About Us

Creating a Flying Zoo program in the 1980s where her Cessna 172 passengers had fur, scales or a beak, Carol Patterson’s adventures spurred her to leave a career as an oil and gas accountant to see the world’s wildlife. In the quarter century since, she has inspired everyday explorers by writing and speaking about being chased by elephants in Africa, sliding through bat guano in Borneo, and breaking her ankle in Bhutan. When Carol’s not writing about the best of Canadian wildlife trips, she daydreams about spreadsheets. Carol Patterson is a two-time winner of the Travel Media Association of Canada’s award for Best Environmental/Responsible Tourism Feature. She can be reached at www.carolpatterson.ca and Instagram: thecarolpatterson.

Hans’ writing is eclectic including travel (ecotourism, soft adventure, history) and environment. He is also one of Canada’s most prolific writers about First Nations’ culture and tourism. He has penned 10 books (one national best seller) and his articles appear in newspapers and magazines across North America. As a member of the Society of Environmental Journalists and former adjunct professor in environmental sciences at Brock and Victoria Universities, he has a strong affinity for nature and the environment around us. He lives in British Columbia, Canada, where he enjoys kayaking, hiking and cycling.

Mark Stevens has covered Canadian destinations for newspapers including the Washington Post, Boston Globe, Toronto Star and magazines as diverse as Dreamscapes, Sailing and Saltscapes. His writing has garnered numerous awards, including two Ottawa Tourism Travel Writing Awards, three Canadian Tourism Commission Northern Lights Awards. He has been a finalist three times in the Ontario Tourism Travel Journalism Awards. Mark Stevens won a first place TMAC Award in the “Best Spirit of Canada” category for a story that he wrote for Roadstories.ca in 2014. A three-time finalist in the travel photography category of the Ontario Tourism Awards, Sharon Matthews-Stevens is a multiple-award winning photographer. Her work has appeared in publications ranging from Ensemble Vacations to Canadian Yachting. A graduate of the Humber programme in digital photography, Sharon also produces fine art photography and her work has appeared in both juried shows and art galleries. Read Mark and Sharon’s little piece on the Îles de la Madeleine for Roadstories and check out their website at www.travelwriteclick.com.

Pat Brennan is a Canadian freelance travel writer who spends much of his time roaming the back roads of North America in his 22-foot motor home. He spent 33 years at The Toronto Star as a staff writer/photographer and now writes for a variety of publications in the real estate and construction businesses as well as producing travel stories for Postmedia Network, Canada’s largest newspaper chain. Pat has an insatiable, newspaperman’s curiosity and loves to sit around trading yarns. Check out his website Travels With Lefty.

Robin & Arlene Karpan are Canadian freelance travel writers, photographers and book publishers based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. They specialize in the natural world: nature and wildlife photography, wilderness areas, hiking, canoeing, and travelling off the beaten track. Their extraordinary work has appeared in hundreds of publications around the world and we are happy to feature them here on Roadstories.ca “Unfortunately, it is natural areas almost everywhere that seem to be disappearing the fastest. If the world’s special places and special creatures are to survive, it will be because people know about them and care about them. We hope that our work can play a role in raising awareness and fostering an appreciation of our many extraordinary places.” Check out Robin & Arlene Karpan’s work at PhotoJourneys.ca and ParklandPublishing.com.

Cinda Chavich is an award-winning Canadian journalist specializing in food, wine and travel writing. Her work has been published in many major newspapers and magazines, from the Globe and Mail, Canadian Living and Maclean’s, to Cooking Light, Relish, Wine Spectator and Australia’s Get Lost. She is the author of six cookbooks including her latest, The Waste Not, Want Not Cookbook (TouchWood Editions, 2015), which addresses the global issue of food waste and was a finalist for the prestigious International Association of Culinary Professionals award. Cinda is also a Travel Media Association of Canada (TMAC) Awards winner. A longtime advocate of sustainable, local cuisine and eco-tourism, Cinda travels the world to uncover new stories. Learn more about Cinda’s latest adventures on her blog, TasteReport.com or on Twitter @TasteReporter.

Josephine Matyas is a full-time Canadian freelance writer whose work has appeared in publications around the world. She often travels and writes with her husband, writer and musician Craig Jones and their dog Rigby. Their consumer website, Travels With Rigby, has a focus on RV travel, pet-friendly travel, food and music destinations. Follow Jo Matyas and her adventures at travelswithrigby.com

As an award-winning career freelance writer, I’ve penned articles about everything from the toilets of Tokyo (yep, if you ever get a chance...) and the spectacular red-cliff ruins of Petra in Jordan. And if there’s a museum to be found, I’ll suss it out. (“Oh mom, nooooboody goes to museums in Las Vegas,” my son once famously whined as we trouped through the Liberace Museum.) But, although I’ve travelled the world, in my humble opinion, few spots on earth can compete with Canada for sheer beauty and for an ability to embrace the many cultures that have made their marks on this country. Oh, and did I mention we’re polite. Recently in Amsterdam, the woman sitting beside me on the subway asked if I was from Canada. “Yes!” I replied. “How did you know that?” Her answer: “When someone bumped into you on the platform you said, ‘Excuse me.’” Now for the boasting part: over the years I’ve been honoured to receive numerous awards for my work, including a Travel Media Association of Canada award, a Rogers Award for Editorial Excellence and three National Magazine Awards.

Semi-retired from a thirty four year career of teaching Geography to students and teachers in Ontario, Brian is looking forward to sharing his passion for Canada in a new medium. He has taught thousands of students about the Geography of Canada, as well as a variety of courses about Travel and Tourism in five high schools in Ontario and Australia. As an instructor for Queen’s University he still gets a chance to interact with Geography teachers in Ontario and elsewhere in the world as he guides them through a variety of online courses. Brian directed three different international language and arts camps, playing host to young people from around the world who came to Ontario’s cottage country to learn English and enjoy Canadian camp life. He has also coordinated student and adult tours to ten different countries as well as wilderness trips in Ontario and New Hampshire. New to the world of travel writing, Brian is enjoying another chance at reinvention.

Janet Podolak is a longtime travel and food editor for The News-Herald and Morning Journal newspapers in suburban Cleveland, Ohio, covering food, travel, religion & health, people & events. Her passion lies in scuba, cooking & wines. She has traveled by train in the Andes, Italy, Spain, France and Australia, but especially enjoys traveling in Canada. You can follow Janet Podolak on Twitter: @JPodolakatwork

Doug O'Neill is an established travel writer who is passionate about nature and the outdoors. He has written for various travel publications including Canadian Geographic, Explore magazine and Canadian Traveller. O'Neill is currently a member of the Adventure Travel Trade Association of Canada as well as a certified Hike Leader for Hike Ontario and an ambassador for the Trans-Canada Trail. He lives in Toronto, Ontario.

Katharine Fletcher

The first time I met James Ross I could tell he had been a few places and met a few people. That's because he has a degree in journalism and at one time or another has worked as a newspaper reporter, cowboy, horse wrangler, mule packer, mountain guide, museum curator, dogsledder, canoe guide, movie stuntman, animal trainer, photo double, writer and author of two books: Cottage Daze and Still in a Daze at the Cottage, celebrating the Canadian Cottage Experience. Check out his personal website at cottagedaze.ca We are delighted to have him sharing some of his experiences with us here at Roadstories.ca