Petra Mathers

* Petra Mathers was born and raised in Germany and moved to the United States as a young woman. She now lives in Portland, Oregon.

* Petra is an illustrator first, and a writer second. While she brews a story of her own on some burner in the back of her mind, she is busy illustrating other people's books.

* Petra compares illustrating other people's books to "visiting". A certain politeness, consideration, and modesty are necessary.

* She is a self-described "sucker for love" and her stories are always about love -- she finds unsung heroes very endearing, as well as the clumsy, balding, fumbling, shy creatures who are quietly heroic, risking everything for love.