Catherine Astolfo
Catherine Astolfo retired in 2002 after a very successful 34 years in education. Catherine received the Elementary Dufferin-Peel OECTA Award for Outstanding Service in 1998. She was also awarded Dufferin-Peel Catholic Elementary Principal of the Year in 2002 by the Catholic Principals Council of Ontario.
In addition to her career as an educator, Catherine is a qualified trainer for the Myers-Briggs Personality Inventory and spent many years speaking and leading workshops, both in business and in education. Thus she is comfortable presenting to adults and children alike, described by her colleagues as a “dynamic, fascinating speaker."
Catherine has always aspired to be a published writer. She can recall writing fantasy stories for her classmates in Grade Three. Her short stories and poems have been published in a number of small Canadian presses.
She is the author of The Emily Taylor Mystery novel series: The Bridgeman, Victim, Legacy, and Seventh Fire. In 2005, she won a Brampton Arts Award for The Bridgeman. Her short stories won the Bloody Words Short Story Award (second and first) in 2009 and 2010.
Books:
Book 1
Principal Emily Taylor feels safe in the friendly little town of Burchill—until she finds a body in her school. The murder of caretaker Nathaniel Ryeburn brings back memories she'd rather forget and plunges Emily into a mystery that involves a secret diary, an illegal puppy mill and a murderer innocently disguised as an ordinary citizen.
Book 2
School principal Emily Taylor is caught up in the inexplicable disappearances of two well-known woman and the violence linked to a disputed land claim. When the legendary Walking Bear appears, she must also deal with the resurrection of an ancient legend and the terrified and unnerved villagers of the sleepy town of Burchill.
Book 3
While Emily Taylor deals with the dysfunctional Sanderson family at school, seemingly unconnected characters play out their own troubled journeys into the past.
Website: http://www.catherineastolfo.com
Blog: http://www.katywords.blogspot.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/cathyastolfo