Whitney Stewart grew up in New England and graduated from Brown University. She is a prolific author of children's book, adult nonfiction, and travel writing. In the course of her work, she has trekked with Sir Edmund Hillary in Nepal, and interviewed the Dalai Lama and Aung San Suu Kyi. She currently lives in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Denis Havel graduated from Eastern Illinois University with a degree in psychology and has taught at both the high school and college level. An independent historian, Havel has studied German history, language and literature, and the Prussian-German military. He is currently active in German-American organizations, notably the Germania Männerchor, that preserve German language and traditions.