Tsawwassen author Marie Warder just can't stop writing.

The former reporter has written over 20 books, including her Stories from South Africa fiction series, and recently turned her attention to children's e-books with a new series, Little Kindle Tales for Little People.

Warder, originally from South Africa, now uses voice recognition software to write due to health problems.

One of her books, The Bronze Killer, is about hemo-chromatosis, a genetic disorder that results in iron overload.

Warder lost her husband Tom to complications from the disorder in 1992.

She also founded the Canadian Hemochromatosis Society, the Hemochromatosis Society of Southern Africa and the International Alliance of Hemochromatosis Societies.

Last year Warder was recognized with a lifetime achievement award at an International BioIron Society conference.

Q: What's enabled you to be so productive over your career?

I would say, first of all, ill health. When I was very little I had to spend a lot of time in the hospital and at home. When I was at home I had to do something to pass the time. I remember I joined the SABC's Young Ideas radio club and you could write a play for it. So, I did that. My sister's best friend was a journalist and she was 10 years older than I. We had moved to Cape Town. The same young fellow who was my sister's friend was now working for the Argus in Cape Town. I said, 'What do you do?' He said, 'We write things and sell them to newspapers.' I said, 'They pay you?'

Q: Out of all your work as an author is there any book you're most proud of?

The Bronze Killer, simply because it has saved lives. That's what got me the medal and the lifetime achievement. I didn't do it for that. Honestly, I did not do it for any other reason but I knew things that other people didn't know and I felt it was my duty to tell them. Until then they did not believe it was hereditary, they did not believe that women could get hemochroma-tosis and they did not believe you could get it as young as my daughter was. She was 30. (She's well now.)

Q: How do you feel about the present day awareness level regarding the condition?

It is amazing. We have proved that it's the world's most common genetic disorder. We have proved that in Canada one in 300 will die of it.

Q: You're also a blogger. What topics have you been blogging about lately?

I blogged recently about my horror about what's going on in South Africa. I blogged about healing because I belong to the Order of Saint Luke. I wrote recently about the Hemochromatosis Society of South Africa because many people didn't know how it began and how this could've been possible.

Q: You recently started writing stories for kids. What do you enjoy about that?

I love writing stories for little people. So that's what I called them, Little Kindle Tales for Little People. I love it. I write all the time. If I'm not writing an article for Blogcritics, then I've got to write something else. It's in my blood. Talking, writing, whatever.