Riikka Palonen is a barefoot forest girl from Finland. She spent ten years in the capital Helsinki, but after graduating with a Master of Arts degree, she returned to her home village of Köyliö. For more than twenty years, she worked as a highland drover, importing and breeding highland cattle. She also told stories to customers who came to her farm shop and cafe. Stories have always been in her pocket. She was a shy and retiring child and learned to read when she was four. Ever since then stories have been her refuge in this strange and busy world. Cattle were passed into younger hands some years ago, so stories and art are now her whole life. She is at her best in the twilight zone – in her forests as well as in her stories and art. But on the other hand she is mischievous and untamed, just as fairies tend to be.