Gina has taken to heart that old saying that “writers should write what they know.” That’s why her stories involve such things as history, archaeology, animals, faraway places and kids.

Her first love was animals and this took her to the jungles of Borneo to study orangutans with primatologist, Birute Galdikas. She returned to Canada and decided to study archaeology at Simon Fraser University, where she not only learned more about primates as they relate to early man, but also studied osteology—the study of human bones.
Gina grew up listening to her father tell stories. That love for stories led her to study writing and journalism. She soon realized she enjoyed human interest stories best and eventually turned her attention to writing fiction. At the same time she set aside her interest in hairy orange primates for two little boy primates of her own. She never imagined that she would love children as much as animals—but she did.

This new discovery led Gina to take Montessori teacher training and she spent the next 12 years teaching elementary students in Surrey and Vancouver. During her time as a teacher she was able to pursue her love of history by writing plays and short stories for her students on World War I and II, The Great Depression, The Women’s Movement and more. This approach to teaching history eventually earned her the 2004 Governor General’s Award for Excellence in Teaching Canadian History.

But in the back of Gina’s mind were all the other things she used to love—archaeology, travel, animals and the dream to write a novel. So three years ago, she left the classroom to pursue her dream to write a book. Reading the Bones is her first children’s novel and in March, 2008 it was published by The Dundurn Group. It’s a story of a young girl, named Peggy Henderson, who accidentally disturbs the burial remains of a 3,000-year-old Coast Salish man. With the help of archaeologist, Dr. Eddy McKay, she not only learns about “reading the bones,” but she learns about the Coast Salish culture—past and present.

This is what two well-known children’s writers said about her book:
An absorbing story with rich and fascinating details of past, present and place. (Kit Pearson)
Gina McMurchy-Barber hooked me from page one. She has beautifully captured the voice of a bright and rebellious preteen. The finely woven archaeological details add to the authenticity of the story. Well Done! (Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch)

Today Gina continues writing and teaching part-time. She is working on two novels—one is a sequel to Reading the Bones. It’s called, Broken Bones Broken Dreams. In this story, Peggy and Eddy head to northern B.C. and uncover the remains of a young pioneer who was hanged to death in the 1880s.