A writer, photographer, and teacher, J. Stephen Lay has worked throughout North America, in Africa, Australia, and Thailand. He lived in Alaska for twenty-six years.

Sue Mattson had a 25-year career in journalism in Fairbanks, Alaska, including stints as managing editor of the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, news director of KTVF-KFRB, and press secretary to Gov. Jay Hammond. A native of Seattle, Washington, Mattson returned to the Seattle area in 1994 where she worked for Epicenter Press, Inc., as office manager and later editing and designing books. She has been retired since 2009, and splits her time between Renton, Washington, and Tucson, Arizona.