Welcome to Paper Lantern Writers! What would you like readers to know about you?

I’ve been a writer nearly all my life, professionally for the past thirty years, and have been writing fiction for a little more than a decade. I’m currently rewriting my first novel, making it into a nine-book series, which I intend to start releasing when the first three books are finished.

Can you tell us what you’ve written?

My most recent book, Blind Tribute, is the story of Harry Wentworth—gentleman of distinction, journalist of renown—and the tragic consequences of his centrist stance during the American Civil War. This is a radical departure from my books written as Mariana Gabrielle, several Regency, Regency-adjacent, and Victorian romances.

Did you choose historical fiction or did it choose you?

I was steeped in history from birth, being from an old Southern family, so it was rather chosen for me by whatever power chooses life circumstance. The first family tree I did for school went back to 1066, so I have plenty of material for a writing career

Can you share three books on your night table right now? 

I have hundreds of books on my night table, in my Kindle. As to what I am reading, I am currently alternating between Copy Boy by Shelley Blanton-Stroud and a historical romance by Chastity Bowlin.

What was the inspiration for your most recent book?

The inspiration for Blind Tribute came from the life of my great-great-uncle, P.H. Whaley, a world-renowned journalist decades before journalists became global household names. The main character, Harry, and his business venture, Wentworth and Hoyt Business Service, are based on his life, though moved in time by about seventy-five years.

Do you have another artistic outlet in addition to your writing? Do you sew? Paint? Draw? Knit? Dance? Garden?

I paint and sculpt, both poorly, but I enjoy the process and am learning. I have recently been teaching myself to make buttons from polymer clay, which is remarkably silly, since I don’t sew or knit or do anything else that requires buttons.

Have you always written fiction?

No, I started out as a journalist, then went to marketing, then business writing, then technical sales, which is how I make my living now. I have written poetry since I was a teen but was afraid of fiction until I took a class from a mentor while I was getting my degree in my late 30s.

 

Mari Anne Christie writes second chances for scarred souls. Her characters come to her broken, to be remade, and whether she gives them a happy or not-so-happy ending, they leave her hands at “The End” better people. Mari writes historical fiction and historical romance and is the author of Brainstorm Your Book. Her novel, Blind Tribute, is an award-winning story of an illustrious newsman with divided loyalties during the American Civil War. As Mariana Gabrielle, she has released the Sailing Home Series (and Sailing Home: Second Generation, a free series on Wattpad), about the family of Miss Bella Smithson, who becomes a baroness, then a countess, then a duchess, then a dowager, across forty years.

 

Mari has been a professional writer since before the personal computer, but after the web offset press. She lives in Denver, Colorado with her two cats, and works as a technical writer and editor for an engineering firm. In her spare time, she paints, sculpts, and volunteers for LGBTQ+ causes. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Writing, summa cum laude and With Distinction, from the University of Colorado at Denver, with minors in Creative Writing and Sociology. You can find out more about Mari at her website or on Facebook.