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I've lived in High Plains states most of my adult life, with stints across Colorado (college in Fort Collins, ten years teaching in Pueblo), North Dakota (summer field work in  Little Missouri National Grassland), Kansas (working at the Cosmosphere and at community colleges in Dodge City & Hutchinson) and Wyoming, where my husband and I started our family a while back and have now returned to live.

I grew up in northern California in a town I remember as small and rural. It's neither of those any more, but those memories explain why I feel so at home in the small towns of the High Plains today.

Because life is long and families move around, I've also lived in AZ (born there!), UT, IN, and SC (the greenest place I've ever lived).

If you're a mystery/thriller reader drawn to strong female leads, the scary beauty of the redwood country, moms who push it to the limit, or crime-fighting ESL teachers, I wrote NOT THE KILLING KIND for you! I published poetry for years (as Maria Melendez), and turned to crime writing to explore the dark side. My next stand-alone thriller will be set in the Yellowstone and Grand Teton areas of Wyoming and Montana.