Featured Authors

JENNIFER CROSS

With 30+ years in the Digital, Media and Entertainment industries, Jennifer started her career in Los Angeles after she sent director Ivan Reitman a note in an air sick bag on a flight. That well-crafted letter and chat earned her a job at his production company, where she worked on the films Junior, Space Jam, Fathers’ Day, Howard Stern’s Private Parts, and Six Days/Seven Nights. After many years with Ivan, she went on to write and produce trailers and opening title sequences for feature films and television shows for Warner Bros., FX, Spike and CBS. Upon moving to Canada, she worked for director Malcolm D. Lee on Undercover Brother, after which she transitioned into print media at Weddingbells, Canada’s leading bridal magazine. Then in 2007,  Jennifer joined Fuel Industries, a digital agency that specialized in youth engagement (video games, MMOs, websites). As part of the Creative Team, Jennifer helped develop experiences for McDonald’s, Google, Microsoft, HBO, DreamWorks, NASCAR, Warner Bros., and Geox. Won iKids (Kidscreen) Best eBook Award (Preschool 0-5 Category) for Leafy Landings (Fuel Entertainment) in 2014. Of course, there’s freelance writing but that only requires this brief mention.

Writing kids books is her passion. Doing script coverage for directors, reading books, and watching endless movies and tv shows taught Jennifer a lot about making narratives work, that and she has a very active imagination. 

FUSSY COUGHLAN

Not much is known about Fussy (a terrible nickname that stuck due to being a colicky infant). Her resume is short, confusing and sort of impressive. She started out as a Unicorn Trainer, but had to give that up as unicorns are extremely rare and do not require coaching because they are perfect. Fussy then moved on to  become a Teddy Bear Wrangler for films, but was fired because the bears just stood on their marks and stared blankly at her no matter what hand gestures she gave them. The big lights and bad smells of Broadway called to her, but her lack of stage experience thwarted that, and led her to become a ‘director for hire’ for suburban kids’ at home theatrical productions. The Facebook reviews for her backyard and basement matinees remain unrivaled in her neighborhood. Directing is hard work, so Fussy has taken a sabbatical to write something really really good. She just hopes there will be a bidding war for the film rights and wants to do a book tour where she has a very detailed and crazy list of tour demands (like only blue and yellow M&Ms and an on-call masseuse) just like rock stars do.

Featured Artists

CRISTINA DANDU

With over ten years of experience working in Advertising Agencies, as well as another ten years as an independent Designer and Illustrator, Cristina has gained an extended perspective of the commercial art realm, developing projects ranging from character design for games and toys to illustration for children’s books and advertising campaigns.

Cristina has a vast international experience, having worked in Canada, Dubai, Romania, Ghana and Malta, which allows her to quickly adapt to specific style demands and ways of working.

Cristina has a with an Animation Diploma from Algonquin College Ottawa.

Her favorite thing to do is envisioning characters and stories for children. She has worked on coloring books, children story books, visual development for apps & games, designed toys, logos and mascots, did illustrations for school manuals, advertising campaigns, and even kites.

When she is not illustrating, Cristina likes to spend time with her husband and 4 year old daughter, go to the theatre and take various courses.

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