I co-founded it with my cousin (“Big or small, we solve them all!”). Most of our “cases” involved finding lost socks, but the agency gave purpose to our time together. Plus, it was fun.

These two principles—have a purpose, make it fun—have guided me long since we wound up our detective operation to focus on the sixth grade.

I was thinking of those principles when I left my post as Creative Director in a marketing firm to strike out as Megan Findlay, Freelance Writer. By then, I had a Master’s Degree in Creative Writing and two works of fiction plucked from obscurity for the annual Best Canadian Short Stories anthology. I had found my fun in writing. But where would I find my purpose? 

In the scientific community—that’s where. The frontier of cell and gene therapy research, the seductive minutia of facility design, the preposterous—yet totally real—prospect of cell-cultured meat… this is the brain food that keeps me nourished. I love spending time among very smart people, then using my writing skills to help those people share their achievements with the world.

Two decades ago, all I knew was that I wanted to write; today, I know what I want to write about.