Nestled among pristine lakes, powerful rivers and awe-inducing mountain ranges, the Kootenay region of British Columbia has always drawn a distinctly adventurous crowd. The dramatic and somewhat isolated landscape has long been a fertile ground for artists, musicians, back-to-the-landers, hippies, environmentalists, free thinkers, and those seeking to escape the confines of big cities to the east and west and the political dynamics to the south. Others have called the area home for millennia—the Sinixt Nation, which spans the interior plateau of BC and extends beyond the areas now known as the Kootenay region, and the Ktunaxa Nation, which have long resided on the lands and waters of the Kootenay and Columbia Rivers and beyond the confines of our colonial borders. Today, the Kootenay region is a hub of farming, arts, culture and counterculture in British Columbia.

Dancing on Mountains is a collection of inspiring and eclectic stories written by women from across geography and time, each of whom has been drawn to take root in the mystic, beautiful Kootenays. In their own words, these women—teachers, artists, musicians, writers, entrepreneurs and environmentalists—share stories that embody the spirit of the Kootenays. From fleeing the US draft alongside the men of the 60s and pushing against traditional gender roles and sexism, to reclaiming Indigenous identities, calling out environmental threats and fighting for our climate today, these stories span the spectrum of human experience. Thoughtful, heartwarming and delightfully entertaining, Dancing on Mountains is a celebration of the brilliant, radical essence of the women of the Kootenays.

Luanne Armstrong, MFA, Ph.D, is a novelist, freelance writer, editor, and publisher. She is deeply interested in writing about place and nature. Her research interests also include the ethics of autobiographical writing, ecological identity, and writing as inquiry. She has published over fifty stories and essays in magazines and journals, and is the author of fourteen books, including poetry, novels, and children’s books. She has been nominated for numerous prizes and awards. Her first novel, Annie, was a best-seller in Germany. Her YA novel, Jeannie and the Gentle Giants, was nominated for Canadian Library Association’s Book of the Year, the Sheila Egoff BC Book Prize Award and the Red Cedar Award. It placed second in the Silver Birch Award. It was also named by McNally Robinson Booksellers in Winnipeg as one of their top ten all time best children’s books. Luanne has taught Creative Writing for many years at the college level including at Langara College, and at summer schools in BC and Alberta. She is a popular speaker and workshop leader at writing conferences. She is presently working on a book about the ethics of autobiographical writing for Pacific Educational Press as well as a book of essays about environmental ethics. She is an adjunct professor of Creative Writing at the University of British Columbia. Luanne currently lives on her organic heritage farm in the Kootenay region of BC.

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