• Grade: 8

Sylvia wishes that hormones weren't such finicky things. She has Turner Syndrome and will need estrogen supplements to develop normally-whatever that means, since almost everyone around her seems to be hormonally imbalanced. Her doctor suspects her ambivalence about growing up has caused Sylvia to imagine seeing a large hairy creature in the woods. Interesting theory . . . but her pony has seen it too.

Susan Ketchen was born in Nanaimo, B.C. She holds an M.Sc. degree in Marriage and Family Therapy. She has successfully pursued an alarming number of not overly-long careers and now resides on a small Vancouver Island hobby farm with her husband, two horses, two cats and a flock of chickens.

Susan is a member of the B.C. Horse Council, the Comox Valley Dressage Club, and the Comox Valley Writer’s Society. She is a monitor with the Wildlife Tree Stewardship Program, giving her an official excuse to spend many hours staring out the window... at the eagles perching and nesting at the edge of the property. She is interested in animal training and teaches her horses to recognize a remarkable number of words, play the piano with their noses, and identify flash cards. Her favourite places to come up with new ideas are the barn, the pasture, and the shower. She has never received creative inspiration while vacuuming.

Susan Ketchen's profile page

"Ketchen's writing is fast-paced, compelling and full of surprises. Sylvia's persistence and creativity in overcoming her life's challenges will inspire the reader for a lifetime." ~ Horse Family Magazine