ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Richard Keep first learned to write and illustrate a children's book as a project in Mrs. Mengert's 6th grade art class.

He caught his interest in art as a 50's boomer kid -- watching the Winky Dink and You TV show on Saturday mornings. He sent in fifty cents for the green-tinted plastic sheet to cover the TV screen and drew on it with "magic" crayons -- connecting the dots to help rescue Winky Dink from certain doom.

Then his dad brought home a fat pack of construction paper with every color. Hundreds of peculiar paper airplanes, masks and wizard hats later, Rick earned his art teaching creds from the University of Wisconsin.

While teaching -- notably at Northwestern Military Academy in Lake Geneva, WI -- Rick began collaborating on books with Linda. Their first book together, Trick or Treat, It's Halloween! became a New York Times best-seller.

In 2001, Rick and Linda visited San Miguel de Allende, a magically beautiful town in colonial Mexico, to finish writing Linda's Day of the Dead book. They fell in love with the town, stayed for eight years, and wrote eight Mexican-themed books.

Rick's solo books demonstrate his two preferred media styles. Clatter Bash! was created in painted cut paper collage and A Thump from Upstairs was created digitally.

Award-winning writer and illustrator Linda Lowery grew up on Chicago's south side. When she graduated with a degree in French from De Paul University, she began traveling the world to get a feel for how other people live.

She taught English in Athens, was a very good nanny to bambinos in Rome, a very bad cook in Florence, a corporate incentive travel planner in Honolulu, and an international flight attendant.

When her son Kris was born, Linda settled down to be a mom and a writer in Lake Geneva WI, where she completed12 books, including the ever-popular Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

The family moved to Colorado in 1988, where Linda learned of the amazing true story of Aunt Clara Brown, Colorado pioneer, and researched and wrote two books about Clara.

Years later, while living in Mexico with Rick, she won the Orient-Express Hotel, Trains and Cruises 2007 International Gold PR award for the culturally-rich corporate social responsibility programs she developed for their San Miguel property.

Colonial Mexico also inspired her to write the coming-of-age story Truth and Salsa.

Now, back in Colorado, and writing, Linda says, "San Miguel gave me so many gifts -- vibrant color, generous and loving people, endless inspiration. Still, it's lovely to back in Colorado, seeing the same mountains from a different perspective."