Julie Dickerson, a retired Elementary school teacher who spent 18 years teaching, has always had a passion for reading to children. She studied teaching literature abroad, too, as part of her education. She grew up in rural Flushing, Michigan. Her parents imbued in her a love of nature and literature. After retiring Julie pursued her hobby of writing and published a book about her grandfather, Beyond My Dreams, and joined the Upper Peninsula Publishers and Authors Association. She was recently published in their UP Reader, 7th Edition. She also enjoys attending writing workshops such as Walloon Lake Writer's Retreat and local writing groups.Reading aloud to her children, Elyse and Jonathan, was always rewarding and now she is joyfully carrying on that tradition with her grandchildren. Becoming a children's book author is a dream she has always had, as well as sharing the beauty of the Great Lakes.Julie spent decades enjoying the lakes of Michigan and sharing times there with family and currently lives in Manistique and in Jackson, Michigan on an 18 acre hobby farm. She also enjoys studying genealogy, gardening, reading, hiking, biking and canoeing, and spending time with family and friends in the splendor of the Great Lakes Region. Nothing leaves its imprint on one's soul like nature and all its bounty. Having spent a lifetime painting landscapes, beginning with her grandparents' midwest farm and currently capturing children/grandchildren at play, nature's bounty is the inspiration that fills Rhonda's spirit and compels her to share, through paper and paint, a visual legacy of all that is good and beautiful in the world. After earning her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Missouri, she went on to use her creative talents in the field of graphic design. Later in her career she and her husband moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico where they owned/operated a picture framing business while continuing to hone her artistic skill set. Rhonda has spent years painting throughout the midwest, California and New Mexico and now lives with her husband and two dogs in a small picturesque historic town in Missouri where she is surrounded by farmland and the fond memories of the precious time spent with family and friends and the lasting impressions they have left. Pulling from these memories and her travels to the great lakes, Rhonda is able to capture the serenity and beauty of Lake Michigan and the thrill children experience on the beach.