Gaetz, Dayle Campbell 1947-

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GAETZ, Dayle Campbell 1947-

PERSONAL: Born August 4, 1947, in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada; daughter of John Laurence (a salesman) and Marjorie Gladys (a bank teller; maiden name, Delf) Campbell; married Gary Clifford Gaetz (in telecommunications), 1969; children: Andrea Ledlin, Brian. Education: University of Victoria, B.A. Hobbies and other interests: Boating, hiking, visiting museums.

ADDRESSES: Home—1150 North Beach Rd., Salt Spring Island, British Columbia V8K 1B3, Canada. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: British Columbia Tel-Communications, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, draftsperson; School District No. 64, Ganges, British Columbia, teacher on call; freelance writer and journalist, 1998—.

MEMBER: Writers' Union of Canada, Canadian Society of Children's Authors, Illustrators, and Performers.

AWARDS, HONORS: Our Choice awards, Canadian Children's Book Council, for A Sea Lion Called Salena, The Golden Rose, and Living Freight; Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People, Red Cedar Award, and Manitoba Young Readers' Choice award shortlists, all for The Golden Rose; Geoffrey Bilson Award shortlist, for Living Freight; Silver Birch Award nomination, 2002, for Mystery from History.

WRITINGS:

JUVENILE FICTION

Grandfather Heron Finds a Friend, Porcépic Books (Victoria, British Columbia, Canada), 1986.

A Sea Lion Called Salena, Pacific Educational Press (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada), 1994.

The Mystery at Eagle Lake, Michel Quintin (Waterloo, Quebec, Canada), 1995.

Night of the Aliens, Roussan Publishers, Inc. (Montreal, Quebec, Canada), 1995.

Alien Rescue, Roussan Publishers, Inc. (Montreal, Quebec, Canada), 1997.

The Case of the Belly-up Fish, ITP Nelson (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 1998.

Mystery from History, Orca Book Publishers (Victoria, British Columbia, Canada), 2001.

YOUNG ADULT FICTION

Spoiled Rotten, Maxwell Macmillan (Don Mills, Ontario, Canada), 1991.

Tell Me the Truth, Maxwell Macmillan (Don Mills, Ontario, Canada), 1992.

Heather, Come Back, Maxwell Macmillan (Don Mills, Ontario, Canada), 1993.

The Golden Rose, Pacific Educational Press, Inc. (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada), 1996.

Living Freight, Roussan Publishers, Inc. (Montreal, Quebec, Canada), 1998.

NONFICTION

The Whale Project, illustrated by Jacqueline Fortin, Quintin Publishers (Waterloo, Quebec, Canada), 1994.

Discover Salt Springs: Funky Facts and AwesomeActivities for Kids of All Ages, Moonshell Publishers (Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, Canada), 2000.

WORK IN PROGRESS: Barkerville Villains, a historical mystery; also working on sequel to The Golden Rose and Living Freight, titled The Rose and the Ring.

SIDELIGHTS: Canadian author Dayle Campbell Gaetz told CA: "I find it difficult to imagine life without reading. Some of my earliest and best memories involve being read to as a child. My grandmother read in a rather serious fashion but with a clarity that made me aware of every word, the way each word sounded, and how the sound and meaning fitted together to make a story.

"My mother had animated reading style that made it seem as if, at every moment, we were reaching the exciting conclusion, so I needed to listen carefully. At bedtime she read especially quickly, which I once believed meant she could not wait to find out what happened next. I now suspect she was either physically tired or tired of reading the same story for the twenty-first time. Either way, she was in a hurry to reach the end.

"My father often read to us at bedtime. He may have been exhausted after a long day's work, he may have found children's stories mind-numbingly boring, or perhaps he had a diabolical plan to put us to sleep as quickly as possible. I don't know, but I have my suspicions. What he did was insert a yawn at every opportunity with the inevitable result that I fell asleep long before the end of the story. My older sister, Diane, managed to stay awake, though. At least, she claimed she did, even if she always refused to tell me what happened.

"I am grateful to Gram, Mom, and Dad for a precious lifetime gift. The gift of reading. And yes, I thank Diane, too, for encouraging me to use my imagination and provide my own endings to stories. That was my first step toward becoming a writer.

"The day I opened, for the first time, a real, hard-cover book I could read all by myself stands out clearly in my memory. Our first grade reading group gathered on little chairs near the chalkboard, having graduated beyond the thin, soft-covered pre-readers. That feeling of anticipation, of cracking open a brand new book and delving into its mysteries is one that I relive over and over again.

"Although I have always loved to be outside with my friends, riding bikes, climbing trees, building forts and playing on the beach, I have always had a book to return to at the end of the day. As I progressed through school, I also progressed through books, one genre at a time from animal stories to adventure, to mystery, to biography.

"In spite of being a grandmother myself now, my habits have not changed all that much even if I no longer build forts on a regular basis. I still enjoy most of those other pastimes, including, and especially, a good book just waiting to be picked up and enjoyed."