Shelby Cain first attended College of the Rockies after graduating from high school in 1994, upgrading some science courses before moving on to university.
She moved back to the East Kootenays with her husband to raise their two young daughters after she completed her Bachelor of Science. Having a partially finished manuscript stuffed in a drawer, she decided to enrol in Creative Writing at the College.
“When I found out I could actually take a course on how to write a manuscript, I signed up immediately,” she says.
The course has paid off for Shelby. She has signed with Oolichan Books to have her first novel, Mountain Girl, published in the spring of 2016. She won the non-fiction category of the Kootenay Literary Competition with her story, Hell Roaring, about an avalanche that occurred in the St. Mary’s Lake area and also writes a weekly lifestyle column for The Fernie Free Press called The Parent Trip.
“Taking the creative writing course at the College was the best decision ever. Now I’m going to be a published author!” she gushes.
Learn more about Creative Writing courses at College of the Rockies.