Wayne Miles-Underhill
Wayne Miles-Underhill was born in Edmonton, Alberta, and grew up in a tiny farming hamlet northwest of the city. There he discovered an immense appreciation for the written word by devouring books by the light of a coal-oil lamp deep into the cold Alberta winter nights. His mother taught him to read and write at the age of three, and at six, upon entering grade one, he was soon skipped to grade three because he had completed a year’s worth of workbooks in less than two months. This proved to be of no advantage in the years ahead because of the age difference but is something he looks fondly back on.
Dreams led him to big city life and eventually to Toronto, where he worked as a unit manager for CBC Network productions, including The Tommy Hunter Show, Front Page Challenge, and his favorite, Take Thirty with Adrienne Clarkson and Paul Soles. These experiences led him to try his hand at scriptwriting, culminating in the production of two hour-long network entertainment shows.
Wayne has written some short stories and poems, which have been read at poetry clubs in Victoria, British Columbia. After writing a novel, Secret Betrayals, unpublished, in 2017, Wayne embarked on his task of creating the dystopian land of Refuge.
There are three novels, Refuge, Refuge Dominion, and, in 2022, the last in the trilogy, Refuge Empire. These works encapsulate the saga of the warrior women of Refuge who must overcome their enemies. To do this, they must defeat men who would strip them of their freedom and return them to slavery. Wayne resides in Chilliwack, British Columbia, with his dear wife Rose in an industrious and peaceful retirement.