The Extraordinary Tale of Sammy Snail and Other Silly Stories (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780995819429)

Bernice's father, Herbert (known as Bill) L. Firth, and as Grandpa Bill by his grandchildren, was the storyteller and the true author of these remembered tales. He was also an excellent portrait artist and lover of nature, and it was because of his influence that she later became an artist and a dedicated naturalist. She attended Douglas College, majoring in Art and English Literature and, influenced by her actress mother, took courses in Drama. She has written a staged children's musical play, The Tinderbox, based on Hans Christian Anderson's fairytale, and another, more serious play, The Naming of Charley Salmon. Bernice has always enjoyed reading good children's novels, and after joining the Chemainus Writers, she decided to write and illustrate her own books for young people, in what she hopes follows the classic literary style. Four novels in The Other Side of Magic series came from that decision, published under her imprint, Haresend Publishing. She has since written and illustrated a soon to be published book of more funny stories, hopefully in the same nutty style as her father's. Her daughter Poppy (Georgette) has collaborated with drawings in her own inimitable style. A life-long interest in science and in the direction we are taking our planet has her working on another series of adventure novels, this time for young adults, to be titled Once Upon a Future.