D. M. Bryan was raised in Edmonton, Alberta, where she liked to play dinosaurs in her backyard with the boy from across the alley until he moved away when they were both four. She remained alone in Edmonton until adolescence when she moved to Calgary, where fate reunited her and her childhood playmate. Taken with this coincidence, they married, moved to Toronto, and produced a son and daughter. Bryan has acquired an assortment of degrees over the years, including a BFA in Photography and an MA in Communications, both from the University of Calgary, and a BAA in Film from Ryerson University. After what she describes as various yo-yo throws across the country, Bryan has finally re-settled in Calgary where she now teaches sessionally at the University of Calgary. Gerbil Mother is her first novel.