The author Maureen Akey is one of eight children who grew up on a farm in Northern New York State, surrounded by her favorite pets, including a guinea pig and several horses. She spent her summers in Montreal, Canada chasing butterflies and horseback riding in the mountains. She holds 3 degrees in the Agricultural and Life Sciences and currently teaches Biology, Microbiology, and Environmental Science at a local college. Her past times include training horses, landscaping, working as a field biologist most days and rearing butterflies at her farm “Butterfly Showplace". Maureen conducts adult seminars locally on butterfly garden design, butterfly courtship rituals and also presents children’s puppet shows about butterfly biology. She is currently completing 2 other books in the Molly the Monarch and Friends© book series. Maureen resides in Melrose, FL and can be contacted at clone1@copper.net.
The illustrator George (Speedy) Arnold III is a life-long resident of Keeseville, NY. He has been drawing and painting most of his life, however, in the last 20 years, it is rare to see him without a sketchbook in hand. Almost all of his sketches are done in his spare time between his 3 “real” jobs: owner and operator of Arnold’s Grocery, AuSable Valley school bus driver, and Town of AuSable assessor. Speedy is also the guitar player with the bluegrass band “Three Doug Knight”, and in addition, performs solo at local farmers markets, libraries and schools, as well as playing the role of Julnissar at Santa’s Workshop’s annual “Yuletide family weekends.” Speedy has also illustrated several books including the children’s book authored by North-Country musician Jim Goff titled The Little Book in the Field. Speedy also attended grade school with the author and they graduated from 8th grade together. Speedy can be reached at gsarnold@frontiernet.net. Phone:518-834-4692.