Writing has always been part of Shelley’s DNA, from creating and illustrating stories in public school, to writing for newspapers after earning a journalism degree, to crafting corporate communications copy elevating tech brands—and now to fiction writing. Skills have been honed along the way as Shelley’s career progressed from technical writing to directing North American communications for the optical division at Nortel for a decade. For the last 15 years, Shelley’s company Grandy Public Relations Inc. has raised awareness for tech sector clients in Ontario and Quebec. Highlights of her PR career include launching a Quantum-nano Center featuring the late Stephen Hawking as guest speaker, doing PR for a download link from the International Space Station hosted by Commander Chris Hadfield and astronaut Jeremy Hansen, and media training top-tier tech executives.

Although born in Timmins, Ontario (singer Shania Twain’s stomping ground), Shelley considers Kingston, Ontario her home town. Shelley’s late father Edward Wilson was a mining engineering professor at Queen’s University who couldn’t fathom a daughter with no interest in physics. It’s ironic that her career led to writing extensively in the field of fiber optics.

When not writing and working, you’ll find Shelley at home with husband Roy, Luka the Husky, and Otto the cat, or with her daughter Erin Bury and her husband Kevin Oulds, spoiling granddaughters Emilia and Olivia. Or you might catch up with her at the barn with her horses, one of which is a half-Friesian—a smaller version of horse Titan that you’ll meet in her debut novel Devious Web. Shelley lives in Trenton, Ontario—a two-hour drive from Toronto.