Authors 9 and 10 are actually author/illustrators, and they are exceptional. I’ve known Ashley Spires now for a few years and am constantly amazed and almost alarmed by her exceptional imagination and talent. 
This is the woman who is responsible for my favorite book ever featuring a cat, the marvellous “Binky the Space Cat” series.
She’s written and illustrated countless incredible books. “The Most Magnificent Thing” is another of my favorites, because it features a determined female protagonist and it’s about the creative process! The book just hit the 100,000 sold mark in Canada, which makes it, like an UBER-BESTSELLER. Ashley is also funny and kind and accessible. I don’t think she sleeps, to be honest – she is prolific but her work is always of a top-notch quality. She is also an animal lover, and even introduced her awesome dog Gordon to the world in one of the Binky series. 
As for Cybele Young – I met her just this fall, at Wordfest in Calgary and again in Vancouver at the VIWF. I took an instant liking to her. She’s quietly stylish and completely down to earth. 
Yet when I started snooping (checking out her website, picking up her books) I was in awe of her talent. Cybele is an artist (with actual patrons!) and her work is STUNNING. I beg you, click on her name to go to her website and have a look around. I would love to own a piece of her work one day. And her books are so unique, so exquisite … like little treasures. 
If you aren’t familiar with these women already, I strongly urge you to check out their work (and buy their books for gifts this holiday season). They are two Canadian gems!!
