Almost 30 years ago, Gillian sold her first short story, called “Outfoxed!”, to Cricket. Since then, 8 more of her stories were published in that popular US children’s magazine. One story, “Winter of the Snowshoe Hare” was republished, so it actually appeared in February 1995 and again in January 2007. Gillian thought that her stories deserved a longer life, and felt that a lot more readers—young and older—would enjoy them. So she decided to share them again in this ebook collection.

An Instinct for Survival: Ten Nature Adventures includes 8 of the 9 original stories, plus two more. The animals and birds featured are North American species whose habits and habitats inspired the dramatic survival moments in the stories.

“Eagle’s Trial” was inspired by an actual event she watched unfold on a mountain lake. “On Wings of Hope”, based on a peregrine falcon recovery project in the prairie city where she lived, received Honourable Mention, Children’s Literature Category, in the 1996 Saskatchewan Literary Awards competition.