ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Cole Hehr lives in Norman, Oklahoma with his girlfriend Ariana and works as a direct-care counselor for at-risk teenagers and young adults.
A lifelong fan of the written word, Cole began writing fiction after earning a bachelor’s degree in history in 2013 and belatedly realized that he preferred storytelling to academia.
When he isn’t reading or writing, Cole enjoys lifting weights and teaching others about fitness and nutrition. “What Lies Beneath” is his first sale.
ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR
Maksym “Max” Polishchuk was born in 1999 in Lviv, an ancient Ukrainian city located at the crossroads of Western and Eastern Europe. Lviv, with its diverse culture and rich history, ultimately became one of the primary sources of Maksym’s inspiration, who was always fascinated by the history concealed behind each ancient structure.
Such fascination with history, coupled with the discovery of texts of Tolkien and J. K. Rowling, is what ultimately ignited Maksym’s interest in illustration. Art was the only way of transforming the stories and worlds he saw in his imagination into something more tangible. In order to help him achieve his dreams, his mother sent him to an art studio, which he attended almost daily over the span of six years, and which helped him nurture his talents and skills.
Maksym moved to the US just before his freshman year of high school. Even though his world was transformed completely, the one thing that remained constant was art. Today, Maksym studies political science and international relations at Loyola University Chicago in hopes of creating a better world that is not limited solely by the boundaries of the canvas.