RICHARD deMEULLES of Sudbury, ON, was raised in a large, Franco-Celtic household in the mining town of Timmins, and has spent most of his working life in and around mining and forestry. For over 25 years his stories have appeared in magazines such as Descant, On Spec, and Cross Canada Writers’ Magazine. His work is anthologized in On Spec: The First Five Years and Bluffs: Northeastern Ontario Stories from the Edge; in 1988 he was awarded second place in the Cross Canada Writers’ Magazine’s writing contest.