Jesse Frayne, whose parents are well-known Canadian journalists and authors June Callwood and Trent Frayne, was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario. At age five, she started riding lessons; age twelve, owned her first horse; at age fifteen, started working at Woodbine Racetrack as a hotwalker. One of a handful of female riders in the late 'sixties, she got her Jockey's Exercise Licence and rode mornings on the racetrack, afternoons she trained thoroughbred yearlings. Though she is well-travelled, she pursued her post-secondary eduation in her native-town, taking Environmental Studies at the University of Toronto and working as an environmental researcher, helping to start paper recycling in Canada. The births of her four children changed her gastronomical focus and began the process which led to the writing of a cookbook, Great Food for Happy Kids (2001). She entered the writing world in 1987 with five half-hour scripts for Fred Penner’s musical children’s show on the CBC. Just Keep Breathing is her first work of fiction, and The Bitter Air, in progress, will be its sequel.