Simon Mason has written numerous books for younger readers, including The Quigleys , Moon Pie , and the YA crime thriller series featuring Garvie Smith: Running Girl , Kid Got Shot and Hey, Sherlock! He has always been fascinated by history, particularly by stories from round the world. He loves to find out how other people have lived. His interest in China was inspired by his visits to the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, where he lives, with its stunning collection of Chinese art - some of it 3,000 years old - including delicate writing on animal bone, ceramic figures of camels from the Silk Road and tiny intricate carvings of fantastical animals. Amerigo Pinelli lives in the heart of the city of Naples, Italy, among narrow streets and old churches. A long time ago, when he was a child, he met a pencil, and from that moment on he started to play, joke, fight, and make peace with it. He studied in the Art School of Naples and the Comic School of his hometown. He thinks making a living from doing the thing he enjoys the most is a great gift and he considers himself very lucky.