Wendy Orr was born in Edmonton, but with a father in the RCAF, grew up in France and Colorado as well as Red Deer, Toronto and Middleton, Nova Scotia. She studied occupational therapy in London, married an Australian farmer while in college, and returned to Australia with him after graduation. She has lived in Australia ever since but returns to BC frequently to visit her family on Salt Spring Island and her daughter in Vancouver.Wendy started writing seriously in 1986, and her picture book Amanda's Dinosaur was published in 1988. In 1991, after a serious car accident, she left occupational therapy to become a full time writer. She has written for children, young adults and adults, and participated in the first drafts of the screenplay for her book Nim's Island, currently in production as a feature film.