Senja V Suutari

Born on a bitter winter's night in a rough-hewn cabin in the northern wilds of Ontario, Canada, Senja Suutari grew up steeped in her Finnish mother's mysticism and tales of "the old country." When a dramatic fire destroyed her childhood home, the family settled in a rough and tumble mining community, Kirkland Lake, where Senja spent her formative years going to classic horror movies, often making her way back in the dark, her footsteps ringing on the wooden sidewalks— feeling that she didn't always walk alone. . . .

At seventeen, Senja's family immigrated to Connecticut, then to Florida where she taught ballroom dancing in Miami, married and had two children. 1n 1970 the family moved to a farm in Pennsylvania where they raised sheep. Divorced in 1983, Senja returned to Canada and makes her home on Vancouver Island in Brother Twelve country.

Her writing blends Finnish mysticism with a healthy dollop of scary. Her books include "The Hell What Broke Loose When Charlie Came," "Kissa" (The Devil's Cat) and "Beware the Laughing Blackbirds" (coming in October 2015). She is currently working on her fourth novel, "Human" (working title.)