Mark Kelly has served as the US Senator from Arizona since 2020. He was a captain in the United States Navy when he commanded the final mission of space shuttle Endeavour in May 2011. A veteran of four space flights to the International Space Station, he is a graduate of the United States Merchant Marine Academy and holds a master’s degree from the US Naval Postgraduate School. C. F. Payne has illustrated more than a dozen picture books, including the New York Times bestselling Mousetronaut by astronaut Mark Kelly; the Texas Bluebonnet winner Shoeless Joe & Black Betsy, written by Phil Bildner; and the New York Times bestsellers The Remarkable Farkle McBride and Micawber, both by John Lithgow. He teaches at the Columbus College of Art & Design, where he is the chair of the Illustration Department. Payne lives with his wife and children in Cincinnati, Ohio. Visit him online at CFPayne.com. Alexis Romay is the author of two novels and two books of poetry. His essays and opinion pieces have been published by NBC News, World Literature Today, Museum of Modern Art, El Nuevo Herald, Latino Rebels, Hypermedia Magazine, Replicante, Letras Libres, and other outlets. He has written lyrics for Paquito D’Rivera and translated over forty picture books, as well as novels by Ana Veciana-Suarez, Margarita Engle, Miguel Correa Mujica, Meg Medina, Stuart Gibbs, and Adrianna Cuevas. He lives in New Jersey with his family.
