Elizabeth Wasserman is a pathologist in private practice and extraordinary professor in the Department of Medical Microbiology at the University of Stellenbosch. She contributed to Nuwe Kinderverseboek (Tafelberg, 2009) and is the author of the Speurhond Willem, Dingesfabriek and Anna Atoom series, which was awarded the prestigious Alba Bouwer Prize in September 2013. William's character is based on the author's family dog, William, a rather lethargic blue roan cocker spaniel with a taste for cupcakes.