Bio
Hi! I’m Maria, romance author, lover of a good caffeinated beverage, and noted mutual pining enthusiast originally from a suburb just a bit east of Seattle. I now live in Los Angeles (by way of Boston, where I studied writing for film and television at Emerson College), work in the entertainment industry, and own way too many really cool jackets that I never get to wear because southern California doesn’t understand seasons. My debut, CUT TO THE ENDING, will be published by Little, Brown in November 2026 and I’m represented by Claire Friedman at InkWell Management.
Manuscript
Wishlist
(MSWL)
More than anything, I’m looking for books that make me feel something – make me laugh, make me cry, make me gasp, make me want to stay up until 3am on a worknight reading because I can’t put my kindle down. I love characters who feel like real people and romances that feel inevitable (even if your MCs don’t know they’re made for each other yet!). Below is a general overview of what I’ll be looking for this year in Smoochpit, but I love to be surprised and I tend to be a genre agnostic when it comes to my reading, so unless it’s on my “please don’t send to me” list, if you think we might be a fit, try me!
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Contemporary Romance/RomComs: My ride or die!! I’m down on my knees begging for contemporary!! I’m very open to speculative twists in this area, but definitely don’t need one as long as there’s a fresh, fun hook. I’m always on the hunt for an adult or new adult book that makes me feel like my favorites from my teen years (something like Sarah Dessen or Anna and the French Kiss) but mostly I want to be swept away in a love story that turns me into that werewolf ripping its clothes off meme (you know the one).
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Mystery/Thriller or Horror Romance: I love a good genre blend! Whether it’s spooky, scary, campy, or a combination of the three, I’m into it! I would love to see something that feels like a Scooby-Doo caper, and would kill for a locked room mystery romance, but am also so down for something that keeps me up at night and has to be read with the lights on. I’m generally not squeamish about gore or violence in books, so feel free to lay it on me, but I would appreciate a content warning for anything that features pet or animal death (outside of game animals).
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Paranormal: If you have 2026’s answer to the 2010 paranormal YA boom (think the Holly Black Curse Workers books, The Mortal Instruments, Vampire Academy, a book that feels like MTV’s Teen Wolf, etc), I want to see it! But this is an area I’d especially love to be surprised, and even see some genre blending (a heist with vampires? Something a la Netflix’s Wednesday? SAY LESS).
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Fantasy & Science Fiction: This is probably the space where I’m going to be the pickiest, especially considering how many other fantastic mentors there are who specialize in SFF! In general, I’m going to gravitate most towards SFF that’s built off our world: think Jurassic Park but with kissing or urban fantasy versus dystopian/hard-sci fi or second world fantasy. In general, more personal character-driven stakes tend to work better for me in this subgenre, and I’m not a great fit for sci-fi that’s dealing with larger, societal stakes.
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Recent-ish (or upcoming!) books I’ve read and loved to give a bird’s eye view of my taste: ENTITIES TO LOVERS by Mallory Marlowe, THE MASH UP by Laura Marie Meyers, SLIPSTREAM by Madge Maril, THE EX VOWS by Jessica Joyce, WILL THEY OR WON’T THEY by Ava Wilder, LEVEL UP FOR LOVE by Lenora Woods, and THE BOOK TOUR by Emily Ohanjanians. More favorites outside of traditional genre romance: SAFARI MURDER PARTY by Rachel Moore, anything Kelly Andrew has ever written, NINTH HOUSE, THE NIGHT CIRCUS.
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Drilling down into specifics, I love books that feature:
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Fandom or fan culture
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Epistolary/mixed media elements
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Marginalized characters (especially ace-spec or neurodivergent characters from authors who identify as ace or ND)
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Unique settings and setting as a character (bonus points if it’s scary and/or spooky!)
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Adventure! Romance! (I know someone out there has a Nathan Drake-coded MC and I’m going to find them!!)
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Men who have an advanced degree in yearning and ambitious women
I’m not a trope-driven reader, and have been known to pick up books with tropes that aren’t my favorite because the concept is otherwise up my alley, but if you’ve written any of these tropes I’m probably going to like it!: opposites attract (but really sell me on why they’re perfect for each other despite their differences!), forced proximity, mutual pining, second chance, and antagonists/annoyances to lovers (I hate you for xyz toooootally legitimate reason but now we’re stuck together for Plot Reasons and oh god why are you HOT?!? It’s catnip! Gets me every time!)
I’m very open to darker themes/content and morally gray characters (especially in paranormal and thriller or horror genre blends) but think along the lines of Kaz Brekker/Astarion or Phantasma instead of stalker or mafia romance.
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I’m not a good fit for: historical romance (though I’m willing to make exceptions here for speculative/paranormal that takes place in a historical time period, please don’t count on me to be an expert in anything history, because I very much am not!), hard sci-fi, main characters who are fairies (if fairies exist in the world but they aren’t the MC or love interest, that’s fine!), the secret baby or accidental pregnancy trope, books that feature parenthood or children as a significant element of the plot, cop/military characters, bully romance, and dub/non-con. I hate that I even have to say this, but if you have used AI at any point in the process of writing or revising (including for research), we will not be a good fit.
Mentoring Style
I was one half of a mentor duo (with the incomparable Mallory Marlowe) last year and was also a mentee in a now defunct romance mentorship program, so I have been on both sides of the metaphorical table. I aim to be a cheerleader (and, as you can probably tell, I love a good exclamation point or two!!) who knows that publishing is an opaque and sometimes scary industry and is here to help you navigate revision, the query trenches, and beyond. I’m a big fan of the “compliment sandwich” method so you can expect me to be gushing all over the place about your manuscript’s strengths alongside constructive criticism designed to take what’s already great and make it spectacular.
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If we work together, you can expect an edit letter focused on big-picture developmental edits, followed by line edits, help with your query package, and support during and after the program through your preferred method of communication (Discord, email, Zoom, etc.).
Applications
from Connections
Please do not apply to me if we have ever beta read for each other but if we’re in the same Discord(s), mutuals on social media, or have previously had conversations online, please feel free to apply to me!