M.L. Herring lives on a peach farm in the Willamette Valley in Oregon, where she writes and illustrates works of science. She is an associate professor emeritus of science communication at Oregon State University.

Judith L. Li is a retired associate professor in the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife at Oregon State University. She continues research in stream ecology at the H. J. Andrews Experimental Forest and other watersheds in western Oregon while developing new stories about science for young audiences.