) I carry a small sketchbook with me everywhere. You never know when you'll have an idea for a drawing. If you'd like to see where I often write and draw, here's my studio. I have been an artist for many years. To view sculptures, photographs and quiltworks, please visit the gallery at my University of Manitoba website.

How long does it take to write a book?

I wrote the first sentence of The Serpent's Spell on February 15th, 2001—the first draft took about a year and a half—and the book was published five years later in April 2006. [Note:That first sentence changed many, many times!] I wrote the book on the weekends and late at night when my children were asleep. The second book, Amber Ambrosia, took five months to write and illustrate. (I wrote it during a sabbatical from the university.) I like to keep a writing logbook, so I can look back to see what decisions I made and why. The logbook is like a friend who listens to all the ups and downs of writing and illustrating a book. I have an hourglass filled with white sand that sits on my writing desk, and the sand falls through as I write.

Did you always dream of being a writer?

I devoured a book or two a day when I was a child, and writing has always been part of my work as an artist and university professor. When I began to have my own children, we often read books out loud together. One night we were reading and I said, I want to write a book for you, and then I told everybody, I want to illustrate it too!

What are your favourite books?

Some of my favourite books when I was a child...I adored The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum; I also loved reading Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll and The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet by Eleanor Cameron (and still do!). When I was older, I read many of Agatha Christie's and Charles Dickens' books. Some of my favourite children's books now are T.H. White's Once and Future King, Cornelia Funke’s Inkheart series, J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter books and Jenny Nimmo's Charlie Bone stories, as well as the work of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Philips Pullman, Angie Sage, among many, many others. Some of my favourite old-time illustrations (pen-and-ink drawings) are those by Frank Ver Beck in The Magical Monarch of Mo by L. Frank Baum, and the nowadays pen-and-ink whimsies in China Miéville's Un Lun Dun. My favourite kids' book illustrator is Australia's Shaun Tan.

Read the article Imaginary Friends by Ursula K. Le Guin
Many of us have at least one book or tale that we read as a child and come back to now and then for the rest of our lives....If you have ever read a book that you once loved, but have now forgotten the title and the author, help is nigh. The What was that book? group can help you track it down.

What's your advice for people who want to be writers?

Write, write, write. Read, read, read---learn the “tricks of the trade” from other writers. Learn as many new juicy words as you can, so that you have lots of “tools” in your toolbox. Hang out with people who like to write or draw.

And “hanging out” can mean a lot of things!

• scheme with like-minded friends
• attend local writing workshops or go further afield—for example, Centauri Summer Arts Camp for teens (Niagara, Ontario), Sage Hill Writing Experience for adults and teens (Moosejaw, Regina, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan) and YouthWrite for teens, sponsored by the Writers Guild of Alberta
• go to readings of your favourite authors
• young people can participate in online mentoring with seasoned authors and creative writing teachers—WIER (Writers in Electronic Residence)
• become a member of a local writers’ association, like the Manitoba Writers’ Guild, as you’ll receive weekly e-newsletters announcing all the great writing events happening near your home
• check out some of the links to resources for writers and illustrators.

How many books have you published?

I've authored six books now, co-authored one and co-edited one. Although The Serpent's Spell, Amber Ambrosia, Fish & Sphinx and Kingdom of Trolls are fantasy novels, I’ve also written three books and many articles about homelessness in Canada. (Read more about my homelessness research.)

• StreetCities: Rehousing the Homeless
  (Broadview Press, 2006)
• Safe Haven: The Story of a Shelter for Homeless Women (University of Toronto Press, 2003)
• Braving the Street: The Anthropology of Homelessness (co-authored with Irene Glasser; Berghahn Books, 1999)
• Feminist Fields: Ethnographic Insights (co-edited with Sale Cole and Heather Howard-Bobiwash; Broadview Press, 1999)

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Historic Kelly House, 88 Adelaide Street
Winnipeg, Manitoba (Canada)