Belcourt, Raymond J.: - Raymond (R.J.) Belcourt was raised in Blezard Valley, a village nestled in the boreal region of northern Ontario. He spent his youth hunting, fishing and trapping around the Sudbury area. His great appreciation of the wilderness and his eye for landscape and natural form both have their origins in his many early adventures in the forest. In the early 1980s he moved to western Canada to work on the oil rigs. After 40 years in the industry, He re-visited his artistic roots and developed skills as an amateur photographer, capturing unique perspectives of the prairies. Ray also enjoys writing short stories about past life experiences. He reunited with an old friend, Iggy Fay, who encouraged him to share his talents and passion with the public. Together they have published several short stories in magazines and also several books: Haiga Moments, Artscapes/Pays-Arts Canada and their latest, Blood Cove-A Novel. Ray lives in Leduc, Alberta with his beautiful wife, Cami. He has four wonderful children, Jasmine, Devon, Rose and Luana.Fay, Ignatius: - Ignatius was born in Levack, a small mining town just northwest of Sudbury in northern Ontario. Born with lung, heart, digestive and immune system abnormalities, he developed several lung diseases in early childhood and has been chronically ill all his life. He dropped out of university in his second year to buy a franchise in a local pizza chain, eventually owning three. At twenty-five, he realized that his first ambition was his true calling, and he returned to university. He was awarded his Ph.D. in Invertebrate Paleontology in 1983, at the age of 33. By that time he had been married for ten years and had two daughters. He became the first Invertebrate Paleontologist of the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology in Drumheller, Alberta during its design and building stage. By 1986, his health had deteriorated significantly; he had a lung removed and was told he'd never see the age of forty. And his marriage was over. Ignatius is nothing if not determined. He dedicated his life to staying alive. At publication of this novel, he is sixty-nine. On twenty-four-hour oxygen therapy, he raised two happy and successful daughters, Kathryn and Danielle, taught himself computer graphics, and became a well-published and award-winning haiku/tanka poet. Along the way, Ignatius reconnected with Ray Belcourt, whom he had given his first job as a teenager. Their friendship, always solid, has grown to be a mainstay in each of their lives. They have collaborated in a number of literary endeavors (see page 475), the latest of which you hold in your hands. Ignatius still lives, alone, in Sudbury.
