John Dougherty was born in Larne, Northern Ireland. Whilst John was teaching, his interest in children's literature was reawakened and he soon began writing stories and pestering publishers with them. After the publication of Zeus on the Loose (2004) he left teaching and took up writing full-time, only with more tea breaks than most full-time jobs. Awards: Zeus on the Loose was shortlisted for the Branford Boase Award in 2008. Niteracy Hour was shortlisted for both the 'Nottingham Childrens Book Award in 2006 and the Coventry Raring 2 Read Award 2008. Jack Slater, Monster Investigator was shortlisted for the ''Ottakars Childrens Book Prize in 2006. Bansi O'Hara and the Bloodline Prophecy was chosen as one of the Best Books of 2008 by Scholastic. Nikki Gamble is the founder and Director of Write Away and Just Imagine Story Centre. Nikki has worked in education and reading promotion for over 25 years, Formerly a teacher (secondary and primary) and teacher educator, she is lecturer, writer and education consultant. Nikki is also on the current Executive Committee of United Kingdom Literacy Association (UKLA). Lee Cosgrove has been illustrating professionally for about three years. His books have been published around the world in many different languages, and he has done illustrations for editorial, advertising and all kinds of other projects. He loves living the life of an illustrator, each job is different and he gets to spend his days bringing the characters and places in his imagination to life.