Helen Taylor and Ben Brown live with their two children and one ungrateful cat in an old yellow house on a red boned hill beside the sea in the portside town of Lyttelton. Here beneath their creaking eaves they write and illustrate children's books. Amid the passing of ships and the incessant squawking of indignant seagulls, Helen immerses herself in the possibilities of watercolour paints on Fabriano hotpress paper, as Ben explores the recesses of their combined imaginations in search of a story, while trying to find a pen to write it down with. Ben and Helen work together in a creative partnership that has spanned over twelve years of involvement with children's books in New Zealand.