Lesley dreamed of being a writer, but studied law as her mother insisted she had "something to fall back on". Since joining Usborne Publishing, she has written and edited hundreds of books, from funny rhyming stories to an award-winning history book. Nowadays, she is often found recording books, too, in Usborne's very own recording studio. Emma Allen was a trained speech pathologist, specialising in early childhood, before she returned to university to pursue a lifelong love of literature. The Terrible Suitcase won the 2013 CBCA Book of the Year: Early Childhood award. She writes from her Canberra home where she lives with her husband Richard and three young children Harriet, Rupert and Hazel.