Cathy Marie Buchanan — Canadian Writer born on May 23, 1963,

Cathy Marie Buchanan is a Toronto-based writer. The Day the Falls Stood Still, her debut novel, was published in North America in 2009 and Italy and the UK in 2010. It immediately became a New York Times bestseller. The novel was chosen as a Barnes & Noble Recommends selection, a Barnes & Noble Best of 2009 book, an American Booksellers Association Indie Next pick and a CBC Canada Reads Top 40 Essential Canadian Novel of the Decade. Inspired by the life of Niagara's most famous riverman, William "Red" Hill, the novel chronicles early hydroelectric development on the Niagara River... (wikipedia)

Growing up in Niagara Falls, Ontario, I took classes as a young girl and became very serious about ballet, and also performed with a local company, although it wasn't a professional company.
I don't wait for inspiration. I get up and write every day.
It breaks my heart that we are always being nudged toward the most recently published books, when so many worthy books have gone unexplored.
I really became convinced I wanted to tell the story of the real-life model for the Degas sculpture 'Little Dancer Aged 14,' which was unveiled in 1881, the Belle Epoque.
A tour of the Mexico City of Diego Rivera and Frieda Kahlo led by Barbara Kingsolver would be nice. And I certainly wouldn't turn down a tour of Johannes Vermeer's Delft led by Tracey Chevalier.