About the Author

Claudia Flisi has been writing professionally since the age of 16, with articles and stories in magazines, newspapers, websites, blogs, and books, about companies ranging from Apple (computers) to Zegna (clothing), and topics ranging from abortions to zoos. Much of her work has appeared in trade publications but some clients are well-known: the magazines of BA, Brussels, KLM, Swiss, and Singapore Airlines, Fortune, International New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Newsweek, and Variety. She has won several awards for corporate communications when she worked for American Express, Burson-Marsteller, and J. Walter Thompson in the US and Europe. "Crystal and Jade" is her first published story for children. Flisi's mother clearly had a premonition about her daughter, since the name "Claudia" was not popular when she was growing up in New Jersey, nor at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts, where she earned her BA with distinction. Her first opportunity to try out her name properly came in graduate school, when she spent a year at the Bologna Center of Johns Hopkins University in Italy. Claudia has an Italian husband of long standing, and two quadrilingual sons. She herself speaks Italian, French, and a bit of Spanish. The dogs in her life -- a Weimaraner, bodeguero andaluz, and current Doberman-wannabe -- enjoy frequent trips between Milan, Monte Carlo, and Marbella. Her free time not dedicated to a number of civic and political organizations is spent advancing her prospects for the Explorers Club, open to those who have visited 100 countries. She reports being "pretty close." Laura Bellusci is a versatile artist and illustrator. She likes nature and transfers the beauty of its colours on canvas. Bellusci studied techniques of oil painting with Maestro Francesco Giovinazzo for more than 10 years, and her works - including "naifs" and abstractions - have appeared in a number of art exhibitions. She has shown her paintings in private galleries at local and national levels, including B.a.r.t (Busto Arsizio), Menaggio (Lake Como), Villa Castelbarco (Milan), and the University of Calabria. Several of her works are in private collections and can be found on Italian and international art websites. Others have been used as illustrations for books published in Italy. "Crystal and Jade" is Laura's first children's book, and is the realization of a lifelong dream. Laura Bellusci was born in Calabria (southern Italy) but has lived and worked in Busto Arsizio (near Milan in northern Italy) for more than 40 years. From childhood she showed promise as an artist and was soon recognized for her talent: at the age of 11 she won a contest sponsored by a national Italian newspaper.