Maria Ellis has always known she wanted to be a writer - but she started out as a voracious reader. Her favorite book when she was a child was "The Little Witch" by a German author, Otfried Preussler. Her second favorite was one about five monkeys trying to catch the moon, at night, in a stream under the tree where they lived.

When she grew up she became a screenwriter for a while, and wrote silly comedies for grown-ups for a few years. This is when she started teaching herself how to draw and illustrate.

Somewhere along the way Maria changed careers and became a teacher. She worked for many years with children as young as four and as old as 16. They were her first sources of inspiration.

She published her first picture book in 2006. It was well received by adults and children alike. But her children's books writing did not take off until the birth of her son, in 2013. He is her greatest inspiration - and her greatest teacher.

She lives in an enchanted forest close to Brussels in the chocolate-filled Kingdom of Belgium with her husband and son, surrounded by owls, ants and some very stubborn squirrels.

http://www.facebook.com/MariaEllisWriter