Born in England, of Jamaican parents, Jackie grew up in Toronto. An avid reader even as a child, Jackie found herself devouring everything from medical dictionaries to romantic fiction. Having completed a Masters in environmental chemistry, she ran her own environmental consulting business in England and published several United Nations reports, journals and newsletters in her field.

Jackie founded JackFruit Press in 2004 and immediately started to research and write Sir John A. Macdonald: The rascal who built Canada. She fell in love with Sir John A. because of his ability to keep working to create a unified Canada despite incredible personal difficulties (like losing his first wife, losing one of his sons and having a seriously disabled daughter).

The more Jackie learned about the lives of other PMs, the more she fell in love with them too. She has since hung up her author’s hat to focus on her role as publisher, devoting her energies to completing a series of 22 titles on Canada’s leaders.