A Life in 1062 Words - Faqs & Favorites
Born: Mona Lea Sims, Sept 4th, 19long
time ago
(Name most often pronounced, incorrectly, as
Mona Lee-ah Sims... then one year I needed a copy of my birth
certificate and a typo in some New York office instantly, and legally, changed me to Mona Lee Sims.
A request to fix it was ignored.. unless I paid for it. So. I decided to
change Lea/Lee/Leigh to the version I liked best.)
Place of Birth: New York, United States
of America
Currant Citizenship: Dual - American and
Canadian
Longed for Citizenship: United
Kingdom
Nicknames I've been landed with:
Nomad, Phoenix, Gypsy
Favorite things ever: Traveling,
writing, gardens, photography,
horseback riding, mystery novels, dogs, birds, dancing, Great Britain
(mostly Great Britain).
Plans for the Future: Making a
living writing mysteries and erotic sci-fi/fantasy. Living in Great
Britain. Travel. Vardos and vanners, there will be vardos and vanners.
Careers/business I've owned:
Animals (The Early Years) - dog grooming company and riding instructor and boarding stable owner.
Owned and ran an IT company -
taught
computer
programming, web development, database design and other computer related
courses (for colleges, universities, government agencies, businesses), developed ecommerce sites for businesses worldwide.
Short
stints as a wedding photographer (great pay, no fun at all) and another as a trained and licensed financial
planner (didn't like it).
I currently work as the assistant
manager of a health food store in Ontario, Canada and write every moment
I'm not at the store.
In spare moments I've written and sold the
rights to two script treatments to CTV/Bell Media, wrote a vampire
serial for a short lived (I hope it wasn't my fault) fantasy magazine,
authored a couple of computer graphic design training manuals, and
authored a weekly IT newspaper
column.
Training/Education: Riding,
Animal Husbandry, Computer Programming and Systems Analysis, Computer
Support Specialist, Database Design, Adult Education,
Financial Planning (acquired Canadian insurance and mutual
fund licenses), various writing courses and filmmaking workshops, and
Biblical studies.
I've recently been awarded Certified Natural Products Advisor by the Canadian Health
Food Association. I'm working on a 4 1/2 year Certified Nutritional Counselor program and should be certified late this year.
Bits and Pieces:
I have
held down 'real jobs' for at least a few years of my life, doing such
high brow things as being a welder in a factory, weight lifting instructor, veterinarian’s assistant, graphic designer in a printing
shop, race horse exerciser, and parrot trainer.
I'm a
vegetarian. But, I do know how to set snares, and skin and cook the catch in an emergency,
I play World of Warcraft online with my daughter and
son-in-law (I've been a guild master on Kirin Tor since 2006), and the
Sims 3 (a lot), DragonAge, and am trying out Fable these days.
I like to study
world history and alternative medical therapies, enjoy archery occasionally, once aced a
motorcycle repair course, spent a few years volunteering as a sign
language interpreter at local religious organizations, have lived all
over North America, currently live in Canada with my last two remaining Tibetan Spaniels,
and enjoy belly, gypsy, and ballroom dancing. I'm
working on a thriller, a mystery series, and a fantasy world where elves
have erotic adventures. I keep a few IT clients, and
am working on a few websites.
