Surrey author R.S. Twells is among 50 people profiled in the new book Bloom Across Canada: 50 Inspiring Conversations, full of question-and-answer features by Beka Shane Denter.
Heritage House Publishing‘s 224-page book is advertised as “an uplifting collection of conversations with creative, entrepreneurial, diverse people across Canada.”
Born and raised in Surrey, Twells is a writer of YA (young adult) literature. While at Enver Creek Secondary, her writing career began to blossom.
“I was kind of lucky because in Grade 9 we were forced to write short stories and my English teacher, without my knowledge, submitted mine in a contest where I won second place,” recalls Twells, a pen name.
“That was very encouraging, but I didn’t really think anything of it,” she added in a phone call Friday (Nov. 29). “At age 20 when I thought about writing (novels), thinking about that experience in Grade 9, winning second place, kind of gave me the courage needed to pursue publishing.… I started writing when I was 20, I’ve put out three books, and I’m 29 now. I have a fourth book coming out at the end of next year, but it doesn’t have a title yet.”
Twells is the author of The Agent Bennet Saga, which includes The Field Agent (2021), The First Traitor (2022), and The Fallen Within (2024).
In Bloom Across Canada, Twells is profiled alongside 14 other British Columbians including visual artist Jag Nagra, soul singer Dawn Pemberton, chocolatier Mara Mennicken, curve model and jeweller Sylvia Tennant, Mothers Matter Centre CEO Amy Robichaud and others.
As a child, Twells’ favourite book was Margaret Peterson Haddix’s Among the Hidden, read to her class by the teacher.
“The story had me on the edge of my seat,” Twells recalled in her Bloom Q&A. “It was so thrilling and thought-provoking for my little Grade 6 mind that as soon as he finished reading it, I asked my parents for the rest of the books in the series. They dealt with political issues and loss, something I hadn’t thought about. It opened a whole new world of what books could be.”
Horses will always be Twells’ first inspiration, she says in the book.
“The Field Agent came to be while around horses and story ideas continue to come to me while horse riding. My horse, Maple, is incredibly patient with me while I often just sit on her with my Notes app opened, hurriedly writing down an idea before it slips away.”
Out since October, Bloom Across Canada: 50 Inspiring Conversations sells for $42.95 on heritagehouse.ca/book/bloom-across-canada, or $21.99 for an e-book.
Heritage House Publishing was founded in 1969 to “reflect the vibrant history, culture, and geography of Western Canada, including myriad voices, ethnicities, genders, and forms of cultural expression.”
In 2022, the company also published Denter’s Bloom Where You Are Planted: 50 Conversations with Inspiring British Columbians.
This post was originally published on here
