Adventure.Net
The Lost
Sketch
Phoebe and
the Gypsy
Sarah May
and the
New Red Dress
The Most
Beautiful Kite
in the World
A World
of Stories
Me and
Mr Mah
An Island
Of My Own
Finders
Keepers
A Special Gift
Hello, I'm Andrea Spalding
Motto:
A book a day keeps boredom at bay
I was born many years ago in Manchester England and came to live in Canada in 1967.I've done many jobs in my life. I've been an actor, a teacher, a folk singer a storyteller and now I'm a writer.
When I first came to Canada as a young woman, I lived in Edmonton Alberta with my husband David Spalding. We stayed there for 24 years and had 3 children Jane, Penny, and Lucy.
Alberta is a prairie province with long winters. We loved the winters and tried to have a picnic outside at least once a month no matter what the weather. Sometimes we had to dig the snow out of the fire pit before we could cook the hot dogs and marshmallows. My favorite memory from my years in Alberta is our family skating outdoors on a beautiful lake, under a bright blue prairie sky and glorious sunshine but with our breath rising like steam in the freezing air.
I started to write in Alberta, but I didn't write books, I wrote radio and television Scripts. I also acted and sang. David and I performed in a TV program called Storytime. I wrote the scripts and we acted and sang the songs and interacted with a puppet and a storyteller. It was lots of fun. Storytime ran nationally every Saturday morning for four years. It was a show for little kids and at first it really embarrassed our teenagers. Then they realized their friends thought it was neat so they they were able to show they were proud of us.
Jane, Penny, and Lucy are now grown up. All are married and have children of their own, David and I are proud grandparents of Jesse, Charles, Anthony, Tosh, Brandy, and Jack. I love to share my stories with our grandchildren. You can look for their names in the dedication of my books.
The Most Beautiful Kite in the World was my first childrens' book, I followed it with A World of Stories, and Finders Keepers. All these books reflect my love of the prairies.
Then Dave and I moved the the coast of BC to live on a tiny Island called Pender Island. At first I couldn't write on Pender. I had too much to learn as the lifestyle was so different from the prairies and I wasn't sure how I fitted in.
Now I am really at home here and the stories are flowing like water. Since I have moved to Pender Island I have written Sarah May and the New Red Dress, An Island of My Own, Phoebe and the Gypsy, Me and Mr Mah, and The Keeper, and the Crows, as well as several books for adults.
I am currently working on an adventure series involving a brother and sister, Rick and Willow Forster, who travel across Canada and get involved in all kinds of interesting situations. Learn more about the first book in this exciting new series. It's called Adventure.Net: The Lost Sketch.
My favorite Pender Island memory is sitting on a friend's deck one afternoon and watching a pod of orcas (killer whales) swim up the channel. They paused in the bay and frolicked and played for half and hour. They rolled around and breached completely out of the water, several times. It was a wonderful sight. Someday I hope to write a book involving whales.
I write on a small laptop computer that I can easily carry around with me. I can write anywhere, on the beach, on the ferry, in bed - actually I often do my writing in bed - and when I'm travelling. I find that interesting places often give me an idea for a story so I like to travel.
I hope to carry on writing for a long time. I love to travel and visit new places. Who knows, maybe I’ll visit your area next. Watch for me!