Maria Alexander

Maria Elena Alexander is an American writer of horror and dark fantasy stories and poetry, best known for her award-winning novels Mr. Wicker (2014) and Snowed (2016).^[1]

Alexander was born in Hayward, California.^{[citation needed]} She first started writing at the age of eight: she contracted chicken pox and was forced to stay home with nothing to occupy her, so she began to create stories.^[2] She attended Ponderosa High School,^[3] and earned a bachelor's degree in English from California State University, Sacramento.^{[citation needed]}

Alexander's career as a professional storyteller began in 1988, when she co-founded Dead Earth Productions, a horror Live Action Role-Playing company in the San Francisco Bay Area.^[2] She was Dead Earth's Lead Writer from 1989 to 1996.^{[citation needed]}

Alexander entered the world of online game writing in 1994, when she became World Designer and In-World Storyteller for Fujitsu America's WorldsAway project, one of the first graphical virtual worlds. Working under Randy Farmer, she created the history, mythology, and cohesive storyline for the Dreamscape.^[4]

In 1997, Alexander began a film mentorship under Clive Barker and moved to Los Angeles.^[5][6] Her screenplays were subsequently quarterfinalists for the Austin Film Festival in 1998 and 1999,^[7] and the Nicholl Fellowship in 1999.^[7][8]

In 2000, Alexander turned to short stories and poetry. Her work has appeared in Paradox, Chiaroscuro Magazine, Gothic.net, and assorted anthologies, and has been nominated for multiple awards.^[9][10] She has also published numerous nonfiction articles,^[11] including essays on Douglas Adams^[12] and George R.R. Martin.^[13]

In 2014, Alexander's debut novel, Mr. Wicker, won the 2014 Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a First Novel.^[14] Her next book, a young adult novel entitled Snowed, won the 2016 Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a Young Adult Novel^[15] and was nominated for the 2017 Anthony Award for Best Children's/YA Novel.^[16] Snowbound, the sequel to Snowed and the second book in a planned trilogy, was published in September 2018.^[17]

Alexander lives in Los Angeles,^[18] California, where, in addition to writing, she pursues her passion of sword fighting. She has studied Shinkendo, tameshigiri, stage combat, and the European small sword,^[19] and appeared in a special issue of Katsujinken Magazine entitled "Women of the Sword Arts."^[11] She has also written articles criticizing unrealistic portrayals of sword handling in art, fiction, and film, which has led to some controversy.^[20][21]

Alexander's hands have become temporarily disabled at times, but she has been able to continue to write using speech recognition technology.^[22][23]

• Mr. Wicker (2014)
• Snowed (2016)
• Snowbound (2018)
• Snowblind (2020)

• Biting Midnight: A Feast of Darksome Verse (2002)
• Sins of the Sirens (2008)
• At Louche Ends: Poetry for the Decadent, the Damned & the Absinthe-Minded (2011)
• Left Hanging: 9 Tales of Suspense and Thrills (2011)
• By the Pricking: 5 Dark Tales of Passion and Perversion (2013)
• 12 Tales Lie: 1 Tells True (2019)

• "Neighborhood Watchers" (2017)
• "Hey, Little Sister" (2016)
• "Some Divine" (2015)
• "Harvest of Flames" (2014)
• "Revivified" (2012)
• "Nickelback Ned" (2011)
• "Saturnalia" (2011)
• "Though Thy Lips Are Pale" (2009)
• "In Her Mirrors, Dimly" (2008)
• "The Last Word" (2008)
• "Pinned" (2008)
• "This Body of Death" (2005)
• "Veil of Skin" (2005)
• "The Dark River in His Flesh" (2004)
• "Conspiracy of One" (2004)
• "Agnus Dei" (2003)
• "Unholywood" aka "Samantha Blazes: Psychic Detective of LA" (2003)
• "Some Divine" (2002)
• "The King of Shadows" (2001)
• "When Gods Die" (2001)
• "Bacchus Anesti" (2000)
• "Coming Home" (2000)
• "Black Roses and Hail Marys" (2000)

• "The Late, Great Halloween Costume Massacre" (2017)
• "George R.R. Martin: The Man Who Put Horror in Every Home" (2017)
• "The Witches of Winter" (2016)
• "Four of the Dumbest Things Done with Swords in Fiction and Film" (2014)
• "Baby Got Backbone: What Makes Strong Women Kick in Horror Films and TV Shows" (2014)
• "Five Things I Learned Writing Mr. Wicker" (2014)
• "What You See Is Who You Get: POV in Script-To-Book Adaptations" (2014)
• "Why I Hate (Most) Photos and Drawings of Women With Swords" (2013)
• "Me, Masturbation & Clive Barker" (2013)
• "The Greatest Story Ever Interacted With" (2012)
• "10 Reasons You HATE Poetry" (2012)
• "Twilight Merch Update: XXX Edition" (2010)
• "Dogma, Darth Vader and My Sexual Awakening" (2009)
• "Rendezvous and Retail in French BDSM" (2007)
• "Liberte, Egalite, Sexualite — French Philosophy and BDSM Culture" (2007)
• "Susan Pevensie" (2006)
• "Goodnight, Marvin" (2005)
• "Bloody Awful Poetry: Why It's So Easy to Write Bad Love Poetry" (2002)
• "Modern Madness" (1995)
• "The Psyberpsychology of Insanity" (1994)
• "Unscripted Theater: Guidelines for Running Cross-Genre, Live-Action Games, Dead Earth Productions" (1994)
• "Graphology" (1992)

• Official website