Carlotta Cooper was born and raised in Tennessee. Her grandparents were farmers, and she grew up with horses, dogs, and other animals. Her family raised chickens, ducks, geese, other poultry, rabbits, and pigs. She attended the University of the South in Sewanee where she graduated with a B.A. in English as class Salutatorian. She attended graduate school at the University of Virginia, studied English literature, and did graduate work in writing and rhetoric at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Professionally, Carlotta is a freelance writer, specializing in writing about animals. She has been breeding and showing dogs for over 20 years and is a contributing editor for the dog show magazine Dog News. She lives in the middle of farm country in Tennessee now and writes about veterinary issues, animal reproduction, genetics, and raising and caring for animals.