Mara Jordan is an artist, university lecturer, wildlife advocate and author of the new children’s picture book "Lulu, the Lucky Possum". Mara is an experienced and enthusiastic visual storyteller. She holds a PhD researching classical children’s literature and visual media and has applied her creative skills across a wide range of projects, from illustration to animated film and music video production. Currently she lives in Australia and besides lecturing and doing her artistic work she is a passionate advocate for the protection of wildlife. She works as a volunteer wildlife carer and her new book was deeply inspired by her experiences with orphaned ringtail possums. She hopes it will encourage children to respect and care for precious native wildlife. Mara enjoys drawing whimsical characters and inventing stories with strong emotional impact. Her inspiration is often taken from folk tales, myths, nature, her two cheeky cats, and all the other wondrous animals around her.