About Sarah N. Harvey

I was born in Chicago, Illinois, where my Canadian parents were living while my father did his neurosurgical residency at the University of Chicago. We moved to Victoria when I was six months old. 

I grew up surrounded by books and music; my mother played the piano, my father the violin and my brothers and I took music lessons. My mother was a passionate reader who instilled the love of reading into her three children.  My first job was in a bookstore. I was only fifteen, but I loved everything about it, including pouring cheap wine at the Friday night literary gatherings. 

I attended  university when I was seventeen, but left after one year to live on a converted fishing boat, do macrame and dig clams for money. My first book, Puppies on Board, is based on my experiences on the boat. 

I married in my early twenties and had two children.  I returned to university when I was thirty-one, and got a degree in English Literature (surprise, surprise). I then returned to bookselling for fifteen years, before becoming a freelance editor at Orca Book Publishers. 

 I have written thirteen books for children and young adults. I now divide my time between freelance work and playing with my grandkids, doing yoga, reading, swimming, deck gardening, writing and napping.