Maria V. Snyder has been writing fiction and nonfiction since 1995. She has published numerous freelance articles in regional magazines and in local newspapers. Teaching fiction writing classes at the local college gives her the enjoyable opportunity to encourage novice writers and to keep improving her craft. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Maria attended 12 years of catholic school before going to Penn State University to study Meteorology. Earning a Bachelors of Science degree in Meteorology, Maria discovered, much to her chagrin, that forecasting the weather wasn't one of her skills. She found employment in the environmental field as an air quality scientist, and it was during those years that she started writing. After writing many science fiction short stories, Maria started Poison Study, her first novel about a food taster. Her research on food tasting methods with an expert chocolate taster, her husband, turned out to be a delicious bonus while writing Poison Study. Maria has a brown belt in Issinryu Karate, and has enjoyed "acting out" the complex fight scenes in the book. Playing volleyball and the cello are her other hobbies. Traveling with her family is another wonderful distraction from writing. Maria loves cruising in general and the Caribbean in particular. She has also been to Europe, Canada, Mexico, and spent a week in Beijing, China during the summer of 2004. Though still a weather nut at heart, Maria also wrote a middle grade reader titled, Storm Watcher, about a 13-year-old boy who is both fascinated and terrified of storms. Maria lives with her family in Pennsylvania where she is at work on her third Luna novel, the final "Study" book. Her next Luna novel, Magic Study, is due out in October 2006. She's working on earning a Masters of Art degree in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University. Maria would recommend this writing program to anyone interested in publishing a novel. A link for Seton Hill can be found in the Links section on her website. Questions and Answers What are you currently working on? I"m working on another young adult series. This new series will be science fiction and the first book, tentatively titled, Inside Out is about Trella. Trella lives in Inside, and she has a very jaded and hard view of her metal world. Along with thousands of other "scrubs" who live in the lower levels, she cleans the pipes and ducts that crisscross her world and keep them all alive. In order to escape the noise and presence of so many scrubs, Trella prefers to be by herself in the ductwork. She has explored almost every region of Inside and has the ability to go to any level without being detected by the Pop Cops (Population Control Police). Because of her expertise, she is recruited by a prophet to seek a gateway to Outside. As she searches for the gateway, she"s pursued by Pop Cops, and upper level workers (those who control the government and mechanical systems), but she"s also aided by a few unlikely sources which make her realize she"s been a little too critical of her world. Is writing your full time occupation, if not what is? Yes, I"m very lucky to be writing full time! What was your first professional sale? How did it feel when you received the acceptance? Poison Study was my first professional sale. It was all very exciting. I had received a phone call on a Friday from an editor who had read the first three chapters and wanted to see the rest. At the time, a small press publisher was also interested in Poison Study so I informed the editor and she said as long as the other publisher didn"t require an exclusive read, I could still send her the remaining chapters. She promised to read them right away. So Friday afternoon, I emailed thirty files (one for each chapter) and worried the whole weekend. Monday morning she called me and offered me a two-book contract! At first I felt a stunned disbelief, and, after she assured me two or three times that no one in the company could reject the book, I was thrilled. Who is you favourite author? This is a hard question - I have so many! I"ll list a few by genre: Fantasy: Barbara Hambly, C.E. Murphy, Lynn Flewelling, Naomi Novik, David EddingsM and George R.R. Martin. Science Fiction: Kate Elliott, Orson Scott Card, Vernor Vinge, and Connie Willis. Mystery: Dick Francis, and Barbara Vine. Other: Harlan Coben, Sebastian Junger, Barbara Kingsolver, and Stephenie Meyer. If you could give one piece of advice to a would-be author, what would it be? Persistence is my biggest advice. I"d been writing for ten years and submitting for eight before I sold anything. Poison Study was rejected many times, but I kept submitting the book and had planned to submit until I ran out of publishers to send it to. I also tell writers to be wary of predators, if someone is asking you for money proceed with the utmost caution. Get feedback on your stories from fellow writers before submitting. Joining a critique group is very helpful. I also find that if I let a story sit on my desk for a few weeks I can pick out all the problems, typos and inconsistencies easier. And I agree whole heartily with Stephen King"s advice in his book, On Writing. He wrote, "If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot." And don"t give up! Ever! That"s more than one piece, but I think it"s very important. I even have writing tips on my website at www.mariavsnyder.com/tips and a series of writing advice on my blog at blog.myspace.com/mariavsnyder When did you first decide that you wanted to be an author? I don"t think I ever consciously decided to be an author. Writing was my least favorite subject in school, and I hated grammar and spelling. My first job after college was as a Meteorologist for an environmental consulting firm. The amount of work came in waves, and we were either extremely busy or very bored. During