Joyce Cotter was born in the Bronx and later moved to Rockland County in upstate New York. The married mother of five then relocated to Miami, where she and her family lived for 33 years. Cotter now resides in Tallahassee, Florida.Cotter was a guide for the Vizcaya Museum in Miami for 20 years, and she also volunteered at the University of Miami’s School of Medicine for 20 years. In addition, she wrote a column for the West Kendall Gazette for three years.Now retired, Cotter continues to spend her time volunteering as well as writing. She began writing this book as a journal exercise with her daughter. Her daughter never got into it, but Cotter did, and so Victoria’s Boutiques was created.