Finding out what makes people, places and processes tick is my specialty, whether that involves delving into the history of Avon ladies, writing about Canada’s largest coffee pot, or flinging myself off a B.C. mountaintop (the latter because a friend dared me to try paragliding).

My latest book, Wanderlust: A Social History of Travel, covers a little bit of everything, from the evolution of passports to the inventor of travellers’ cheques.

Along with two other non-fiction books, six novels, and two novellas, I’ve written for more than 80 magazines and newspapers in Canada, the U.S., and Europe, including National Geographic Traveler, Islands, enRoute, Chatelaine, and The Ottawa Citizen. I also edit fiction and non-fiction.

As for hobbies, I spend far too much time wondering whether the cast of Gilligan’s Island could beat the cast of Lost on a very special edition of Survivor. So please buy a book or hire me to write an article, thus encouraging me to put my brain cells to better use.