Hana Samek Norton was born in the former Czechoslovakia, a small country with a long tradition of being overrun by larger ones. That tradition led to her family coming as political refugees to Canada. She thought there had to be a rhyme or reason to it all and so she studied history. History taught her that small countries are generally overrun by larger ones, but she ended up liking history anyway. She currently lives in New Mexico, which became a state in the Union in 1912. She sometimes teaches her favorite subject, delves into its more serious parts, and now writes the sort of history she grew up on and likes to read in her off-duty hours.