Rebecca
My insatiable curiosity about people and culture developed at an early age, and was likely the result of many European misadventures and my experiences living in England, Denmark, and Canada. There is nothing like playing among the columns of a Bronze Age palace surrounded by the sapphire waters of the Mediterranean to pique an eight year old's interest and imagination.
I focused my University studies in Classical Archeology and Literature, Physical Anthropology, Social Work, and Criminology. For those of you questioning my use of the word 'focused' ...well, you'll just have to trust me when I say that I couldn't file my interests down to any sharper a point. I tried. The yearly course lists crammed with intriguing possibilities made me feel like a kid in a candy store - one of those really big stores with colorful jars lining the walls from floor to ceiling.
My career path has continued in the same vein. I was my grandmother's caregiver for two years; an opportunity for which I am ever grateful as spending that time with such a remarkable woman shaped me in ways I am still discovering. Among other things, I've been a vet assistant, worked at a halfway house for high-risk offenders, sat on many kids as a mascot, been the operations manager for a private investigation firm, and spent several months in Ontario with the Red Cross helping refugees from Kosovo acclimatize to Canada. I've also volunteered within maximum-security prisons and the community to help people serving life sentences transition from the regimented bubble of prison back to a very changed outside world.
Why I Write
Simply put - I write to explore, express, and connect. I delve into the web of relationships linking humans, animals, and the environment. I peer into my characters inner worlds and explore the inherent violence and compassion bound together in the human spirit. My guiding principle is that the human mosaic is beautiful because of the unique nature of each piece and I do my best to celebrate this diversity in my work.
Adriaan
I grew up in Calgary, Alberta on the divide between the prairie and Mountains. Calgary is a city that's surrounded by wide empty spaces. I think there's something about the pressing wilderness that makes one appreciate the inherent fragility of human society.
I've always been a bit of a dreamer with one foot in a world of make-believe. I learned to read very young and it's been my addiction ever since. Speculative 'what if' style stories (James and the Giant Peach) or stories that take you entirely out of the human frame of reference (Watership Down) quickly lead me into harder stuff (Tolkien, Heinlein)
My urge to see the world took me to Kingston, Ontario for university, then to Berkshire, England for a few years, though I'm generally drawn back to Calgary by ties of blood and friendship. Though we're often fooled by distance. You don't need to move half-way around the world to gain a new perspective, sometimes moving a few miles can make just as much of a difference.
I studied Engineering at university, though while there I was drawn in to the online community on the old IBM mainframe and then into this new and fascinating idea out of CERN called the 'World Wide Web'. This led me into tinkering with computer programming which became a bit of an obsession that luckily people like to pay me for.
I remember being told that the made-up worlds I loved were a childish thing that I would need to grow out of if I wanted to succeed in life. The older I get, the more I realise how wrong this is. In just the past few millennia, humans have moved from chipping tools out of stones to space exploration and heart transplants. Every step on that path was driven by someone who dreamed up something impossible.
Some of the writers that inspire me today are Lois Bujold, David Drake and C.J. Cherryh. These authors take on tough questions about what it means to be moral and the destiny of humanity without flinching. They inspire me to be a better person, as well as a better writer.
As an avid reader I'll never lose sight of the fact that the Author's first duty is to entertain but beyond that my goal is to bring back a sense of optimism about human achievement. The dark side of our natures will always be with us but I'm convinced that humanity has an amazing future ahead and prefer to dream big.
Rebecca Brae is a freelance writer, artist, and fog enthusiast, with a background in sociology and weird pets. Adriaan Brae is a software developer and tech-geek, with a passion for languages and martial arts. Their divergent interests can be challenging at times but their love of new ideas, storytelling, and Lego always brings them together.
WEBSITE: www.braevitae.com
TWITTER: twitter.com/RebeccaBrae
FACEBOOK: facebook.com/braevitae
BOOK 1: CHAOS BOUND (2014)
When the going gets weird, the tough are useless. You need a geek.
Jessica is no superhero, and though she believes being smart, curious, and compassionate should be considered qualifications, society has yet to agree.
Her life in Coldwater is low-key and predictable, just the way she likes it. Her biggest worries are staying at the top of her classes and avoiding the popular crowd, but a change that will shake the world is already taking hold in her small town.
The death of a classmate kicks her out of her safe routine. Stalked by the supernatural killer, she’ll need to embrace the chaos in order to survive: Lying, stealing, invoking barely understood magic, and even crashing a house party.
Abandoned by her friends and labelled a troublemaker, she’s determined to find a way to stop the killer. But at what cost?
BOOK 2: CURSE BOUND (2016)
When the world goes crazy, it helps to have a head start.
Mutant science projects, a troubled werewolf, and other magic-related dangers are Jessica’s new normal, but someone has started targeting the students of Coldwater High with powerful curses, and she’s a suspect. A serious mistake forces her to question whether she deserves Drew and Michiru’s loyalty, and with the gatekeeper’s alien influence in her head, she’s not even sure she can trust herself.
Just as Jessica realizes she has also been hit with a lethal curse, a disastrously magical Valentine’s Day leaves her cut off from friends and forces her to put her life in the hands of her worst enemy.
MIST WARDEN SERIES BLURB (YA Urban Fantasy)
The town of Coldwater is a quiet, in-between kind of place on the outskirts of Calgary at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. Nestled up against the edge of a First Nation reserve, the town is a classic mix of big-city commuters and rural residents. But there are more secrets lost to history than anyone could imagine and now Coldwater is set to return to a more central role in the workings of the universe.
Three teens just entering high school are caught up in the transformation:
Jessica has lived in Coldwater all her life and loves the quiet. A proud geek, she's far happier lost in a book or an equation than dealing with the so-called ‘real world’. When dangerous forces are set loose in her town and start maiming and killing her classmates, she’s compelled to investigate. She never could leave a mystery alone.
Drew is one of the new First Nation students at Coldwater High and his goal is to be anywhere else as soon as possible. Armed with his trusty laptop and an extensive knowledge of tech and random facts, he becomes Jessica’s reluctant ally. His curiosity drives him to get involved and help out against his better judgement, but he does it all with his trademark wit and wicked snark.
Michiru is a force of nature and exceptional athlete who has lived all over the world, with most of her time spent in big cities like London, Amsterdam, Paris, New York, and Toronto. She confidently expects her stay in Coldwater to be every kind of dull, except for the camping and skiing, but is pleasantly surprised to find all the excitement she could want and more.