Monique Layton is the author of seven books, including The New Arcadia: Tahiti's Cursed Myth (2015), Life at Sea: From Caravels to Cruise Ships (2017), and Everyday Evil: Why Our World Is the Way It Is (2019). Her books have been finalists for the Montaigne Medal and the Whistler Independent Book Awards. After spending years in Morocco, France, and Great Britain, she settled in Canada with John. A former quilter and miniature maker, Monique is the matriarch of a large family that includes five children, eleven grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren, although well aware that she lacks the wisdom that should go with the title. She lives in Vancouver, British Columbia.