Carol L. MacKay grew up in Ryley, Alberta, where she spent many hours crafting poems and stories to send to the Young Co-operators’ pages. Her first poem was published in 1975 under her YC pen-name, “Peppermint Patty.” Today, she writes books for young readers, as well as poems and stories for children’s magazines like Highlights, Cricket, Ladybug, and Babybug. She lives on Vancouver Island, British Columbia.