Authors
Deana Charcalla: Author / Founder
Deana Charcalla is the founder of DeanaBean Books and has been building DeanaBean for three years now. She has authored many children’s books and has more coming soon. Her history of finance, childcare, and art helps her with every aspect of this small, unique publishing company. The DeanaBean team currently consists of 14 people who try to bring positive thinking with every children's book they launch. When she’s not writing, you can find Deana tending to houseplants or traveling with her husband and small dog Saffron.
Patricia Crumpler: Author / Illustrator
Patricia Crumpler is a retired high school art teacher and librarian. She writes in several genres including children's books, science fiction, fantasy, and romance. She has five books published by World Castle and several self-published books. She enjoys illustrating her own children's books. She grew up in south Florida and loves the beach and all things under the sea. Patricia counts her many pets as her best friend, especially Ramp, the dog dear to heart who inspired an upcoming book about pet adoption. She would love to hear from her readers.
Tandi Laman: Author
Tandi Laman is a holistic children’s author, specializing in using animal symbolism and nature. She resides in a small country town in Tennessee south of Knoxville and loves to relax on her back porch, watching her koi and playing with her Aussie-doodle, Frankincense. Tandi is a Kindergarten teacher at a private school and when she is not teaching, she enjoys horseback lessons, of sorts, with her two girls and life lessons taught spontaneously during play. Her girls are 9 and 5, bursting with energy. In her spare time, Tandi takes quiet moments to study God’s word and continues writing her children’s books. She prays continually that anyone reading her books enjoys the relationships between nature and self; realizing one’s potential and God’s hand in their purpose.
Illustrators
Brad Walker:
has been drawing ever since he can remember and started tattooing the day he turned 18. He has owned The Asylum Tattoos & Fine Art, located in Southern West Virginia, for almost a decade. He feels very fortunate to do what he loves for a living. He enjoys spending time with his family, especially his young son who is also his inspiration. It was actually hearing his wife read to his son that opened his eyes and showed him how children’s books would be great way to teach children about reptiles, one of his many other passions.
Carmalitta Freeman Barbour:
holds a degree in Art Education from East Tennessee State University. She continued to study at Arrowmont school in Gatlinburg, Tennessee and other universities in Virginia and Georgia. She specializes in two and three dimensional art techniques including watercolor, collage and wired jewelry. She now resides near Knoxville, Tennessee with her husband, two massive dogs and her attention seeking kitty cat, Spirit.
Darlee Urbiztondo:
also known as Happylee, is a multi-disciplinary Filipino creative, based in the Philippines. She is an art extraordinaire who is proficient in digital illustrations, painting, calligraphy, graphic design, and traditional art. She believes that art is an extension of herself and soul. She continuously strives to learn new things and endeavors to keep improving her works. By creating magical and whimsical inspired pieces, she creates happiness for herself and hopes to impart this happiness to the viewer as well. Her books are not just artwork to her and they are not just an extension of her imagination; they are a mirror of her full heart. She is an old soul and a family oriented person. When she is not creating art she enjoys a good cup of coffee, books, good movies, tv shows, anime and singing.
Helen Trupak:
Helen is an illustrator who combines traditional and digital art in her work. She especially likes to work with fairy tale literature, fantasy and mythology. Inspired by classical European art, she prefers late 14th to mid-17th century photography and Victorian photography.
Helen's artistic background includes drawing, design and layout for printed materials. But, despite many years of experience, she constantly strives to learn something new, especially since our modern world provides so many opportunities.
Beatriz Del Álamo
"I’m Beatriz del Álamo. I´m a professional illustrator with a degree in Art from the University of Granada (Spain) and a master's degree in Illustration with 6 years of experience in this field.
I have been selected as a finalist in an international children’s book contest. I have illustrated 4 children’s books and many book covers. My favorite technique is watercolor and pen on paper. I love traditional techniques, I think they bring a lot of magic to children´s books. Also, I have worked for publisher houses, as a designer, muralist etc."
McKenna Kornowski:
"I grew up in rural Wisconsin on my family’s hobby farm. I graduated from the University of Wisconsin - Green Bay with a BA degree in Art and Arts Management.
Much of my art contains materials such as kimono silk, antique lace, and thrifted clothing. These elements, along with other acrylic mixing mediums, are what give my paintings their unique surface texture.
Now I find myself in Leavenworth, Washington where I showcase and sell my paintings weekly at an ongoing outdoor art market. My husband and I are both painters who live a mobile lifestyle in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains.
I generate much of my work outside in the studio space that nature provides. It is here where I honor nature’s
Quality Assurance Analyst / Editor
Laura Thornsbury: Editor
Laura studied English Literature at Wright State University and went on to receive her Master's in Education from Antioch University MacGregor. She is a Fraud Investigator who enjoys proofreading and editing on the side. When she’s not fighting crime or editing, she can be found reading, talking about history and music or tending to her growing collection of plants and herbs. Laura currently lives in Virginia with her husband and 2 dogs.
Designer
Samantha Millan: Layout / Design
Samantha graduated from The University of Arizona. She went on to pursue her graphic design career in Columbus, Ohio. Serving as the Marketing Chair for the Tour de Cause Board of Directors. She moved back to the desert to be with family and friends where she frolics in the desert with her dachshund, Leia and enjoys fictional vampires, witches, werewolves, and other creatures and fauna of the macabre. She continues to work special contracts and projects with old colleagues, good friends, and The Creative Circle Agency.
Translator
Angie Perdomo Sánchez:
studied Social Communication and Business Administration at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana of Bogotá, Colombia. Passionate about advertising and marketing, she recently began working in account management; managing 5 influencers for their brand partnerships. She was born in Bogotá, where she still lives with her parents, siblings and her husky Alaska. She loves to travel and learn about new cultures, especially over a glass of wine.
Photographer
Ken Van Dyne:
graduated from The Ohio State University with a Bachelors of Science in Communications Education. His career in photography began as a medical / surgical photographer at Children’s Hospital, Columbus, Ohio. He started a portrait studio and then a commercial advertising studio. His photographs and paintings have been featured in juried shots, numerous books, medical journals and as CD cover art. He also taught photography classes for the Creative Arts program at The Ohio State University.
Story Teller
Lisa Valadez “Ms Kitty”:
has a YouTube channel, Storytime with FairyGodmother Ms Kitty, that is dedicated to reading positive and fun books for kids. Ms Kitty is a professional singer/songwriter who mixes music and funny voices into her stories to teach children early comprehension skills and vocabulary. She reads well known children’s stories while displaying the pictures and text from the book on the screen, focusing on making reading easier for all children, especially those on the autism spectrum. Ms Kitty is full of energy, creativity and love that keeps her readers interested. FairyGodmother Ms Kitty also does a wide variety of book based videos, book recommendations and book reviews
The DeanaBean Team
Thank you for reading about our creatives.