Alison Simcox was born near London, England, and grew up in Lexington, Massachusetts. In 1998, she was the second woman to earn a doctorate in engineering from Tufts University. She formerly worked as a hydrologist and air-quality scientist at the U.S. Geological Survey and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In her free time, she enjoys hiking, biking, kayaking, and learning about history, geology, and native plants.

Douglas Heath was born in New Jersey and grew up in Taos, New Mexico, and New York City. After serving in the U.S. Navy, he worked as a hydrogeologist at the U.S. Geological Survey and EPA, where he specialized in protecting drinking-water supplies in New England. As well as his work as a scientist, he is a genealogist, local historian, and photographer. Alison and Doug have written five previous books: Lake Quannapowitt, Breakheart Reservation, Middlesex Fells, The Lost Mill Village of Middlesex Fells, and Murder at Breakheart Hill Farm.

They also have written two trail guides: A Trail Guide for Virginia Wood and Haywardville in Middlesex Fells and A Trail Guide for Bellevue Pond, Pine Hill, and the Quarries of Middlesex Fells. Alison and Doug received the 2018 Preservation Award from the New England Chapter of the Victorian Society in America for The Lost Mill Village. In 2022, they won the Gertrude Spaulding Award from the Friends of Lake Quannapowitt for outstanding contributions to the protection and enhancement of the waters of the lake and its surrounding lands.