Nancy Smith lives in North Andover, Massachusetts with her husband and their dog, Rose. Together they take long walks in the nearby woods and ponds to enjoy the wildlife. Nancy worked for many years as an art director and designer in the educational publishing industry. She loves to tell stories through her drawings and paintings.
I was born in Detroit, Michigan. My mom was a homemaker, artist and seamstress and my dad is an architect. I am the oldest of nine children. My mom describes me this way: “Nancy would ask a lot of questions and listened to what I told her, then she would go off and do what she wanted to, anyway. She was very independent child.” My dad would often ask “Where is Nancy?” because I was usually hiding in the attic drawing pictures.
I eventually went to college at Rhode Island School of Design where I studied Illustration. After graduating I decided to move to Boston to pursue a career in book design. Over the course of two decades I designed TONS of school books at a LOT different publishing houses in Boston.
My first love has always been to write and illustrate story books for children. When my children were young, I wrote stories and drew pictures for them. One day I decided it was time to publish my very own book with my very own pictures. That’s when I created Make a Magic Wish.