Mal Peet and Elspeth Graham live in Devon, England, in a house not too far from the sea. Elspeth writes on the ground floor, and Mal writes in the attic. Sometimes they meet in the middle to write books like this one. Elspeth Graham found the seed for the story while writing a book about tea. Mal Peet is the author of such YA novels as KEEPER, THE PENALTY, EXPOSURE, and the Carnegie Medal-winning TAMAR.