About Us

Meet Heather, Sarah, and Monica! After the bios you will find fun interviews we did with one another. Check them out!

 

 Meet Heather Bakkela

Heather Bakkela grew up feasting on books. From the time that she was old enough to sit until her senior year of high school her father read to her every night everything from The Little Prince to Nancy Drew to The Iliad and The Odyssey. Instilling a love of stories of all kinds. She is a mother of two and a lover of all things literary. When she’s not shooting things Batman style with her three year old son or donning a princess dress at High Tea with her six year old daughter she can be found reading, writing, watching a little Star Wars and sewing everything from a sleeping bag for Barbie to Princess Leia dresses. She got bit by the Young Adult bug about two years ago and since then she’s devoured over 200 YA novels from dystopian to paranormal and everything in between. She lives in Oregon with her husband, two kids, one grouchy cat; Henry Ford and a gigantic dog who is terrified of the cat.

Meet Sarah Coupens

                  Sarah Coupens, a native of Colorado, now lives in Oregon with her husband and two daughters where it doesn't rain as often as people think or snow nearly enough for her taste. In those rare quiet moments in between chasing toddlers around, she reads, writes, crochets and watches old episodes of The West Wing. Sometimes she sings along to Disney songs even when her kids aren’t in the car. Sarah has a B.A. in Spanish…sort of.

                  Sarah loves to read all things YA, including Fantasy, Dystopian, Paranormal and sometimes a little Contemporary thrown in there. Some recent favorites include: Graceling by Kristin Cashore, The Program by Suzanne Young, Shatter Me by Taherah Mafi and Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor (to name just a few!) Her current project is a Dystopian YA co-written with Heather Bakkela.

Meet Monica Duddington

 

Despite the fact that at the age of three, Monica Duddington had two imaginary friends who were motorcycle-riding men from Santa Monica who lived part time in a utility shed at a reservoir, her parents never got her into therapy. Today, many years later, any imaginary friends who might pop up get to have their day as characters in her novels. Monica writes paranormal, historical, and contemporary young adult novels, and especially enjoys when she can combine paranormal with historical.

Monica is quick to admit that she has a serious reading addiction—an addiction she likes to foster. She loves all things British, and so far hasn’t written a book in which at least a scene or two hasn’t taken place somewhere in the British Isles. When she’s not writing or reading, she might be found teaching (long time elementary school teacher).

Though she grew up in the beach towns of Southern California, home is Oregon, and has been all her adult life. She loves the mountains, trees, beaches, and wine country of the Pacific Northwest, and even the rain, since it encourages people to curl up with a good book.

Monica can’t live without her husband and family, chocolate, tea, red wine and stacks of books. Her debut novel, an adult paranormal romance written under the name of her alter ego, was recently released, fulfilling a life-long dream of being a published author!

Our Interviews

 

Heather:

 Favorite ice cream flavor? 

I LOVE plain ‘ol vanilla. Especially when it’s just a little melted.

Favorite children's story? 

 My all-time favorite book in the whole wide world just happens to be a children’s story. The Widows Broom by Chris VanAllsberg.

What book could you read over and over and not get tired of? 

I think I have two. The first would probably be The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins. I have already read it five times. The second would be Serena by Ron Rash. It’s so beautifully written and Mr. Rash writes women so wonderfully that I don’t think it would ever get old.

Who is your "character crush?" 

My character crush is Captain Choal Westfall from Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

For $10k, would you stay overnight in a haunted house?  

Nope. But, I would for a million dollars.

What is one of your weird quirks? 

Honestly, I have quite a few. One that I know drives pretty much everyone I know nuts is that I can’t do more than one “social” thing per week. As an example several months ago I went to Happy Hour with a few of my girlfriends and two days later they were meeting for breakfast and I refused to go. I love my friends but, I get over stimulated easily and I end up getting weird. Also, I can only have things in multiples of two. Gum, chicken nuggets…I even have to cut my sandwiches in half. Also I don’t wear deodorant or wash my hair…

Who is your "author crush?" 

 I am absolutely in LOVE with Chris VanAllsberg (see above) I love his stories so much and when I need a little inspiration I immediately head to my daughter’s bookshelf and pull out one (or all) of his books.

 If you could be any character in any book for one day, who would it be? 

