I write literary historical fiction rooted in the archives, landscapes, and communities of Canada's west coast. My work explores how memory, place, and history continue to shape one another, drawing on years of archival research and close attention to the shorelines and forests in which these stories unfolded.
I live in Sooke, British Columbia, where I continue to research and write about the history of Vancouver Island's outer coast.
Grounded in extensive primary-source research in Canada and the United States, this literary novel reconstructs the 1906 wreck of the SS Valencia and its aftermath through the perspectives of those who lived it. As rescue fails and familiar structures begin to collapse, ordinary people must navigate fear, responsibility, and impossible choices in one of Canada's greatest maritime disasters.
Research for The Outer Coast has drawn on archival collections in Canada and the United States, historical newspapers, government correspondence, maps, museum collections, and private family records. The project has also been enriched through conversations with historians, archivists, museum staff, and descendants connected to the history of the SS Valencia and Vancouver Island's west coast.
Archives
Library and Archives Canada
British Columbia Archives
National Archives at Seattle
Collections
Maritime Museum of British Columbia
Regional museums
Historical societies
Private family collections
Primary Sources
Historical newspapers
Government correspondence
Maps
Contemporary testimony
Notes from the archives, reflections from the coast, and discoveries made while researching The Outer Coast.
Every historical disaster leaves behind more than evidence—it leaves behind stories. This journal reflects on how we make sense of tragedy, why hindsight can reshape the past, and what I've learned by returning to the voices closest to the events themselves.
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