Maria Arena

WELCOME...

...and thank you for visiting my website. If this is your first time here, please have a look around. On the various pages you'll find information about my work such as where my novels began and how I got to this point. And, of course, there are links below if you are interested in purchasing my novels, and links to my shorter pieces of fiction, if you're after a quick story fix.

If this is a return visit, thanks for coming back. The big news is I have a new speculative fiction short story out. The Hut is published by the awesome crew over at Bards and Sages Quarterly, in their magazine dedicated to novella-length stories, Misfits of Society. Click the link below to order your copy on your favourite platform. I hope you enjoy The Hut, and that you'll stop by again soon.

Take care and happy reading!

Maria

SHROUDEATERS ~ A Vampire Novel

Immortality.The idea fascinates and haunts us. Religion tells us it's possible in another realm; scientists are working to make it a reality on this physical plane. Storytellers assure us of its romance. But, do we really understand what living forever means? And, if we did, would we truly want eternal life?

Mini-synopsis:

Christian Carfex wants to be immortal.

Juliana Celeste, a powerful, embittered French vampire, has the gift he needs.

The exchange should be easy enough: his blood relinquished for eternal life.

There's only one problem.

For over seventy years, Juliana has endured the Sisyphean burden of The Thirst, while watching as everyone and everything she loves has been lost to her. Now, the time has come to make her parents, the vampires Callisto and Constantine, pay for their theft by ridding the world of them and the scourge of their kin, the Shroudeaters. But, no plan ever evolves as intended and, as the competing desires of Juliana and Christian collide, they will sacrifice lives, loves, and loyalties to gain the ultimate prize.

SISTERHOOD

Why do women participate in the oppression and abuse of vulnerable girls and women, particularly in institutional settings? This question is the driving impetus behind Sisterhood. The story occurred to me after I read a news article about the discovery of the remains of 80 women buried on the grounds of a Irish Convent laundry. A substantial slice of research later, I had a deeper understanding of Riane Eisler's Cultural Transformation Theory, dominator and partnership systems, and a novel about girls rejecting the suffering inflicted by their female 'protectors'.

Mini-synopsis:

Abandoned at St Mary’s Boarding School for Girls, Heather thought life couldn’t get much worse. She was wrong. Waiting for her is the malevolent Sister Merce. As the danger to Heather increases, hope arrives with Amy, a spirited girl whose physic abilities reveal a mystery involving two long-dead ‘fallen’ girls, Jennifer and Rachel. Using a diary and an amulet, and assisted by the sweet-hearted Patrick and self-destructive Caleb, the four girls are drawn into a liminal space where they must stand together and use the power within themselves to destroy the Sisterhood.

MIRA FALLING

Mira Falling was my first novel, which was published by Hachette in 2006. A second edition was released as an eBook and POD book in 2015. At the time of writing, I was interested in the cult of celebrity and the notion that we're no one until we've had, to borrow from Warhol, our 15 minutes of fame. I was also pondering the nature of truth and the dynamics of relationships, and voilà ~ Mira came into being.

Mini-synopsis:

Mira Falling dreams of becoming a star, but achieving fame and fortune can be difficult when you're stuck in a dead-end town like Harvest Bay and have a brilliant brother who overshadows your every move. When Sebastian Holborn and his wealthy family move into the house across the street, Mira sees an opportunity for escape and for the fame she desires, but Sebastian's scheming twin sister, Lily, has other ideas. Mira, however, knows there's a solution to every problem, and she will allow nothing and no one to stand in the way of her dreams.