About
Call me eclectic
I’m an author, communications consultant, freelance writer/editor and writing instructor/coach who lives and works on the Sunshine Coast in British Columbia and in nearby Vancouver on Canada’s west coast. I’ve written for more than 50 publications (e.g. The Globe and Mail, The Greater Vancouver Book, The Vancouver Sun, The Georgia Straight) and have co-authored Vancouver’s Glory Years, published by Whitecap Books in Vancouver. As a screenwriter, I have co-written two Bravo! TV short films, and segments for Hopscotch, a brief television show aired by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in Vancouver.
I teach travel writing in Continuing Education at Capilano University in Sechelt. I have taught creative writing to adults with mental illness for five years through Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, also in Sechelt. Teaching gives me great satisfaction; there is always more to learn from my students.
Besides group classes, I enjoy coaching writers one-on-one, whether they’re beginner or intermediate. I help people initiate, shape and complete story ideas, book projects, personal essays . . . any written venture that requires encouragement and clear direction.
I have taught professional writing full-time at Selkirk College in Castlegar, BC and Introduction to Journalism at the Kootenay School of Writing in Vancouver. A favorite focus is inspiring students to use writing as a tool in personal transformation. I have offered the latter type of courses through the Vancouver School Board, Simon Fraser University at Harbour Centre, and in private workshops. The works of Natalie Goldberg (Wild Mind) and Deena Metzger (Writing for Your Life) have provided much rich material for my curriculum. (See Teaching for more details.)
As an editor, I work with both individuals and organizations. Some current clients include Sustainability Television and Pacific Wild. Having recently served as guest editor of The Local newspaper, I also spent almost five years as editor-in-chief for PeopleTalk magazine, the province-wide publication of the B.C. Human Resources Management Association. I have edited books, newsletters, magazines, student writing, and corporate materials. (See Editing for more info.)
In the corporate realm, I’ve been communications manager for BC Transit and editorial director for Century Communications Corporation in Vancouver. I’ve conceived, written, and served as project manager for many publications from brochures and annual reports to employee booklets. (See Corporate for more details.) I enjoy working as a communications consultant with organizations that share my values of sustainability and conservation.
I also offer fun workshops of self-discovery using a trademarked process called SoulCollage. Find out more from my Sunshine Coast SoulCollage website.
Most of all, I like to work in Roberts Creek, surrounded by cedars and birds, watching the two bald eagles who live across the road soaring in blue sky. I live about 100 feet from the favored waters of the creek, where I can watch salmon heading upstream to spawn. From the mouth of the creek, which opens into the Pacific Ocean, my husband and I launch our kayaks and go for a quiet paddle. I love where I live on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast, only a 40-minute ferry ride northwest of Vancouver. It feels like an island here but we’re part of the mainland coast. There is no road access between Vancouver and the Sunshine Coast; you can only get here by air or sea. Living like this in two parallel worlds, the city and country, is ideal.
To find out more about life as a writer in Roberts Creek on the Sunshine Coast, visit the Chica in the Creek section of my blog.
Fun facts about me:
- A collector: I like to collect fossils, especially ammonites, shells, and mermaid images and figures
- A “Burner”: I’ve attended the Burning Man Festival in Nevada twice and definitely plan to return
- A blue fanatic: I am passionate about the colours teal and turquoise and have a weakness for anything that shade
Find out more about me on my blog at www.heatherconnblogs.com/.