In true Acadian spirit, Alison Hoffman Lane was inspired by her children to create a series of stories about Uncle Arnel and his family. Lane's love of nature was accentuated by her husband, Mike Lane, the founder of RodnReel.com, one of the most popular fishing Web sites in the United States. Lane is a registered nurse in New Orleans, Louisiana. Egil Thompson received an associate's degree in art from Santa Rosa Junior College and graduated summa cum laude from Sonoma State University with a bachelor of fine arts degree. He also attended the Academy of Art University in San Francisco and had a recent retrospective of nine paintings at the Sanchez Art Center in Pacifica, California. Uncle Arnel and the Swamp Witch is his first children's book.