Bette was born in San Francisco, California, the oldest of three. As a child she was fortunate to be surrounded by family - her parents, brothers, cousins, grandparents, and many, many aunts. Her parents were avid readers and encouraged her to pursue a broad range of literature from an early age. She read voraciously, devouring books all through her primary and secondary school education, and into the present day. Some of the authors who have had an enduring effect on her are Patricia Wrede, Susannah Clarke, Charlotte Brontë, Tamora Pierce, Terry Pratchett, Tanith Lee, and Robin McKinley. In her free time she wrote essays on her favorite authors and created original works of fiction, nearly always writing in the fantasy genre.
After graduating from UC Santa Barbara in 2004 with a degree in Art and a minor in Art History, she formed an interactive performance group with 8 prop fabrication and costuming professionals. She created original characters and scripts and performed live at venues in the Los Angeles area between 2006-2009. The group also created a viral YouTube series, The League of S.T.E.A.M. and Bette appeared in the pilot episode of The World of Steam which eventually sold to the Jim Henson Company for development.
About Bette
Bette was born in San Francisco, California, the oldest of three. As a child she was fortunate to be surrounded by family - her parents, brothers, cousins, grandparents, and many, many aunts. Her parents were avid readers and encouraged her to pursue a broad range of literature from an early age. She read voraciously, devouring books all through her primary and secondary school education, and into the present day. Some of the authors who have had an enduring effect on her are Patricia Wrede, Susannah Clarke, Charlotte Brontë, Tamora Pierce, Terry Pratchett, Tanith Lee, and Robin McKinley. In her free time she wrote essays on her favorite authors and created original works of fiction, nearly always writing in the fantasy genre.
After graduating from UC Santa Barbara in 2004 with a degree in Art and a minor in Art History, she formed an interactive performance group with 8 prop fabrication and costuming professionals. She created original characters and scripts and performed live at venues in the Los Angeles area between 2006-2009. The group also created a viral YouTube series, The League of S.T.E.A.M. and Bette appeared in the pilot episode of The World of Steam which eventually sold to the Jim Henson Company for development.
Bette moved to Sonoma County in 2009 where she began to work for a portfolio of international wineries doing sales and marketing. When she moved to Kansas City in 2018 her goal was to make a life for herself and her family that allowed her to pursue writing and start a sourdough bakery, both of which she has been doing ever since.
Her current project is the satirical fantasy romance Death to the Author, inspired by her viral videos on TikTok poking fun at popular fantasy and romance tropes. She is also working on two more books set in the same world: a humorous Baba Yaga retelling that takes inspiration from The Wizard of Oz, and a story about a monster rescue/conservation center and the volunteers that try to keep it afloat, sometimes literally.
Bette lives on 7 acres in a haunted McMansion with a pond full of secrets, a sourdough bakery full of witchcraft, two kids full of raccoon-energy, two dogs full of mischief, and one heroic, exhausted husband.