Maci is a 10-year-old, second-time author. She expressed to her father, author Jason Smithers, that she wanted to write and illustrate books. Her parents explained to her that if she did every single part of the process (storyboarding, writing, illustrating, page layout, choosing fonts, etc.), then her father would guide her through the process. She finished the process in 3-4 months with her first title called Maci and Addie's Fairy Adventure. 30 minutes after she held her first printed copy of Maci and Addie's Fairy Adventure, she began the storyboard of a follow-up book. The Portal is her second picture book.