Tell us about your book. Marjorie, Too Afraid Too Cry is about my mother Marjorie, and while it tells about her not so unusual – as it turns out – experience of being a child migrant (home child) is also includes why it was not so unusual. For example – instead of her removal from her mother’s care being as a result of her mother failing her – a feeling that Marjorie carried with her for most of her life, I discovered that Britain’s policy of migrating their ‘unwanted’ children to the colonies was at the forefront and it was a practice that had been going on since 1618 when the Virginia Company took one hundred street children from the city of London to Virginia in order to supply labour to the plantation owners at Jamestown, Virginia.

Tell us about your book Ignored but not forgotten: Canada's English Immigrants is the third and final book in my trilogy The English in Canada. It tells the story of the later immigration from England to Canada during the later part of the nineteenth century and the early years of the twentieth century. The book covers English immigration to the whole of Canada. During this period the English were the largest immigrant group, their numbers far exceeding those from other countries. Although the English mainly preferred to settle in the growing Canadian town and cities they also took up the farming and land-owning opportunities offered to them. This was the period when the Prairie Provinces were being opened up for settlement and is a saga rich in human interest.

Tell us about your book. If I’ve accomplished what I set out to do, Polar Winds is an engaging look at a century of aviation in the North using as many northern voices as possible. It’s not just about the typical bush pilots you find in books and movies (although they certainly exist and make appearances!) but it looks at “balloonatics” during the Klondike gold rush, air tourists to the North Pole, military flyers during the Second World War and Cold War, as well as passengers, base managers, air mechanics, and so on. I tried above all to shine a light on the experiences of women, indigenous people, and others who are often left out of aviation history.

How did you come up with the idea for your work? Throwaway Girl gives readers a glimpse into the harsh realities of the kids who end up in foster care. My educational background is in Psychology and Social Work, and I’ve always had a passion for working with the marginalized in our society, which has influenced my writing in many ways. I grew up in one of the poorest neighbourhoods in Saskatoon and I was surrounded by examples of people living in disadvantaged conditions. From a young age I recognized that other kids weren’t as fortunate as I was, especially from the standpoint of having a strong, supportive family life. Adolescence is a challenging time even when you come from a supportive situation where you are provided for. I wrote this book from the perspective of someone having to navigate through life without having had a healthy, solid base from which to draw support from. I wanted Throwaway Girl to shed light on what life is like for kids who feel like they have nothing.

Jennifer Dance's newest book, Paint is out! Her previous book, Red Wolf, is currently nominated for the Forest of Reading Silver Birch Fiction Award. Even in this busy time, she was able to talk about Paint and the process of writing it.