Erica Cope

I live in Joplin, MO with my husband, our three children (AKA The Blondies), our three dogs (a red husky named Aspen,a lhasa-poo named Maggie and an english springer named Jasper), our cat (Katniss) and 2 of her 7 (surprise!) babies, (Gus and Scarlett). I'm originally from Manhattan, KS but I lived in Joplin for over a decade so it's my home now. Recently my husband was promoted at work and as a result we are being relocated to Independence, KS. I think he was secretly hoping for a much more exciting location. ;) After being an English major my freshman year of college, I switched to a more "practical" (Ha!) degree and graduated with a BS in Sociology (I was a little clueless). But I've been a stay at home mom since 2007. I've been writing short-stories and poems since I was a child. My first poem was co-written with my Poppa and it was entitled "Ode to a Scarecrow" (it makes me laugh every time I think about it--I was in the 3rd grade). In February 2012, I woke up from a dream that I couldn't get out of my head until I wrote it all down on paper. The next day I decided I was going to write a book and after that it's been non-stop! I used to be 100% Team Pacey but he has since been replaced by Damon Salvatore. I never miss an episode of Downton Abbey or The Vampire Diaries. I'm an avid reader. My all-time favorite book is The Princess Bride but I also love the Harry Potter Series, anything by Richelle Mead, Jennifer Armentrout, Autumn Doughton and Abbi Glines, The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay, The Fault in our Stars by John Green, Gone With the Wind, Pride and Prejudice ---the list goes on! When I'm not reading or writing you can usually find me knitting scarfs (because I can't knit anything more complicated than that), pretending I know how to play my guitar (I am taking lessons!) or watching movies with my babies.