About Darlene West

Darlene West has written about hiking the Rockies, running in Miquelon, farming lavender, living communally, and working green. Her articles and photos about travel in western Canada and the Mediterranean have appeared in The Globe and Mail and the Calgary Herald along with national and regional magazines. She is also the author of three travel guidebooks.

When she isn’t working with words, she works with grapes. Darlene and her husband, John, are the owners of Cranston Hill Vineyard near the town of Oliver in British Columbia’s southern Okanagan Valley. They produce merlot, cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, pinot blanc, and other grape varieties for two B.C. wineries and grow cherries, plums, apricots, peaches, garlic and tomatoes for fun.

Before moving to B.C., Darlene lived in Calgary, Alberta where she worked in the energy business for 12 years, first as a reporter and editor for several trade publications and later as a communications consultant in the electric industry.

Darlene West is a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors and the Professional Writers Association of Canada.