A dedicated animal welfare advocate, Heidi Mastrogiovanni is a graduate of Wesleyan University and an uncompromising champion of the Oxford comma. She is grateful to be a member of Civic Sundays L.A., a volunteer organization committed to fighting fascism.

Heidi is the author of the comedic novel "Lala Pettibone's Act Two" (finalist, Foreword Reviews Book of the Year) and the sequel "Lala Pettibone: Standing Room Only." She is a contributor to the Washington Independent Review of Books, a member of the Writers Guild of America, and is the co-ambassador for the Los Angeles chapter of the Authors Guild.

When series creator Cristina Negrón asked Heidi if she wanted to be part of "The Classics Slacker Reads..." series triumvirate with her and Deb Martin, Heidi’s response was, “I should only live so long, I should only be so lucky. Or, to put it more succinctly, [expletive] YES!”

Heidi is fluent in German and French, though she doesn't countenance both those languages needing more than one definite article. She lives in Los Angeles with her musician husband and their rescued senior dogs. Heidi loves to read, hike, travel, and do a classic spit-take when something is really funny.