FEATURE AUTHOR
Pepper Couëlle-Sterling
Pepper Couëlle-Sterling is the daughter of an artist, a niece and granddaughter of architects, and an Art & Art History graduate of the University of Toronto. Immersed in art from an early age( her grandfather was a friend of Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dali), she has embraced a life filled with creativity. Following a career as an Art Director in Magazine Publishing, she moved west to raise her family and start Pepper Creative Studio. A passion for teaching children led her to establish a summer Art Safari Camp focused on art and drama. Later, she was involved in founding the popular Ghostrider Adventure Camp and Fernie Kids Triathlon.
Although Pepper wrote and edited during her publishing career, she never identified as a writer in those earlier days; it was during an extended winter sailing trip that she found the space and inspiration to write her first novel. She kept a sailboat in Guatemala, and would spend three or four months every winter seeking adventure and sun. Childhood memories and the enjoyment of history, science, and magic found their way onto the paper, and slowly the characters took on a life of their own. Her own love of books is an integral part of her main protagonist’ s character and her desire as a teacher to encourage independence and confidence in trying new things helped guide the story through more and more adventures.
Pepper’ s novel Secrets of the Painted Door is now in print by Oolichan Books and available at Polar Peek Books in Fernie. A sequel is due to be published in 2018 and Pepper anticipates a third volume in the series. Along with her partner, and dog Apollo, Pepper divides her time between Fernie and sailing in the Caribbean.
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