I was born in Hamilton, Ontario which is not as smoggy a place as people make it out to be. I spent my early years in Ancaster, Ontario. Then, for reasons  a ten year old could never comprehend, my family moved to Thornbury, Ontario.  On my first day of school someone took my totally awesome Motley Crew jean jacket and tossed it in the garbage bin.

But it got better. As they say, it always gets better.

I learned to ski at Blue Mountain and did a lot of skiing until I discovered snowboarding at which time I sold my skis, bought a snowboard and have never considered skiing again. Eventually I became totally awesome at snowboarding and spent hours jumping off fifty foot cliffs into eight feet of powder (I’m a fiction writer, allow me these exaggerations).

After high school (which had its moments, good ones and math class both) I attended Carleton University and learned a lot about literature which, as a writer, I am now trying to forget. Because no matter how you look at it, there is a giant divide between critical reading and writing novels.  Something you can ask me about if you like. I will gladly bore you for hours with a response.

After University I spent a number of years DJing (alternative, hard techno, and for a short time jungle) until, one fateful night, a two hundred pound speaker walked its way off the top of ledge above my DJ booth and almost killed me. I sold my records the next day and moved to Toronto to work tech support for an internet company. Yes, I was that guy. The one who makes you feel stupid on the phone because you don’t have all the knowledge he does. I am much more patient with people now.

After that it was onto a video game company for a short while.

Eventually I was offered a job as a professor at Algonquin College where I remain to this day. I  teach Scriptwriting for  Animation, and Game Developers as well Communications courses for students across the School of Media and Design.

So somehow, the thought I had when I was in University that it would be cool to have a career where I taught and wrote books, has come to be my reality.

I married a wonderful woman (still not sure how I tricked her into that) and we have two boys.

On the writing front; my first short story was published when I was nineteen. Since then I have had around 30 stories and novellas published.

I now have four novels for young adults published with Orca Books (The Drop 2011, Powerlide 2011, Dawn Patrol 2012, and Coming Clean 2012).

I have just finished a novel about Ferrets, Furries, and Florida. I’m not sure where to go with that info. The book is done and I love it. It turned out how I wanted it to, which is not always what happens. Oh, and Orca has purchased a new sports related book, Above All Else, which will be released in the Fall of 2013. This one is about soccer.

In my spare time I watch Wes Anderson films, read Haruki Murakami (and other writers, but this is starting to feel long), run marathons (2 so far but I’m working toward a third once I heal from a, um, snowboarding mis-hap last February), skateboard, snowboard, and dream of living somewhere I could surf every day.

e-mail…. jeffrossbooks@gmail.com