About the Author

Marie was born the fourth of five children and raised an army brat outside of Fort Bragg, North Carolina. There she and her siblings hold the record for being the only active duty military dependents to attend the same school system from kindergarden to graduation. She began writing stories in the sixth grade when her teacher, Mr. Bates, made the mistake of pronouncing one of them 'good' and encouraging her to write more. From then on her love affair with the written word began and has yet to end, much to the dismay of her love affair with french fries and orange juice who alternately feel that they are more important.

Some honors and prestige her skill has brought her includes a Sega Genesis Game System thanks to a contest held through her junior high in conjunction with the N. C. Writing Test, and First Place in the Fayetteville State University Short Story Contest in 1993.

Following graduation Marie completed her first book, another alternate reality story, and hired a literary agent. It became clear to Marie early on that while she loved writing, it was not her true passion. With an overwhelming and inexplicable desire to minister to teens, Marie cleverly disguised herself as a responsible adult and began volunteering with the youth program at her church. Writing, which has been and always will be her true love, was upset by a new passion - youth ministry. After much debate and deliberation (made easy by the fact that her agent was a jerk), Marie dropped her agent and instead followed a calling that gave her free food, an excuse to be an idiot, and a reason for life. Writing was a hobby and would always be a favorite, but she had a new calling in life.

Since then, Marie has moved to Washington DC and back to North Carolina to work as a full time Youth Minister, but she has not stopped writing. In the editing process of her first book in a series, Marie has decided to self-publish for two reasons. The first is that she works for a church and so obviously cannot afford an agent, and the second is that she doesn't care how many people read her book as long as someone does.