Hello, Readers...
In 2017, my family ended our stewardship of The Briars property after 140 years, our home and base for a farm, community centre, golf course, live summer theatre, and year-round resort. There are so many stories to tell, about the property, the family and their visitors, Jackson's Point, Lake Simcoe and the points around it, that can be midwifed into great tales.
Despite their abundance, I had not planned on writing a novel, let alone a series. But when my plans for running historical tours in the village and local church were quashed by the COVID-19 pandemic, young Emily—my fictional protagonist—visited me and gave me permission to tell her story.
The current series is written to be enjoyable for middle school children, but adults who enjoy Anne of Green Gables will find Emily is much a kindred spirit from a later period, before Ontario was as rush-rush as it is today.
I'm thrilled to have published three books in the series with the fourth and fifth coming close.
A little more
about me
Though I grew up in Jackson's Point, my summers were focused on our family's resort, The Briars. Swimming in Lake Simcoe was a mainstay summer pastime, with the constant hope that, in winter, the lake would also provide excellent skating.
In recent years, I enjoyed paddling on the Black River, a near-wilderness paradise adjacent to the Briars property. There, I combined two passions: refining my skills in teaching canoeing and watching a plethora of birds. In the winter, the Briars golf course helped me maintain the Nordic skiing skills I used in teaching at the resort.
Since selling the resort, I have had the opportunity to explore my childhood interest in nature through courses at the TRCA. That made my birding more interesting. These outdoor interests are revealed in my books.
Having dragged my wife from Nova Scotia to Upper Canada (Ontario), we returned to her roots after twenty-five years. Two of our children and our grandchildren live nearby. Besides enjoying new environs and slaving away at training as "Andrew Sibbald, Author", I teach Shotokan karate in Halifax.
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Here is the first part of the podcast I did with YourTown Georgina in June 2026, telling about the family's arrival in Canada in the 1830s.