Maria V. Snyder changed careers in 1995 from being a Meteorologist to a Novelist when she began working on her first novel, Poison Study. Published in October 2005, Poison Study won the 2006 Compton Crook Award for Best First Novel, won the Salt Lake Co. Library's Reader's Choice award, was a 2005 Booksense pick, was nominated for four other awards, and received a Starred Review from Publisher’s Weekly. She has also 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 began 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 her books. Playing volleyball, scrapbooking, and reading are her other hobbies.
Maria's second book, Magic Study was published in October 2006, is a 2006 Booksense pick, and is currently a RITA Award Finalist. While researching for Magic Study, Maria made a few interesting discoveries. One is that if you’re going to learn how to ride a horse, it’s best to do it when you’re young and fearless. The other is that no matter who is holding the reins, the horse still has control. Her next "Study" book, Fire Study is scheduled to be published in March 2008. To research for Fire Study,
Maria took a glass blowing class to learn how to work with molten glass. If you ever see a glass artist at work, know that it is considerably harder to sculpt glass than it looks. Maria now has an extensive collection of misshapened paperweights, tumblers, and bowls.
Traveling with her family is another wonderful distraction from writing. Maria loves cruising in general and the Caribbean in particular, and is planning a trip to Italy in November 2007. She has also been to Europe, Canada, Mexico, Belize, Costa Rica, and spent a week in Beijing, China.
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. Writing for young adults is another passion, and Maria is working on a young adult science fiction thriller titled Inside Out, which is scheduled for a 2009 release. Adults will also enjoy reading Inside Out.
Maria lives with her family in Pennsylvania where she is at work on her fourth novel set in the "Study" world. Storm Glass is due out in the fall of 2008. She has also earned a Master of Arts degree in
Writing Popular
Fiction from
Seton Hill University.
Maria would highly recommend this writing program to anyone interested in publishing a novel.
A link for Seton Hill can be found in the "Links" section.