Could you tell us a little bit about yourself?

I'm a chemical engineer by education and license, but reading has been my favorite thing for as long as I can remember.  It was only natural that I would want to tell my own stories.  In 2003, my first novel Artifacts, a mystery about an archaeologist named Faye Longchamp, was published and I've been a full-time writer ever since.  I just turned in the seventh installment in that awardwinning series, Plunder.  Because I'm seen as a mystery author, but writers don't always write just one thing, I had a thriller and a bunch of previously published short stories in my hip pocket when the recent revolution in publishing began.  I started Joyeuse Press and published them myself.  I'm particularly thrilled to see Wounded Earth in print, because its characters are among my favorites.

Describe your book ‘Wounded Earth’ in 30 words or less.

Larabeth McLeod has beauty, money, success, and old secrets.  When Babykiller begins stalking her, she fights back, until he exposes her most tender secret--the daughter she's never met. Larabeth is a normal woman, up against a babykiller. But maybe Babykiller should have picked someone else for his twisted games...

What was the hardest part of writing your book?

I wrote Wounded Earth when I was on bedrest while pregnant with my third child.  Sometimes the hardest thing was seeing my laptop screen, because my belly was in the way!

What books have had the greatest influence on you?

My archaeological mysteries are most influenced by Tony Hillerman, James Michener (particularly The Source) and Edmund Rutherford (particularly Sarum and London) for subject matter, and by James Lee Burke, P.D. James, and William Faulkner for style.  Wounded Earth is actually more influenced by Hitchcock's movies, particularly The Man Who Knew Too Much, in which an ordinary person matches wits with a brilliant and utterly unscrupulous villain over the very highest of stakes.  In the case of Larabeth McLeod, the stakes are the environment, the safety of innocent bystanders and, most personal of all, the life of her daughter.

Briefly share with us what you do to market your book?

I try to maintain an online presence in the form of a website, a personal blog on my website, a group blog at The LadyKillers, a facebook page, and participation in various online communities.  I advertise on various websites, I tweet, and I do guest blogs.  I also do behind-the-scenes work, like hiring a professional to do the cover and layout for Wounded Earth and networking with other writers.  It's an ongoing process.  Here are the pertinent links:

http://www.maryannaevans.com/

http://maryannaevans.blogspot.com/

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=527135843

http://twitter.com/#!/maryannaevans

http://theladykillers.typepad.com/the_lady_killers/

How do you spend your time when you are not writing?

I spend time with my boyfriend and my children and my grandchildren.  I'm a serious amateur musician, so I spend a good bit of time with my piano.  I love to garden, focusing mostly on vegetables, roses, and native plants.  North Florida is just so beautiful, so I like to spend time hiking and canoeing.  And, of course, I read!

What are you working on next?

I have two books on editors' desks right now, waiting for final comments.  One is the seventh Faye Longchamp archaeological mystery, Plunder, which will be out in January.  The other is a book for the educational market called Mathematical Literacy in the Middle and Secondary Grades, which will be out in spring 2012.  Until both those books are in final form, I won't be starting another mystery, because that art form requires my full attention.  In the meantime, I'm compiling a full-length collection of my short work and I'm writing a how-to-write book called Your Novel in A Year...Or Less, both of which will be out in the autumn of 2011.

If you're interested in keeping up with what's going on with my work, as well as getting a chance to win any of my contests, sign up for my e-newsletter: http://www.maryannaevans.com/Contests-E-newsletter.php  This is an important way I keep in touch with my readers.