Location: United States
Member Since: Nov. 28, 2009
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Maria Romana


Biography

Maria Romana has 20+ years experience in medical and social research, and has published numerous articles in those fields. She has also written one medical mystery novel and is working on two non-fiction health-related books and another novel. She holds bachelor's and master's degrees from UNC-Chapel Hill and The College of William & Mary. She currently resides in the Research Triangle region of North Carolina with her husband and two children and enjoys hearing from readers at her website, MariaRomana.com.

Where to find Maria Romana online

Website: http://suspense-books.com/
Twitter: writerromana
Wattpad: meromana
Blog: http://mariaromana.com

Where to buy in print

https://www.createspace.com/3489928

Books

Little Miss Straight Lace    by Maria Romana
Price: $3.79 USD. 179350 words. Published on July 3, 2010. Fiction.
0.75 star(4.67 from 6 reviews)
*** 2010 Readers Favorite Gold Medal Winner *** When a dedicated researcher learns too much about her client's latest project, the horrors from her past seem destined to return. As her life spins out of control, a dashing security expert from South America offers to help. But is his sudden arrival really the happy coincidence it seems? Find out in this complex tale of romance and suspense.

Maria Romana’s tag cloud

abortion drug    award winner    date rape    hispanic    latino    multicultural    murder mystery    mystery    religious cults    romance    romantic suspense    sabotage    sexual assault    suspense    womens fiction   

Maria Romana's favorite authors on Smashwords


Smashwords book reviews by Maria Romana

  • Healing Touch on July 06, 2010
    star star star star
    Healing Touch is a light, quick read at 23,000 words. It is a sweet romance dealing with the heroine’s inner conflict about her own lovability and her fear of being the subject of gossip and derision in a small town. The book moves along at a nice clip, without getting bogged down in backstory before pulling the reader into the current action. Told in the first person, the tale clearly presents the heroine’s point of view, but fails to do the same for the hero. I found myself not entirely convinced that the relationship would endure, as I wondered, just as the heroine did, exactly what she and the good doctor had in common. I was also a bit frustrated with the lack of final editing, which left a number of minor typos in the text and a bout or two of rapid summarizing, which should have been expanded into full scenes. Those particular flaws notwithstanding, however, the book’s ending still left me smiling and glad to have invested the time. (Also posted this review on my website with a link back here.)
  • Color Me Grey: Book One of the Alexis Stanton Chronicles on July 28, 2010
    star star star
    J.C. Phelps’ "Color Me Grey" is the first of a three-book series about Alexis Stanton, a spoiled rich girl who decides to trade in her easy life as a data processor living off Mom & Dad for one of action and adventure, by embarking on a new career with a mysterious company where everyone is code-named a color–Mr. Black, Mr. White, Mr. Red. Alexis, code-named Ms. Grey, is the first woman to join this team of highly trained professionals and quickly shows up the men with her skill, daring, and never-quit attitude. Much of the book is devoted to the details of Alexis’ training as a fighter, scuba-diver, and survivalist, and only becomes a true action/adventure novel near the end when she joins the team on a rescue mission that hits close to home. The novel is strongly pro-female in that Alexis is continually shown as being at least as capable, if not more so, than her male colleagues, which for me, was a bit unbelievable. That a petite woman could take down a trained male opponent twice her size, while intoxicated no less, was one of several points I had to take on faith, but for younger female readers, Alexis will be inspirational. The book also includes hints of romance, but in this volume at least, nothing that comes to fruition. Color Me Grey is written in the first-person, past tense point-of-view, and at times, a bit stream of consciousness. I’ve said before I’m not a huge fan of first-person POV, but it does lend a youthful, up-to-the-minute air to this novel. The writing itself would benefit from some additional editing, as it suffers from occasional bouts of over-explaining, a few spelling errors, and some misused phrases. I would also prescribe a healthy dose of commas for the longer sentences. Editing issues aside, however, if one enjoys adventure novels where the focus is more on action and less on character and relationship development, Color Me Grey will be just what the doctor ordered.
  • Rogue Wave on Sep. 30, 2010
    star star star star
    Maureen Miller’s Rogue Wave is a romantic suspense that takes place against the lush, exotic backdrop of the Hawaiian Islands. Ms. Miller’s style reflects that beautiful background, bringing an almost lyrical feel to the narrative, despite the harsher realities of the storyline, which includes conflict between modern beachfront developers and conservationists, along with some present-day pirating. Ms. Miller presents her setting with a deft hand, describing scenery pithily, yet poetically: “Beyond Aloha Tower, the ocean was turning dusky rose under a violet twilight. The lights of the marketplace flickered on, and further beyond, a freighter moored at Sand Island became an illuminated hulk on the dark horizon.” With characters, she is equally clever, breathing life into not only the traditional good-looking, intelligent hero and heroine, but also the quirky side-kicks and troublesome family members. The central conflict in Rogue Wave is a series of unexplained mini tidal waves that are threatening the coast of Hawaii. As the story unfolded, I was intrigued by the underlying mystery, and would have liked more of that. It seemed that the focus was more on the relationship between the hero and heroine and less on the bad guys’ shenanigans, which I wanted to know more about. In other words, the plot was more like that of a traditional romance than I personally would have liked, but for traditional romance fans, it would be spot-on. From a technical standpoint, the story was well done, with no clunky transitions or shoddy plot holes, and no more than one or two typos. My one complaint was the frequency of point-of-view switches in the scenes between the hero and heroine. While I am a huge fan of multi-character POV, I prefer to spend more than a couple paragraphs at a time in any one character’s head, else I begin to suffer the onset of multiple personality disorder. That little detail aside, if you are in the market for an elegantly written romance mixed with an intriguing mystery, Maureen Miller’s Rogue Wave will not disappoint.
  • The Kissing Room on Oct. 01, 2010
    star star star star
    "The Kissing Room" is not your typical cheery romance for a Sunday afternoon. Rather, it’s a dark, disturbing story that threatens to repel the reader with its brutal honesty, while simultaneously compelling him to read on, anxious for resolution. This fast-paced story is hardly a chronological one, beginning in the middle of the action, and then alternating between what happens next and what happened before. The story fluctuates between gentle, romantic, or bittersweet moments and truly ugly, stomach-churning scenes of violence and despair. Even the nastiest situations, however, are not described graphically or in lengthy detail, though neither are they for the faint of heart. "The Kissing Room" is told in the engaging, first person voice of Merle, a woman whose short life has already seen too much tragedy, making her wizened and weary beyond her years. While the reader may not agree with her choices or even understand her reasons for making them, it is impossible not to sympathize with this character and want to see her prevail. The character of Lain was less clear to me, and I wasn’t always sure I liked him, but that wasn't important; I was rooting for Merle, and if he made her happy, that was good enough for me. The Irish pub setting of the story is unique and authentic, with both the language and the details bringing it to life. I could always see and feel the story happening as though I was a participant, rather than some disconnected voyeur. The only time I felt thrown out of the story was when the point-of-view suddenly changed from Merle's to Lain's for a brief passage near the end. I understand why the author did this, but for me, it broke the spell. Fortunately, I was so caught up in wanting to know what would happen, I just ignored it and went on. Clearly, "The Kissing Room" is not what you'd call a “beach read” with its violence and macabre themes, but that doesn't mean you won't enjoy it. I read the book nearly straight through, and only stopped because of an unavoidable interruption. I was annoyed to have to pause the action going on in my head, and went back to it as soon as I could—I just _had_ to see how it would end. When it is all said and done, Cheryl Anne Gardner’s "The Kissing Room" is a deeply touching love story; you just won’t know it til it’s over.