As a child, Patricia Smith lived in Germany and moved with her family back and forth between military bases across Germany and the southeastern United States. Her travels to Germany, Austria, Switzerland, along with the years she attended Department of Defense schools, formed the backdrop of her childhood. After settling in Tampa, Florida, Ms. Smith earned degrees in English education and instructional leadership. Ms. Smith has taught English and creative writing at the middle grades and high school level for thirty years. She is a fellow of the Tampa Bay Area Writing Project and in 2000 earned Hillsborough County's Jean Stallings English teacher award. She counts helping her students to grow as one of her greatest pleasures; her pursuits outside the classroom include church work and animal rescue.
Tara Raymo is a graphic designer and artist in Port St. Lucie, Florida. She loves working on children's books and making them fun and interesting for a kid to pick up. Tara also enjoys all she gets to learn while designing the books. Some of her favorite things to do are reading children's books, such as Harry Potter (She is a BIG Harry Potter Geek) and watching Disney movies. While Tara likes all the fun stuff, she can switch it up to a more professional level, with marketing materials and social media marketing. Tara has been working in children's book publishing for 13 years. Completing tasks such as Book Design and Layout, Photo Research, Art Direction, Board Book Design, Catalogs, Marketing Materials, and Social Media Marketing. Prior to the publishing world, Tara spent 12 years experience in the print industry, with the job function of prepress and design. This has helped Tara with her designs as she has the knowledge of what printers expect in the final files and pdfs being delivered. Tara can be reached at CreativelyTara@gmail.com.
Luana has her MA in reading and has been in education and publishing for over 30 years. She's been a classroom teacher, reading specialist, PD presenter, author, and editor. Currently, she is busy editing and publishing books through her tiny publishing house, BeaLu Books (named after her puppies, Mr. Beans and Lucy). Luana lives in Tampa, Florida with her husband, son, and puppies. Her go-to response when faced with a challenge in teaching, parenting, or life is "There's got to be a book about...." You can contact Luana at Luana@BeaLuBooks.com.
