Lou Kuenzler was raised on a remote farm on the edge of Dartmoor, before moving to Northern Ireland to study theatre.

She went on to work professionally as a theatre director, university lecturer and workshop leader in communities, schools and colleges, before turning her hand to writing a few years ago.

Shadow Snatcher is her second title for A & C Black.

Sebastien Braun was born in Strasbourg, the hometown of Gustav Dore and Tomi Ungerer (his heroes). As a child he spent countless hours drawing, but at secondary school there were no art classes, so he filled his homework with doodles and portraits of his teachers.

At university he initially studied history - fortunately, the building was shared with the art department, and when he saw the students sketching, knew he had to change.

After that, he spent a few years teaching applied art to sixth formers, before taking the plunge as a freelance illustrator. His first commissions were for magazines in Paris, and when he moved to London, he developed his portfolio for children's books.

Apart from creating pictures, Seb's favourite pastimes are making toys from wood, playing with his children and climbing the Cotswold hills on his vintage road bike.