That’s easy. Celaena Sardothien from Throne of Glass. She is totally badass! I would love to be her for one day and not only kick some butt but also get to kiss a hot prince and a sexy guard!

What is your favorite accent? 

I love love love a good old fashion southern accent. You know where the men say ma’am and smile and wink when they speak to you. Yep. Mmmm southern accent.

Into which Hogwarts house would you be sorted?  

Well, I would always want to be in Gryffindor. I mean who wouldn’t but unfortunately not everyone can be. I would probably be sorted into Ravenclaw. I love to garden and I have quite a few quirks (see above).

Sarah:

Favorite ice cream flavor?

Favorite? Like just 1?! Haagen Dazs coffee is at the top of the list, but really there are too many to choose from.

Favorite children’s story?

I will always love The Lorax by Dr. Seuss. My girls ask to read it on a weekly basis and I happily oblige!

Guilty pleasure TV show?

Revenge. It’s a serious addiction.

What book could you read over and over and not get tired of?

Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion by Jane Austen, the Harry Potter series and The Hunger Games series.

Who is your “character crush?”

Will Herondale from Cassandra Clare’s Infernal Devices series. A sarcastic sense of humor and lover of books all wrapped up in a sexy shadowhunter!

For $10k, would you stay overnight in a haunted house?

Absolutely not. I am the biggest scaredy-cat when it comes to stuff like this. I don’t know if there’s any amount of money I would take to stay (especially by myself!) in a haunted house. Ironically, my birthday is on Halloween…go figure.

Morning or night person?

Definitely a night person. I could blame it on the fact that I have worked night shift for so many years, but I think my husband would agree that I wasn’t a morning person even before that. Best to avoid me if I haven’t had a cup of coffee.

Into which Hogwart’s house would you be sorted?

Who doesn’t want to be in Gryffindor?! Obvious choice, but when I consulted the house traits, I think I might actually be a Hufflepuff… Hard working, patient and loyal!

What did you want to be when you grew up?

I can’t really think of any one thing I wanted to be when I grew up.  Aside from a few years in high school where I was convinced that I wanted to be in the FBI, this is a question I still hadn’t answered until recently. Now I can say confidently, I want to be a writer when I grow up!

Monica:

What is your favorite ice cream flavor?

Ben and Jerry’s Phish Food. Oh my gawd it’s yummy!

What book/s could you read over and over and never get tired of?

I DO read Pride and Prejudice over and over and never tire of it—her humor is so contemporary—and OH, Mr. Darcy. Also, the first book in Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series. The series is great, and it blends my favorite things: paranormal and historical.

What were your best/worst subjects in school? Why?

My best subjects were the language arts based, like reading and writing. Worst was math, but once I took it in college I did great! I think my brain just hadn’t matured enough when I was younger.

Who is your character crush?

Oh no, do I have to limit this to one? Uh, kind of gave this away with an answer above, but absolutely Mr. Darcy. Also, I adore Jamie Fraser from the Outlander books, and finally a character created by my alter ego, a vampire named Gabriel Augustine. Oh, and Lisbeth Salander from the Dragon Tattoo books—love her edginess.

What is your signature dish to cook or bake?

I make a fantastic jambalaya, and as for baking, probably my berry cobbler.

What did you want to be when you grew up?

It might be easier to list what I DIDN’T want to be, but here are a few of the things I absolutely wanted to be: a teacher, a writer, an archeologist, and one of those people who teach chimpanzees to speak with sign language. So far, I have been a teacher—for many, many years—and now a writer.

If you were stranded on Gilligan's Island, who would your best friend be?

The professor. I like his brain.

Into which Hogwarts house would you be sorted?

I used to run an afterschool Harry Potter club at the school where I taught, and each year I first sorted everyone into houses. I would always give this speech that not everyone can be in Gryffindor. So, with that said, I’d probably be a Ravenclaw. I like to remember they have Luna, and they have a great common room!

Who is your author crush?

You’ll be hearing me talk about this author a lot here on this blog—there are so many reasons to admire her. Maggie Stiefvater. Everyone should read everything she’s written. It’s as simple as that.

What is your guilty pleasure movie?

Dirty Dancing. Nobody puts Baby in a corner.

What is your favorite foreign accent?

Once upon a time I would have answered English, but I’m such an anglophile I don’t even hear it anymore. So, I’ve moved on to Scottish. Damn, it’s a sexy accent.