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Janet McNaughton is a published author of children's books and young adult books. Some of the published credits of Janet McNaughton include Dragon Seer, Secret Under My Skin, The Raintree Rebellion, Brave Jack and the Unicorn. Janet was born in 1953 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She currently lives in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada.

Following are excerpts from Janet McNaughton's biography on her website:

How I Became a Writer:

I have always loved reading. I started writing when I was about eleven. In university, I did some creative writing courses, but when I went to graduate school I stopped writing creatively. After graduating from university, I began to write for magazines. My first articles were about gardening and environmental issues. When a friend decided to enter medical school, she asked if I wanted to take over her newspaper column, reviewing children's books. I did this for a few years, until the weekly paper I wrote for went out of business. Then, I started reviewing books for magazines. Today, I rarely write for magazines.

Around 1990, I decided to try to write a novel for young people. My first try wasn't very good. I couldn't find a publisher, and I put it away. My second try was better. I'd learned a lot. Catch Me Once, Catch Me Twice was published in 1994. Then, I decided to return to the not-very-good book I had tried to write before. That 100 page manuscript was rewritten into a book about twice as long. It became To Dance at the Palais Royale. This second book was very successful, winning three awards.

I'm very happy to be able to spend my time writing. I usually can't wait to get to work in the mornings.

What I Do When I'm Not Writing

These days, if I'm not writing, it may be because I'm travelling to do readings and to teach.

When I'm at home, I spend time gardening. I have two gardens, a very small, civilized one in my backyard in St. John's and a large, unruly one at our cottage in New Chelsea, Trinity Bay. In New Chelsea, the crowbar is one of my favourite gardening tools and I'd be lost without the wheelbarrow. I plant trees, try to keep the weeds at bay, and consider myself lucky if I can get the lawns mowed before the grass grows too high to tackle. There is never enough time to do everything that needs to be done at the garden in New Chelsea. It's an endless challenge and I love it.

Writing is very sedentary work, so I need to exercise. I walk a lot. I try to walk 7 kms a day on a path around a lake near my house and sometimes up Signal Hill. In winter, I snowshoe. I'm also very serious about yoga, although I'm not good at it and it takes a lot of effort for me to improve. I have been doing Iyengar yoga for about 10 years, and I am now a level two student. My teacher, Bev Winsor, is one of the best teachers in Canada, and only a handful of instructors are senior to her.

I also volunteer for writers' organizations. I've served on a number of committees for The Writers' Union of Canada, the Writers' Alliance of Newfoundland and Labrador, and the Canadian Children's Book Centre. I am currently on the board of the Canadian Children's Book Centre, and I serve on the Contracts Committee for the Writers' Alliance of Newfoundland and Labrador, helping writers who encounter problems with their publishing contracts. I'm a past president of the Writers' Alliance of Newfoundland and Labrador, and I've served on the board of The Writers' Union of Canada. We have a good network of writers organizations in Canada and I believe in them strongly.

Janet McNaughton is a published author of children's books and young adult books. Some of the published credits of Janet McNaughton include Dragon Seer, Secret Under My Skin, The Raintree Rebellion, Brave Jack and the Unicorn. Janet was born in 1953 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She currently lives in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada. Following are excerpts from Janet McNaughton's biography on he... More