The first profession I dreamt of pursuing, while growing up in Portland, Oregon, was that of a children's book illustrator. As a youngster, I spent countless hours drawing and studying the artwork inside my stacks of colorfully illustrated books. I favored the rhyming words and silly drawings of Dr. Seuss and Shel Silverstein, and I told anyone who would listen that I would one day be a professional artist. At fourteen, I began selling my original artwork at my family's art gallery in Portland's Pearl District. After graduating from Gnomon School of Visual Effects in Los Angeles in 2009, I fell in love with the digital canvas and began working solely in this medium. In 2013, I retuned to Portland with my husband and began working as a freelance graphic designer and digital painter. After welcoming our son, Morgan, into the world, I rediscovered my love of children's books and was inspired to try my hand at creating The Greatest Wish, primarily as a gift for family and friends. I was thrilled when the book quickly spread to a number of stores, fully igniting my determination to at last pursue my childhood dream of writing and illustrating picture books as a career.