Trace Balla is often found sketching in nature, riding her bike, dancing, and growing vegies in her garden in central Victoria. She loves to illustrate and write songs and stories, and inspire others in their creativity and care for the planet. Her background is in illustration, community arts, art therapy, animation, and writing songs and stories, and she enjoys visiting schools and festivals to talk about her work.

Trace's previous books, Rivertime, Rockhopping and Shine, have all been highly acclaimed. Rivertime won the Readings Children's Book Prize and Wilderness Society's Environment Award for Children's Literature, and was shortlisted for the CBCA Awards in two categories, as well as for the NSW Premier's Literary Awards and the Speech Pathology Book of the Year Awards.

Rockhopping was the winner of the 2017 CBCA Book of the Year Award for Younger Readers, and was shortlisted for the 2018 Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature for Children's Literature and for the 2016 Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year Awards - 8 to 10 Years.