Working as a team, Joh Nichols (writer) and Ken Rolston (illustrator) have created a self-published series for ages 4-9 about creatures with make-believe avian origins called Cackleberries in a world 'reminiscent of The Wind in the Willows'. The first book in the series, Eggbee's Dream, introduces a young cackleberry named Eggbee and his favorite superhero, Pouleteer. Together they work to rescue the rare turquoise tortoise from the Chicken Queen's clutches. In a follow-up called Rockhopper Rangers Map the Town, Eggbee and his fellow Rockhopper Rangers, Speckles, Albu and Aubie, explore Oville. Their team project is to make a map of the town. In Search for Cackasaurus, Eggbee and his friends set out in search of a mythical prehistoric creature.

CITY/TOWN: Penticton

PLACE OF BIRTH: Toronto

ANCESTRAL BACKGROUND: Armenian

EMPLOYMENT OTHER THAN WRITING: Nursing

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Eggbee's Dream (Cackleberry Press, 2001) 0-9686876-0-1 -
Rockhopper Rangers Map The Town (Cackleberry Press, 2001) 0-9686876-2-8 -
Search For Cackasaurus (Cackleberry Press, ?) 0-9686876-4-4

BIOGRAPHICAL DETAILS: Nichols's desire for adventure saw her chosen to live out her "Thrill Of A Lifetime" on the Canadian TV show of the same name. "I love dogs and I wished to visit the North. Thanks to CTV, I learned how to mush a dog sled on Baffin Island in the Canadian Arctic." A trained nurse, she also worked as part of a team designing and marketing board games - Bruce Lee Martial Arts Game, Robert Ludlum's Game of Counter-Espionage. "My inspirations in life are my Armenian mother and grandmother."

[BCBW 2003] "Kidlit"