Coco Simon

Cheerfulness - Maintaining a good-humored, bright, and pleasant attitude toward others and the world around them.

Tracey West’s birthday is on April 16th.

Tracey West becomes “Coco Simon” as one of the writers of The Cupcake Diaries. She really enjoys writing about the middle-grade girls because of her really vivid middle school memories. “The varied personalities of the teachers; the embarrassing moments in gym; trying to fit in; those are things you never forget. But what I remember most are the friendships I forged back then, many of which lasted into adulthood. Without those friends middle school would have been a nightmare, and so I try to convey that in the way that Katie, Mia, Alexis, and Emma support one another. Of course the other element in the series is cupcakes--beautiful, delicious cupcakes featuring all kinds of amazing flavors. By the time I'm done with a first draft you'll usually find some cupcake crumbs on my keyboard.”

Tracey attended Rutgers University and studied English and Journalism there. She has written Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys, Pokémon, and other book series, as well as her own Pixie Tricks series.

She likes reading about and investigating strange and mysterious things, walking her dogs, hiking in the woods and watching cartoons.

Tracey is married to Bill, has three dogs, one cat, and is a stepmom to Bill’s three great kids.