Jean M. Auel (b. 1936) is the author of what is probably this artist’s favorite series of fiction, the best-selling Earth’s Children sagas, based on imagined prehistoric interactions of the Neanderthals w/ the Cro-magnons—as she extensively researched it & then created a series that absolutely changes how you see prehistoric man. The books include “The Clan of the Cave Bear”—the failure of the film of the same name notwithstanding—as well as “The Valley of Horses, ”The Mammoth Hunters” + 3 more.