About
Maria E. Romana officially embarked on her writing career back in the early 1970's when, in the third grade, a thoughtful teacher sent home a note on the back of Maria's report card suggesting that she should pursue a career in fiction, because her imaginative stories and skill in expressing them made it the only logical choice. It is difficult to say whether the teacher was speaking sincerely or was merely impressed with Maria's ability to colorfully explain unusual discoveries, such as the harboring of a "perfect" snowball in Maria's lunch box. Nevertheless, Maria took the teacher's words to heart and kept the dream alive, even while pursuing a B.S. in mathematics and an MBA, which led to twenty years of writing as a research statistician in academia, medicine, and consumer marketing--not exactly what her teacher had in mind perhaps, but often every bit as imaginative.
Finally, at the age of 40, Maria resumed her aspirations of being a fiction author and produced her first novel, "Little Miss Straight Lace". The book is a complex tale of mystery and romance set in the Research Triangle Park region of North Carolina, where much of Maria's time as a research statistician was spent. The story is loosely based on some of her experiences working in pharmaceutical research there. She is currently working on her second book, also set in North Carolina, and also featuring a brilliant female scientist.
Maria currently resides just outside the RTP area with her husband and two children. She enjoys hearing from readers and is always happy to take questions or comments through her website, http://suspense-Books.com.
Involution-An Odyssey Reconciling Science to God
Description
<p>“<em>We are not human beings having a spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings having a human experience.”(</em>Teilhard de Chardin<em>)</em></p><p><span style="line-height:1.6em;"><em>Involution-An Odyssey Reconciling Science to God </em> is as layered as a French cassoulet, as diverting, satisfying and as rich. Each reader will spoon this book differently. On the surface it seems to be a simple and light-hearted poetic journey through the history of Western thought, dominantly scientific, but enriched with painting and music. Beneath that surface is the sauce of a new evolutionary idea, involution; the informing of all matter by consciousness, encoded and communicating throughout the natural world. A book about the cathedral of consciousness could have used any language to paint it, but science is perhaps most in need of new vision, and its chronology is already familiar.</span></p><p><span style="line-height:1.6em;">The author offers a bold alternative vision of both science and creation: she suggests that science has been incrementally the recovery of memory, the memory of evolution/involution</span><em style="line-height:1.6em;">.</em></p><p>“<em> Involution proposes that humans carry within them the history of the universe, which is (re)discovered by the individual genius when the time is ripe. All is stored within our DNA and awaits revelation. Such piecemeal revelations set our finite lives in an eternal chain of co-creation and these new leaps of discovery are compared to mystical experience</em>” (From a reviewer)</p><p>Each unique contributor served the collective and universal return to holism and unity. Thus the geniuses of the scientific journey, like the spiritual visionaries alongside, have threaded the rosary of science with the beads of inspiration, and through them returned Man to his spiritual nature and origin.</p><p><span style="line-height:1.6em;">The separation between experience and the rational intellect of science has, by modelling memory as theory, separated its understanding from the consciousness of all, and perceives mind and matter as separate, God and Man as distinct. This work is a dance towards their re-unification: Saints and scientists break the same bread.</span></p><p><span style="line-height:1.6em;">All of time and all the disciplines of science are needed for the evidence. Through swift (and sometimes sparring) Cantos of dialogue between Reason and Soul, Philippa Rees takes the reader on a monumental journey through the history of everything – with the evolution of man as one side of the coin and involution the other. The poetic narrative is augmented by learned and extensive footnotes offering background knowledge which in themselves are fascinating. In effect there are two books, offering a right and left brain approach. The twin spirals of a DNA shaped book intertwine external and internal and find, between them, one journey, Man’s recovery of Himself., and (hopefully) the Creation’s recovery of a nobler Man.</span></p><p><span style="line-height:1.6em;">From the same review “</span><em style="line-height:1.6em;">The reader who finishes the book will not be the same as the one who began it. New ideas will expand the mind but more profoundly, the deep, moving power of the verse will affect the heart.</em></p><p><em>(Marianne Rankin: Director of Communications, Alister Hardy Trust)</em></p><p> </p>
Story Behind The Book
I originally came up with the idea for "Little Miss Straight Lace" while stirring spaghetti sauce on my kitchen stove (actually a rarity for me, as, like LMSL's protagonist, I am useless in the kitchen). What I find funny in retrospect is that the final story turned out to be nothing like that original idea, but apparently, cooking a bad meal is the secret to creativity for this author.
Reviews
<strong>*** 2010 Readers Favorite Gold Medal for Romantic Suspense Fiction ***<br /></strong><span style="font-style:italic;"><br /></span><em>“Romana’s characters are portrayed with skill, each is a
credible person filled with foibles, warts and gaffes…the various twists
and turns are handled with skill, are easily followed, and add depth
and dimension often lacking in works provided by newer writers…Maria
Romana’s Little Miss Straight Lace is a fast paced, keep ‘em guessing
and turning the page type read sure to intrigue readers who enjoy good
writing, a bit of romance, a lot of action, and a downright good read.”</em><br />—Molly Martin, Midwest Book Review<p><em>“…a great beach read…all the ingredients for a story that’s hard to put down…”</em><br />
—Author A.J. Braithwaite, Inside Hawley Lodge</p><p></p><p></p>
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