Jodi McIsaac

I grew up in Fredericton, New Brunswick, to wonderful parents who kept me well-stocked with books, constantly corrected my grammar, and oohed and ahhed over the poems and short stories with which I inundated them. I was a short track speed skater for years (and still have the thighs to prove it). Once I gave up on my Olympic dreams, I earned a B.A. in Communication Studies, during which time I also cut my teeth in the communications industry as a speechwriter for former New Brunswick Premier Frank McKenna. After university I spent a summer working with refugees from Kosovo and then spent some time in Belfast where I was schooled in the fine arts of drinking and swearing. For some reason I thought it would be a good idea to follow this up with a stint at seminary, so I moved to Winnipeg and earned an M.A. in Global Studies. Once that gig was up I spent a few years in the real world as a fundraising and marketing executive with non-profit organizations in Toronto and Vancouver. After having a couple of children and no longer digging the commute, I decided to start my own business as a freelance copywriter, which is still my day job and one I’m quite fond of (writing, paycheque, pyjamas … what’s not to like?). And because balancing the demands of a family and a business weren’t keeping me busy enough, I figured this would also be the perfect time in my life to start doing the only thing I’ve ever really wanted to do: write novels. I’m now living the dream in Calgary, Alberta, where I live with my husband and two feisty daughters.