Nikki Esarey, originally from Louisville, Kentucky, grew up in Edwardsville, Indiana. Some of her earliest memories are of her mom taking the kids to the New Albany Floyd County Library for story-time. She moved to a farm in Leavenworth, Indiana where there were cattle, horses, goats, dogs, cats, and a hairy old Shetland pony named Sam. In 1999, she went to work at the Crawford County Public Library in English, Indiana coordinating children's programming. She soon transferred to the Breeden Memorial Library. In 2010, she went to work for the Harrison County Public Library in Corydon where she still works and continues to do story-time and other children's programs. Nikki currently splits her time living between Edwardsville and the family farm in Leavenworth, Indiana.