Biography
Author Photo
zipped JPG ~ 300 dpi
Photograph by Jason Stevens
Sometime before the Revolution, she was born in Matanzas, Cuba, to a family of voracious readers and would-be writers.
After emigrating to the United States, Maria then discovered the magic of books…loads of books. Starting with the public library, followed by the Scholastic book sales in elementary school, then on from there.
As a child, storytelling was part of the Lima family dinner hour, when her father, who dreamt of becoming a writer, spoke of heroes, heroines and battles royale. In this was mixed a love of both fictional and non-fictional worlds, of history and splendor, dragons and them that slayed ‘em. It’s no wonder that she grew up composing stories.
The writing bug didn’t get much of a workout in real life, however, as the corporate life only drew on her journalism degree as she cranked out marketing copy, feature stories and book reviews.
The fiction muse kept calling and in the spring of 2005, was finally fed as her first published short story, “The Butler Didn’t Do It” was published in Chesapeake Crimes I and garnered an Agatha Award nomination for Best Short Story.
In 2007, her first novel, Matters of the Blood, debuted from Juno Books, then, an imprint of Wildside Press. Blood Bargain, 2nd in the Blood Lines series came out November, 2008.
In January 2009, Juno Books became an imprint of Pocket Books, a division of Simon & Schuster. The Blood Lines series is reborn again as Pocket re-releases the first two books in September & October 2009, followed by Blood Kin in November.
In her day job, Maria works for an interactive Web agency in the DC area. In the rest of her life, she’s a writer, a fangrrl and as always, a voracious reader.
Bibliography
A printable booklist is available as well.
FictionBlood Lines seriesBook 5: Blood Sacrifice Book 4: Blood Heat Book 3: Blood Kin Book 2: Blood Bargain First Time in Print: Book 1: Matters of the Blood First Time in Print: Short StoriesIncludes Maria’s story: A SCENT OF DEATH Chesapeake Crimes I First Time in Print: Paperback (2005) |
Non-FictionCollected Works from an Unrepentant Writer Whedonistas Filled With Glee A Taste of True Blood: The Fangbanger’s Guide In the Hunt: Unauthorized Essays on Supernatural EditedChesapeake Crimes II |