Favorite where and whens:
Anytime
in London, England, UK
Dusty afternoons at the
Concepcion
Mission in San Antonio, Texas, USA
Evenings strolls on the dock in Benica, California, USA
Hot, muggy evenings on the porch of the Capital building in
Washington DC, USA
Winter afternoons at quiet vineyards in the Barossa Valley, South Australia,
Australia
Dawn on the beaches of Prince Edward Island,
Canada
Spring on the Tor in Glastonbury, Somerset, England
Summer sunsets on Dreamer's Rock, Ontario, Canada
Rainy afternoons in
Kent, England
Watching the moment the dawn sun touches the tip of Mount Rundle in Banff, Alberta,
Canada (from the attic of the Banff Springs Hotel)
Exploring Frank Lloyd Wright houses in Mill Run, Pennsylvania and
Scottsdale, Arizona, USA
Stormy nights in the Arizona desert, USA
Rainy days on the grounds of Balmoral Castle, Scotland
Autumn afternoons on horse farms in Kentucky, USA
Stormy days in Glen Coe, Scotland
Awards and community involvement past
and/or present:
100+ photographic awards since 1980,
The Influential Woman
Award of 2003 in Ontario, Canada,
Was nominated
by the University of Toronto for the Canadian Entrepreneur
of the Year 2003,
1 writing award
(a long time ago),
Several volunteer awards,
Director of the Ten Rainbows Children's Foundation -
The Mayor's Award of Distinction,
Chairman of the Mayor's Arts and Culture Advisory Panel (3 years),
Board
Member and Media Project Lead of the Sudbury Elk Restoration Committee,
A 'Winner' in the NANO writing contest 2007,
Board Member of the Sudbury Horticultural Society,
Years of support
for:
The Northern Lights Festival Boréal,
Timmins
Therapeutic Riding Association,
Big Brothers and Big Sisters,
Sudbury
Women’s Centre,
Music and Film in Motion,
Village International,
World Wildlife Fund,
The World Society for
the Protection of Animals,
Wild Aid,
The Sierra Club,
Various figure
skating clubs,
The Humble Hearts School for Deaf Children in
Kenya.
Hobbies: Hobbies? Meh...It's all
a hobby!
Animals I've had: Horses, dogs,
a wolf, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, goats, lizards, snakes,
spiders, turtles, fish, birds (parrots, cockatiels, canaries,
budgerigars, doves, pigeons, finches, chickens, ducks, seagulls, etc)
rats and mice, and two skunks.
Favorite books:
Lord of the Rings by J.
R. R. Tolkien,
'Midsomer Murder' series by Caroline Graham,
Harry Potter
series by J.K. Rowlings,
The Elegant Universe by Brian Greene,
The Thirty Nine Steps by John Buchan,
Anna
Karenina by Leo Tolstoy,
'Robot' series by Isaac Asimov (any thing by Isaac Asimov),
Any thing by Charles Dickens,
Any thing by John le Carre,
'Inspector Banks' series by Peter Robinson,
The
Armchair Book of the Garden by D.G. Hessayon,
The Remains of the Day by
Kazuo Ishiguro,
Sherlock Holmes
series by Arthur Conan Doyle,
The
Bourne Series by Robert Ludlum
Favorite movies:
Lord of the Rings
series,
Under a Tuscan Sun,
Groundhog Day,
Harry Potter series,
Emma,
Pride
and Prejudice,
Sense and Sensibility,
Howard's End,
My
Fair Lady,
Ever
After,
The Sound of Music,
Star Wars,
Hello Dolly,
Sabrina (old and new),
Ladyhawke,
Kate and Leopold,
Blade Runner,
The Matrix,
Dirty Dancing,
Three Men and a Baby,
Big.
Favorite plays:
Much Ado About
Nothing,
A Midsummer Night's Dream,
Phantom of the Opera,
Chicago,
Grease,
The Importance of Being Ernest.
Favorite television:
M.A.S.H,
La
Femme Nikita (Canadian),
The Darling Buds of May (British),
Star Trek - all of them,
Buffy the Vampire Slayer,
Magnum P.I.,
Midsomer Murders (British),
Rosemary and Thyme (British),
Yes, Minister (British),
A Touch of Frost
(British),
Stargate SG-1 (Canadian),
Firefly,
Hercules and Xena,
Dollhouse.
Favorite music: Everything!.
Rimsky-Korsakov to Shania Twain to Lloyd Webber to Pink Floyd to Lacuna
Coil.
Future favorites: Italy, France,
Austria, Russia, learning to play the piano, learning to speak Spanish
and Italian, being a best selling author.
