A Day in the Life of… Maria V Snyder (& Giveaway)

 

Welcome to Stitch Read Cook's weekly feature!!

A Day in the Life of.....

This is where us bloggers & fans get a glimpse inside the days of our favorite authors!

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Maria V. Snyder switched careers from meteorologist to novelist when she began writing the New York Times best-selling Study Series (POISON STUDY, MAGIC STUDY and FIRE STUDY) about a young woman who becomes a poison taster. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, Maria dreamed of chasing tornados and even earned a Bachelors of Science degree in Meteorology from Pennsylvania State University. 

Maria lives with her family and a black cat name Valek (a.k.a. the bug assassin!) in Pennsylvania where she is at work on another book and/or a short story (yes this is purposely vague - as you can see, Maria is very busy and updating her website takes time that she just doesn't have. Oh, all right, but if this information is out of date, don't blame Maria :). Actually, Maria is hard at work...well not at this very second...on a new fantasy series featuring a healer in a world recovering from a horrible plague. TOUCH OF POWER the first book was published in January 2012, and she's working on the second book, SCENT OF MAGIC, well...that's what she told her editor.

Where to find Maria online:  Website ~ Facebook ~ Amazon

A Typical Day in Maria’s Life

Ah, the exciting life of a novelist… I spring from my immense four poster bed in the master suite of my country manor situated atop a grassy knoll overlooking the vast acreage of my estate. My entourage sweeps in with breakfast, my daily schedule, and a tray filled with checks to deposit. They report the masses of press/media and my adoring fans are blocking the south entrance again, and that Jan Leno has called five times, begging me to appear on his show.

Screeeeeech!! The sounds of the garbage truck’s squeaky brakes, rip through my dream, waking me to cold reality. With difficulty, I roll over in bed and stare at the clock. 11:00 a.m….11:10….11:15 a.m. My cat, Valek meows as if he is starving to death if I don’t feed him NOW. During breakfast, I read the daily newspaper and drink an extra-large cup of English Breakfast tea. Then I trudge the twenty-one steps to my home office and check emails.

My afternoons are not as predictable as my “mornings.” I either answer emails, post on Facebook, Goodreads, and/or my blog. I’ll answer Q&As and/or write guest blogs ;) or I’ll work on critiquing my students’ submissions from Seton Hill University’s MFA program (I’m currently evaluating thesis manuscripts right now). I also try to keep my website updated and do the various things needed to promote my books like sign book labels and books for my referral contest winners. (on the atypical days, I go to schools to do presentations and talks, or career days). I’ll also do research for my books and if that requires me to attend a class or take a tour, then I try to schedule it for this time of day. Basically my afternoons are my time to do the business side of writing.


My kids come home around 3:00 p.m. and I do the Mom thing – ask about their day – my 14 year-old daughter tells me everything that has happened to her in detail, my 17 year-old son grunts a “good” and disappears. I cook dinner so we eat around 5:00 p.m. when husband shows up from work. Then our evenings are a combination of taking my kids to various practices, or games, or activities.



10:00 p.m. I tuck my family into bed, make a huge thermos full of decaffeinated English Breakfast tea, and return to my computer. It is this time of the “day” that I write my novels and short stories. My goal is to write about 1200 words – some nights I exceed that with ease and others I can barely get out 500. I also will “act out” my fight scenes, using the various weapons I have hidden around my office.


I love writing at night. It’s the time I’m most awake and creative. No one is awake to bug me, the phone doesn’t ring, and I can usually avoid the temptation of the Internet. Bed time for me depends on how the writing is going. If it’s one of those 500 word nights, I’ll turn in around 2:00 a.m., if it’s a 1200+ night, I’ll keep writing until I hit a snag. The latest I’ve gone to bed is 6:00 a.m.

Then I’ll slip into bed and dream of being a famous novelist, wake up and do it all again. Ah, the exciting life of a novelist…

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Thank you so much Maria for stopping by and sharing what a typical day is like for you!

In honor of today’s visit, Maria is offering up a SIGNED copy of INSIDE to one lucky person!

This is open to EVERYONE!

All you have to do to enter is fill out the Rafflecopter form.

a Rafflecopter giveaway