Linas Alsenas grew up the youngest of three siblings outside Cleveland, Ohio. As a boy, he was very involved in theater and spent a lot of time drawing. He continued drawing, painting, and acting throughout high school and college, where he was an illustrator for the campus newspaper. After college, Linas moved to New York City, where he ended up editing children's books for a publisher, Abrams Books for Young Readers. When Linas's Swedish boyfriend, Jan, needed to move back to Sweden, Linas decided to go with him and work on his own children's books. Today Linas and Jan still live in Stockholm, Sweden, where they enjoy the company of a feisty parrot named Oliver.