Featured Interview With Dawn Doig
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born and raised most of my life in Victoria, B.C., Canada. My father was a sailor so we moved around a little bit, but mostly between Victoria and the Vancouver area. I am currently teaching English as an additional language at an international school in Yaoundé, Cameroon, Africa. Before Africa, we lived in Mongolia for five years. It was in Mongolia that we adopted our two sweet female kitties, Kydee and Patches, and they live with us here in Cameroon.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
As a young child, my mother had a ‘School Days’ memorabilia book for each of us and in that book there is a line on which to write what you want to be when you grow up. For years, I wrote ‘an author and cartoonist’. I actively started writing in elementary school, around Grade 5, and won the local newspaper’s Christmas story contest several years in a row. I wrote my first, and only, novel when I was 13 years old. It remains unpublished. I really starting actively writing again when my children were very small and my focus has been children’s picture books.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I enjoyed the ‘Outlander’ series by Diana Gabaldon and am drawn to the crime drama novels by James Patterson. I don’t really have a favourite genre. I enjoy reading autobiographies and crime drama, but also enjoy children’s books. Dr. Seuss definitely was an inspiration for wanting to write some of my children’s picture books in rhyme.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
‘Hair Peace’ was inspired by the women and girls of Cameroon. I did not realize prior to moving to Africa that many of the women and girls wear wigs or hair extensions. This was interesting to me because the women and girls are all so beautiful regardless of their hair. This inspired me to write a book about positive self-image and perceptions of beauty.
Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles
Dawn Doig’s Website