Bio

Maria was born in Missouri and grew up in Eastern Tennessee. She attended the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, earning a B.S. in natural science education and an M.S. in plant physiology.

Since retiring, Maria has been indulging in two of her passions: travel and mysteries. She has traveled to England a half-dozen times, frequently attending the St. Hilda's Crime and Mystery Conference in Oxford. She has toured Italy, Scotland, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Greece, and Turkey. She has worked on an archaeological dig in the Isle of Man and a dinosaur dig in Montana.

With the release of a new book, a writer has to put what she does well on the back burner and devote herself to what she does poorly. Promote, advertise, publicize! Spring 2010 finds me overhauling this website, talking to book clubs, doing a newsletter, attending conferences and pretending I’m better than I really am.

If left to my own devices, I would spend every morning writing and every afternoon reading other people’s mysteries. Once a month, I’d hop on a plane and go somewhere I’ve never been before. Or to England, where I can’t go too often.

In the past year, I’ve adopted two sweet dogs from the Tidewater Bichon Frise Rescue. Holly is ten years old, full of curiosity and energy. Unfortunately, a previous owner had her de-barked so now she can only squeak. I mean! If you don’t like the noise, get a fish. Hamilton, age eight, is her son. He’s as round as a barrel and would eat until he exploded if I’d let him. I call him Hammy. The name fits in more ways than one.

Itchy Feet

The past year has taken me to Hawaii for the Left Coast Crime Conference and  to England for a tour of Devon and Cornwall and a weekend at St. Hilda’s Crime and Mystery Conference, Oxford.

In the photos: My feet on our balcony on the Big Island. Kilauea favored us with a twilight eruption. Me on the front porch at Greenway, Agatha Christie’s summer home. Me, in the Inspector Morse room of the Randolph Hotel, Oxford.

Coming up!

In addition to jaunts to Washington, DC for Malice Domestic in April/May and to New York for my first Thrillerfest in July, I’m going to Turkey in September!!  I’ll go with a tour group to Troy, Ephesus, Antalya, Cappadocia, and end with 5 days in Istanbul. I think I feel another mystery creeping up on me!