L. R. Gerstein grew up in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the eldest of six children. She lived a rather sheltered life with her mother, father and siblings. No one ever stepped outside of her parents' comfort zone or dared to venture beyond what was expected of them.

Growing up with a passion for drawing and painting, she'd hoped to attend art college. The powers that be—her parents—fiercely objected, and without consideration redirected her to administrative studies.

Ms. Gerstein married at twenty and gratefully found herself pregnant at twenty-one. Motherhood was fulfilling and rewarding—more so than studying that which disinterested her at community college, and she dropped out before graduating.

Raising four children kept her on her toes 24/7. Life was hectic, chaotic at times, but always filled with love. When her children were grown and much more independent than she ever was, she decided to resurrect her adolescent passion. However, she quickly realized that her youthful, voracious appetite had diminished long ago.

In the mid 1990s, something inside her sparked, flickered and lit a new creative path. The elements of composition in art had transformed within her and the written word flowed. A five-by-seven indigenous painting inspired a story. Her son, a student of film at the time, liked the idea and suggested she write a short, detailed outline. Some eight hundred pages later, her first novel was complete and she felt a quiet sense of accomplishment.

With no formal training, she writes purely for pleasure. Y. Vonne Beck? is her second novel, a labour of love finished in 2003.

As a busy wife, mother and grandmother, many obstacles—new life, illness, death, general annoyances—stood between her and publishing the book. With her life in a slower rhythm, now seems the right time to put it in print.

She and her husband live well, and have managed to sustain their marriage of forty-seven years. They are well travelled and hope to continue their adventures.