Mary Marks is an accomplished American author, best known for her cozy mystery novels. She first discovered her love for writing after retiring from her administrative job at UCLA, where she had spent many years. Initially, Mary began writing about her quilts, which she had been creating as an award-winning quilter since her retirement. However, her passion for reading mysteries led her to try her hand at writing them, and she never looked back.
Mary's writing is heavily influenced by her own life experiences. She has created a popular series of quilting mysteries, some of which are based on her own life. Her protagonist, Martha Rose, is a divorced, overweight Jewish quilter of a certain age who lives in the San Fernando Valley. Martha Rose is a smart but impulsive character, who is aided by her best friends Lucy and Birdie and a cast of quirky characters.
Mary was born in Los Angeles and grew up in both L.A. and the San Francisco Bay Area. She earned a BA in Anthropology from UCLA and later went on to earn an MA in Public Administration and Management from the American Jewish University in L.A. Before her writing career took off, Mary held administrative positions at UCLA, but a physical condition forced her into early retirement. She moved to Israel for a year and returned to L.A. to start her adventures in quilting and murder.
In addition to her writing, Mary is also a reviewer of cozy mysteries for the New York Journal of Books online. She is an unrepentant Hidden Object game player and Sudoku addict, which is evident in her writing style. Mary is currently living on the California coast with her husband, Tim Palmer, and her orange cat Louie.