McDougall, Riley Allan: - Riley McDougall grew up in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada. He wanted to be an animator from an early age, so he often spent endless hours in the quiet corners of his childhood home sketching elaborate action scenes or fantastical characters on every spare piece of paper that could be found. Over time, storytelling grew to become a much deeper interest which is why he enrolled at the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design in Vancouver. After receiving his Integrated Media degree, Riley began his career in the VFX industry and over the next fifteen years helped bring many of the world's most celebrated entertainment IPs to life. Riley conceived the idea of MotA in 2003 while attending a live DJ performance and hasn't slept much since. Thankfully, those restless nights allowed him to outline, draft, and design all 9 books in the MotA series. Please be sure that he is eternally grateful for you finishing Dark Tide Rising and promises that the second book is well underway.