Rowan Maness was born and raised in the desert, on the edges of the vast Phoenix, Arizona ‘burbs.  She earned her first paycheck in high school, when she won a writing contest with an essay about the importance of honesty – at the same time she was busy creating multiple fake personalities online.

One of those fake personalities met the man who would eventually become Rowan’s husband, and she moved to Los Angeles to be with him and attend art school. In 2009, the day before she gave birth to her daughter, Rowan graduated from CalArts despite not being able to paint, act, dance, animate or schmooze. Valentine Bell: the Golden Year is her first published work.