B.L (Bonita) Sauder of West Vancouver was born in Grande Prairie, Alberta in 1961. She has resided in Hong Kong, Singapore, Cape Town and Bangkok. She has worked as a restaurant manager, 'fitting' model, newspaper sub-editor, bartender, flag-girl, senior school English/EAL teacher, guidance counsellor and was the Director of International Relations at an International school in Thailand. She is also a mother, wife, sister, daughter and friend who volunteers time and contributes to the support of HIV/AIDS education in the developing world and to the Fistula Foundation in Ethiopia.

"When I became a mother to two sons of Chinese heritage and couldn't find modern day adventure stories with Chinese characters," she says, "I wrote one." Year of the Golden Dragon, her first novel for pre-teens in the Journey to the East series, was awarded a Moonbeam Children's Book Award and gained a silver place in the Pre-Teen Fiction Fantasy category.

BOOKS:

Year of the Golden Dragon (Coteau 2010).

[BCBW 2010]