Rob Lloyd Jones never wanted to be a writer when he grew up he wanted to be Indiana Jones. So he studied Egyptology and archaeology, and went on expeditions to strange places.

But all he found were interesting stories, so he decided to write them down.

Jake Atlas and the Tomb of the Emerald Snake is his third novel for Walker, although he's written about thirty other books for children, including historical non-fiction and adaptations of such classics as Jekyll and Hyde.

Rob lives in East Sussex with his wife and two young sons.

Rachel spent 11 years studying and teaching philosophy at the universities of London and Oxford before joining Usborne. Since then she has written books on subjects ranging from knights, to food, to philosophy, as well as retelling folk stories, and writing children's versions of numerous novels.

After five years as a writer/editor at Usborne Publishing, Gill went freelance in 2000, which has allowed her to combine her two passions in life - travelling and writing.

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.

Jane Bingham is an experienced writer for young adults. She has written over 100 nonfiction books on a variety of topics.

Jane has a first class degree in English Literature and an M. Phil in History of Art and is currently a Royal Literary Fund Fellow at Oxford Brookes University. She has two sons and three stepsons and lives in Oxford, England.