Maria Alexander
Maria Alexander | |
---|---|
Occupation | Author |
Language | English |
Nationality | American |
Genre | dark fantasy, horror, thriller, young adult, poetry |
Years active | 1989–present |
Notable works | Mr. Wicker, Snowed |
Notable awards | Bram Stoker Award (2014) Bram Stoker Award (2016) |
Website | |
mariaalexander |
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]
Background and early career
[edit]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]
Film and Fiction
[edit]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]
Personal life
[edit]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]
Nominations and awards
[edit]Year | Nominated Work | Category | Result | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|
2017 | Snowed | Anthony Award for Best Children's/YA Novel | Nominated | [16] |
2016 | Snowed | Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a Young Adult Novel | Won | [15] |
2014 | Mr. Wicker | Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a First Novel | Won | [14] |
2012 | "Mrs. Winchester" | Shriekfest Best Horror Feature Screenplay | Finalist | [24] |
2011 | At Louche Ends | Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a Poetry Collection | Nominated | [9] |
2004 | "The Rage of Her Return" | AOL Time-Warner "Time to Rhyme" poetry contest | Won | [25] |
2003 | "King of Shadows" | Moondance International Film Festival Selection, Short Story | Finalist | [10] |
1999 | "Mr. Wicker" | Don and Gee Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting | Quarterfinalist | [8] |
1999 | "Mrs. Winchester" | Austin Film Festival Drama Screenplay Award | Quarterfinalist | [7] |
1998 | "Carpe Noctem" | Austin Film Festival Drama Screenplay Award | Quarterfinalist | [7] |
Bibliography
[edit]Novels
[edit]- Mr. Wicker (2014)
- Snowed (2016)
- Snowbound (2018)
- Snowblind (2020)
Collections and Anthologies
[edit]- 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)
Short fiction
[edit]- "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)
Nonfiction
[edit]- "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)
References
[edit]- ^ "Profile: Maria Alexander". Ladies of Horror Fiction. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
- ^ a b "The Qwillery: Interview with Maria Alexander, author of Mr. Wicker". The Qwillery. September 19, 2014. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
- ^ Alexander, Maria (April 2, 2015). "Did Bullying Kill Lynda Burrill?". Goodreads. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
- ^ Stue (October 28, 2005). "An Interview with Oracle Vaserius". Virtual Planet News Inc. Archived from the original on May 19, 2006. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
- ^ Campbell, Adam Charles (October 15, 2014). "Podcast Ep. 6: From Novella to Screenplay to Novel – Adapting MR. WICKER, with Maria Alexander". Anywhere But Hollywood. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
- ^ Edelman, Scott (May 26, 2016). "Have a serendipitous dinner with Maria Alexander in Episode 9 of Eating the Fantastic". scottedelman.com. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
- ^ a b c d "Screenwriting Bibliography of Maria Alexander". mariaalexander.net. Archived from the original on August 20, 2010. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
- ^ a b "1999 Nicholl Quarterfinalists". Oscars.org. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on October 1, 2001. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
- ^ a b "Award Bibliography: Maria Alexander". Internet Speculative Fiction Database. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
- ^ a b "Moondance – Contest Finalists". Moondance International Film Festival. Archived from the original on June 8, 2003. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
- ^ a b "Nonfiction". mariaalexander.net. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
- ^ Surrette, Gail (April 28, 2005). "The Anthology at the End of the Universe: Leading Science Fiction Authors on Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy". SFRevu. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
- ^ Alexander, Maria (September 17, 2017). "George R. R. Martin: The Man Who Put Horror in Every Home". mariaalexander.net. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
- ^ a b "Bram Stoker Award® Winners". Horror Writers Association. May 10, 2015. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
- ^ a b "2016 Bram Stoker Award® Winners Announced". Horror Writers Association. April 30, 2017. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
- ^ a b "Anthony Award Nominees". Bouchercon 2017. Archived from the original on June 10, 2017. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
- ^ Alexander, Maria (January 18, 2018). "SNOWBOUND: The SNOWED Sequel Being Released September 8, 2018". mariaalexander.net. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
- ^ "Maria Alexander". The BookFest. April 19, 2020. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
- ^ Bogran, J. H. (September 30, 2014). "Mr. Wicker by Maria Alexander". The Big Thrill, Magazine of the International Thriller Writers. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
- ^ Alexander, Maria (June 14, 2013). "Why I Hate (Most) Photos and Drawings of Women with Swords". mariaalexander.net. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
- ^ Alexander, Maria (October 2, 2014). "Four of the Dumbest Things Done with Swords in Film and Fiction". SF Signal. Archived from the original on October 25, 2014. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ Bodine, Angela. "Maria Alexander – Interview". Blood Bound Books. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
- ^ Wytovich, Stephanie M. (November 21, 2016). "Getting Snowed in at the Madhouse with Maria Alexander". Join Me in the Madhouse. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
- ^ "2012 Finalists". Shriekfest 2012 International Horror, Thriller, Sci-Fi and Fantasy Film Festival and Screenplay Competition. Archived from the original on September 13, 2012. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
- ^ Kosarich, Chris (June 2004). "Horror Writers Association Newsletter". Horror Writers Association. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
External links
[edit]- Living people
- American fiction writers
- 21st-century American women writers
- American women novelists
- 21st-century American novelists
- American women short story writers
- 21st-century American short story writers
- Urban fantasy writers
- Writers of Gothic fiction
- American women science fiction and fantasy writers
- American horror novelists
- American fantasy writers
- American mystery novelists
- American thriller writers
- American women writers of young adult literature
- American young adult novelists
- American women poets