the slow times, I started writing a short story. Ideas were always floating around in my mind, but that was when I began using them. I submitted my first short story for critique at a writing conference, and when the workshop leader gave me 7 out of 10, I thought that was pretty good for a first effort and decided to stick with writing for a while. After my son was born and I only had about one hour a day to myself, I had to decide what was important enough to spend that precious time on. Most days writing won, and eventually I began sending stories out to publications. Are you for or against e-books? Personally I do not like reading books on a screen no matter how much I can adjust the font and size of the text. I spend all day staring at the computer, and I like to hold books in my hand and smell the ink. However, I think e-books should be available to those who enjoy them and I"m not worried e-books will make real books obsolete. Do you have a favourite place to write? My office in my home is my favorite writing place. One of my husband"s hobbies is making furniture, so he made me a great U-shaped desk with lots of cabinets and installed built-in bookcases into two walls of my office. All the furniture is made from cherry wood that was cut from trees that had grown on his family"s farm. It"s a great place to work. I have my books, weapons, toys, and resources are all nearby. Do you enjoy book signings/conventions? Yes. I really enjoy meeting readers and fellow authors. Conventions are great places to re-connect with my writing friends and to meet new people who share my interests. Panels can be good sources of information for my writing projects. Book signings are fun. I have a few people come to see me during them, and I make sure I have plenty of chocolate and bookmarks to entice those who don"t. Is there anything more that can be done with Wizards, Elves and Dragons? Yes! Naomi Novik just proved Dragons are still fascinating creatures in her Temeraire series about Dragons being used to fight in the Napoleonic Wars. An author needs to take a fresh perspective on the stereotypical fantasy characters, putting them in situations or settings that readers haven"t seen before. What influences the names of people and places in your work? I always have fun when naming my characters (and no one else can argue about it - unlike with my children - can you believe my husband wanted a say??). I own 5 baby name books, and am frequently on the Internet, checking out popular names. My favorite book is From Aaron to Zoe, 15,000 Great Baby Names, by Daniel Avram Richman. I also use the phone book and take note of everyone's name tags at restaurants, hotels, airports - you see some interesting names (I always try and ask the person what their name means). Even newspapers, magazines, and books can yield a perfect character name. One of my requirements when choosing a name is to find one that has a special meaning. My main protagonist in Poison Study, Yelena is a Russian name and it means "shining one" which I thought appropriate since she starts out in a dungeon awaiting execution. Her situation is dire, but she still shines. I invent a few names when needed. My assassin/chief of security's name is Valek. I always liked Val Kilmer in the movie Top Gun - so Valek is a composite of him. What book are you reading at the moment? I"m reading Mindy Klasky"s Sorcery and the Single Girl. It"s a humorous urban fantasy of a librarian who finds out she"s a witch. What's the most memorable thing said in a review of your work? Publisher"s Weekly gave Poison Study a Starred Review. I love the beginning part of the review, "Shivers, obsession, sleepless nights—these are the results not of one of the milder poisons that novice food-taster Yelena must learn during her harrowing job training but of newcomer Snyder's riveting fantasy that unites the intelligent political focus of George R.R. Martin with a subtle yet potent romance." Being compared with George R.R. Martin was unforgettable! Have you won any awards for your writing? Poison Study has won two awards. It won the Compton Crook Award from the Baltimore Science Fiction Society which is given to the best first novel in the science fiction/fantasy/horror genre. It also won the Reader"s Choice Award from the Salt Lake County Library system. The fourth largest system in the United States, they nominate 20 novels each year and let their patrons vote for their favorite. Is there something you are particularly proud of? I received an email from a teenage who told me reading Poison Study helped her overcome her desire to commit suicide. She said that by seeing Yelena go from a hopeless situation to a better one and to overcome such odds, she learned that no matter how bad her life seemed there was hope. After confirming that the email wasn"t a joke, we have been corresponding for the past two years, and I"ve even spent an afternoon with her and her parents last summer. To know Yelena"s story kept a beautiful and intelligent girl alive is the best reward possible, and I"m very proud of that. No award will ever match the joy I feel every time she emails me. Plug away - what do you have coming out? Magic Study, which continues Yelena"s adventures is due out in April 2008 and will be followed by Fire Study in December 2008. In Magic Study, Yelena has an execution order on her head and has to escape to Sitia, the land of her birth. She must begin her magical apprenticeship and travels to the Magician"s Keep. But nothing in Sitia is familiar. Not the family to whom she is a stranger. Not the unsettling new facets of her magic. Not the brother who resents her return. As she struggles to understand where she belongs and how to control her rare powers, a rogue magician emerges, and Yelena catches his eye. Relevant Links Maria V. Snyder's Main Listing Maria V. Snyder Website