Margaret Smith Marston, Author

Margaret was born into a family of storytellers rooted in the values of service to others and working for justice.

She has always been a writer: volunteering for the school PTA, creating the family newsletter, writing briefs as a lawyer, and making up silly stories and songs with and for her children. She worked as a reading teacher and an attorney before deciding to commit her time to raising her three children.

As a mother, Margaret was intentional and instilled values of kindness, compassion, and putting oneself in another person’s shoes. Her children often heard “remember to be kind because you don’t know what another person is dealing with in their life.” She now works with young children weekdays as an after-school care teacher.

Margaret is thrilled to share “Eureka, Paprika!” an imaginary tale offering entertainment, humor, and encouragement to be our best selves.

Susanne St. Clair Hebden, Illustrator

Susanne is a creative. Her artistic talents are as deep as her passion to create.

As an educator, she was able to weave her creativity into varied classroom activities during her 30+ year career. Susanne is a mother of four grown children and stepmother of one more, grandmother to seven, and great-grandmother to one little tyke. Her experiences with children of all ages have shaped her ability to connect with others through art in a variety of ways.

For the past several years, Susanne has focused on creating art, teaching private art lessons, and volunteering through her church and community. Having already illustrated the cover of another book, Susanne was thrilled at the chance to illustrate an entire book and already has plans for several more.