Book excerpt: Born and raised in Switzerland, Lilian Marton immigrated to Canada as a teenager and later graduated cum laude from Concordia University in Montreal with a degree in journalism and minor in cinematography. Now living in Toronto with her husband, in her middle years, she created her exuberant clown persona Funky Lily but always kept the written words flowing. After years of writing for the university or the Ontario government or corporations, she now specializes in short stories and essays, even free verse.