Born in the wild and lush forests of Northern Alberta, Canada, in the oil sands trading post town of Fort McMurray, my birth father was a Hungarian fur trader and my mother a Metis, a mixture of Scottish and Aboriginal (Cree) heritage. Joan, my twin sister, and I were babies when the family split up. After a sad time in an orphanage, a loving Danish couple, Ruth & Bruce Jorgensen, adopted us. They were the only Mom and Dad we knew.

I grew up in Lethbridge, in Southern Alberta, a wind-swept prairie city one hour north of the US border, with the majestic Canadian Rockies in the distance. At nineteen, I married a Swiss man and had my only child, Marc. Two years later we moved to Klosters, Switzerland, where I experienced my first taste of living in a foreign country. Besides being a mom, I was a ski instructor and private English teacher. Years later, we returned to Canada, where we eventually divorced.

After going back and forth between Europe and Canada, I settled in my home country, living in Calgary, Banff, Canmore, Alberta, and later on Vancouver Island.

Over the years, my life was busy with family, a second marriage, several business ventures, being a reporter and photographer for a local newspaper, studying and working in documentary films in Calgary – and later – a driving instructor and professional driver, and even a wrapper in a Swiss chocolate factory. In my spare time, I write poetry, short stories and plays. I also dabble in Indigenous abstract and landscape paintings, and live theatre.

Always up for a challenge, I travelled solo to Thailand, China, and Italy. I spent three winters in San Felipe, Mexico. I visited Germany, France, the Netherlands, Greece, the UK, and Hungary, plus Asia and North America (the western and central states including California and Arizona), and travelled across Canada, coast to coast.

Surrounded by farm life and animals all my life, my love of animals has involved me with many animal rescue organizations and charities throughout the years in Canada, Mexico and Portugal. I volunteer at APPA, SOS Alvor, and various online organizations.

In 2016, recently retired and now a single mature lady looking for some stability and an easy-going lifestyle, I was searching for a winter retreat in Europe to be closer to my son Marc and grandson, Rafael, who live in Switzerland. So I crossed the pond once again from my home country of Canada, and by accident, stumbled upon Portugal (all in my second book)!

I now spend my winters here with my two cats as company. Adventurous and free-spirited, I am always learning and growing as an individual and welcome new endeavours and challenges in my life. I have adopted Buddhism as my spiritual enlightenment, and believe we all have choices on our path in life, and, if we are wise, learn and grow as individuals from our mistakes.

We are guided by our beliefs and the law of attraction.

Reading and writing take up a good chunk of my days, but I always find time to show and line dance during the week, sing in the choir, swim and collect shells at the ocean, and have fun and relax with good friends who have a strong community spirit.

I Heard The Alps Call His Name is my first book, published in August 2021. I’m happy to say I completed and published my second book, Across the Pond, Torn Between Two Worlds, June, 2024. It was another labour of love and hard work, piecing together our family history and following my birth and adoptive families lives. The book also concludes the sequel to the first book. I can now pursue my dream of writing fiction in the genre’s of short story’s and novel’s, and playfully and unequivocally put on the hat of a suspense and mystery writer!

*****Just to remind you, to see other posts and pages, press the three bars on the left on my home page. Thanks for reading my story.

With love,

Junebug