I was born in 1949, in Friesland, one of the northern provinces of the Netherlands. I grew up on a dairy farm. Besides cattle, we raised sheep, had horses, cats, rabbits, goats and a dog named Letta. Our dog wasn't very fond of lambs. Every spring we needed to save orphaned lambs or lambs that had been rejected by the mother. When the weather was cold we kept the lambs in the kitchen close to the stove and near the dog's basket. As you can tell from Letta's expression in the photograph, she hated it when the lamb came too close and wanted to play with her, or when the lamb thought Letta was her mother and she wanted to nurse.

As a teenager, I enjoyed horseback riding. In the picture I'm riding our horse Brigitte. I have two brothers, one older, one younger. My older brother still lives on the farm where I was born.

We lived close to the Wadden Sea and the North Sea. My love for the waves, the beaches and the wind often becomes an inspiration for many of my stories. During summer holidays, we visited the island of Ameland and I still carry fond memories of bike trips to the bird sanctuaries and the visit to the lighthouse.

I always played school and since I was seven, I wrote little books for my dolls and stuffed animal students. My little brother, whom I had forced into a frilly dress, had to sit on a chair for hours, and listen to me teach.

After High School, I attended teacher's college and at the age of 19, I became a junior kindergarten teacher. During my first teaching years, I often needed stories and poems to teach a particular theme or unit. Quality picture books and children's poetry were not as readily available as they are today. I often wrote stories and poems to fit the topics I was teaching.

I loved puppets and discovered that they were an excellent teaching tool. I started making my own puppets and wrote scripts. With my homemade puppet stage and puppets, I visited other schools and performed for the students.

In 1971, I married Albert Attema. Romkje, our oldest daughter was born in 1973. She is married and lives in Ohio. Sjoerd, our son was born in 1975. He lives with Ghislaine and daughter Femke in Thunder Bay. Our youngest daughter, Rikst, was born in 1978 and she studies in New Westminster, B C.

When the children were little we often made up stories and poems and I always wrote a new puppet show for their birthday parties.

In 1981 we immigrated to Canada. It was a scary experience for the children. They left family and friends behind and came to a new country where people spoke a different language. To help them overcome their fears we made up stories about a family who had immigrated to Australia and experienced similar problems.

After my family had settled down, I decided to go back to university and become a teacher again. In 1987, I started my teaching career in Canada as a kindergarten teacher in North Bay, Ontario.

I soon discovered that North Bay has an active writing community. Canadore College offered courses in creative writing and I became a member of the North Bay Children's Writers' Group and the North Bay Writers' Club. I have to thank the members of both writers' groups and my instructor at Canadore College, Donna Sinclair, for encouraging me to market my stories.

After seven years of marketing, I finally had my first novel accepted by Orca Book Publishers, in Victoria, B.C. My dream of becoming a published writer had come true.

My grandfather Johannes Noordenbos, had been a successful playwright and author in Friesland, the Netherlands. The main character in my novel A Time to Choose was named after him.

In 1993, I had written some poems about the Second World War. These poems inspired me to write a YA novel about the war. When I started researching the historical facts I became fascinated by the anecdotes and daily life experiences, I heard from survivors of the war and by reading biographies and personal accounts.

Every two years I spend time with my family in Friesland. Each time I visit the Fries Museum. This museum has a department which exhibits the resistance in Friesland during the Second World War, where I find interesting information. I always buy books about the war in used book stores. The material I've gathered over the last six years has provided me with enough information and ideas for two more war books which I am currently working on.

I've always collected folk tales and legends from Friesland and I'm planning to use these in my future writing. A Light in the Dunes is based on a popular legend from the island of Ameland. Our youngest daughter Rikst was named after the witch Rixt in this legend.

I feel inspired by so many topics, but often fear that I don't have time to write everything down. For now the Second World War will keep me busy. I feel obligated to tell the stories of the survivors of that war. Many have died already and soon others will not be able to tell their experiences any more.

I'm fortunate to teach grade one language arts in an elementary school that's built on top of a ski hill in North Bay. In the winter time our students are able to down hill ski, cross country ski and snow shoe right on school property. Teaching gives me the opportunity to work with children's literature and be exposed to wonderful books. Every Wednesday, at lunch time I teach creative writing for students from grade one -six. We have much fun, but the students also produce some excellent pieces of writing.

I love canoeing and walks along the beach when the weather is stormy and the waves are as high as houses. Reading, organic gardening, sewing and doing crafts are also favourite activities.

Albert and I are very excited about our next project. During the summer of 2004 we built an off-the grid straw bale home. Our new home is super insulated. It will be powered by a windmill, solar panels and hot water panels. We moved in on December 3, 2004.

June 7, 2004. The first bale for the new house is carried from the garage.

Here I'm posing in my new job as straw bale builder.

photo by Albert Attema

July, 2004, the straw bale walls are up. We are waiting for the plastering crew.

In December 2004, we moved in our new home. By November, 2006, the solar panels, the hot water system and the windmill were all installed and providing us with renewable energy to power our home.

We hope to become an educational site where people can get information and learn about renewable building materials and energy sources.