The Fifth Musketeer

Justine Fontes was born in New York City. She grew up on Long Island and later graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a B.A. in English Liternature from New York University. Justine found her first job in publishing while she was a Freshman. She worked at various publishing houses before becoming a freelance writer. At Little Golden Books, Justine met her future husband, Ron Fontes. They started writing together and have written over 500 children’s books. Justine and Ron moved to Maine in 1988.

Ron Fontes was born in Los Angeles. He grew up in Clarksville, Tennessee, where his mother taught him to read at age 4. By 16, Ron had a science fiction comic strip in the local newspaper. He was a theater major at Austin Peay State University, where he costumed and performed in many shows while working at a printing company to pay for school. Ron went on to act in film before becoming an advertising executive, and he then moved to New York City and worked for Whitman Comics and Marvel. Ron is a prolific artist and co-author of over 500 children’s books with his wife, Justine.

Dylan Meconis was born in Seattle and named after poet Dylan Thomas. Once she gained mastery over her motor functions, she immediately began drawing, writing, acting, and singing. She attended Wesleyan University, learning all sorts of things about history, literature, philosophy, and language, and lived in Paris for definitely not long enough. In between classes she drew Bite Me!, a comic involving vampires getting into humorous situations in the French Revolution. She has produced artwork, visual narratives, and more for diverse companies from Microsoft to the Gates Foundation. The rest of the time she works on Family Man, a graphic novel about 18th century universities, religious doubt, and (eventually) werewolves, among other things.