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About Marilynne Miles Gray
Why write cross-genre material?
I'm drawn to variety in writing whether it's novels, history, how-to reference books and the like. So it's natural for me to explore the boundaries of literature.
My Non de plume - for fiction
Why Maneen? Because it was the way I pronounced my first name when I was 2 years old. The name has stuck. The rest is a simple choice -- keep it shorter than my current, legal name: Marilynne Miles Gray. No hyphen between the two last surnames, thank you. Double-barelled last names create interesting challenges: which letter of the alphabet have the organizers at conference filed me under: G or M? Sounds suspiciously like a mystery title from Agatha Christie.
My educational background
I hold a B.A. (Honours) in English Literature from the University of British Columbia. There, I was fortunate to work with amazing, high-profile professors in classes of manageable size--none of the classes of 200+ that are not uncommon today. The reading list and course load was impressively-heavy.
After completing a Master's in English, I spent a year spent in the infamous "Fifth Year Transfer Program", becoming a high school teacher. I held Permanent Teaching Certification in both Ontario and British Columbia public school systems with experience as both an English Second Language and English Language-Literature teacher. This was followed up with graduate studies at Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) focussing on Curriculum Design.
For my Master's Degree in Educational Administration, I wrote a thesis on case study methodology. Along the way, I taught English at the university level and acted as a teacher-trainee supervisor in the world's first formal mentoring programme in the field of education.
Side note: I was educated to use English spellings but use American-style spelling for my audiences.