Meet Maria R. Dawn

Find Maria at: @maria.raye.writes

Maria R. Dawn is an aspiring author fueled by too much coffee, loud music, and an insatiable love for exploring worlds far from hers. Writing has been her lifelong passion, with dreams of publishing stories taking root when she was young.

She revels in the haunting and heartfelt dichotomy, often blurring the lines between the two. Her debut novel, What Remains of the Sun, delves into themes of loss and rebirth, weaving a tale that questions what it means to live and to die.

When she isn’t writing, you can find Maria on her porch listening to the rain, designing projects and activities for her preschool classroom—or demolishing her family in a game of Mario Kart.

Meet Maria R. Dawn:

Did you want to be anything else besides a writer when you were a kid?

I wanted to be many different things when I was a kid and up through college! The first was a veterinarian, then a police officer, a forensic scientist, and finally a nurse. I ended up as a teacher and, hopefully, an author one day!

What helpful tips would you give a fellow writer having a hard time plotting, developing, etc.?

If you've been going around in circles, take a step back. I know it can be challenging, but rest fuels creativity. Sometimes, taking some time off from your WIP is just what you need to figure out how to continue. Or sometimes, just writing works for me. Don't worry about plotting or finding the right place for it; get what you want out now. Oftentimes, letting your mind flow spawns new plot points, plot hole fixes, ideas, etc.

What would you tell your younger self not to care about?

Oh god, something I still have to tell myself all the time: Don't worry about what other people think. You are who you are, and accepting it and treating yourself with kindness feels so much better than trying to fit a certain mold for everyone in your life.

Indoors or Outdoors? 

Indoor hermit all the way. The sun and I don't get along.

What is the loftiest goal you’d like to reach as a writer?

Successfully publish five books.

My debut trilogy and the separate duology I plan after it are both fantasy, one more sword and shield than the other.

Do you have any words/tropes you won’t write in your genre?

I don't plan on writing any dark romance (I have nothing against the genre; I enjoy a dark romance now and then, but it's not for me as a writer). I will also never write insta-love. I need the burn to be so slow that it pains me, even as the author.

Was there ever a name you wanted to use for a character that didn’t fit their personality, so you had to change it?

The FMC in my current WIP, What Remains of the Sun, went through almost half a dozen name changes before she got a name that stuck. She was Lilah, Leila, Leah, and Lirah before she was Lilith.

I chose it because its meaning, "belonging to the night," fits in with some lore in the world of Eizreth. It also fits because a recurring theme I discovered while writing is identity, and she gets almost as many nicknames out of Lilith, depending on who she's speaking to.

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Do you have a question you'd like to ask Maria? Leave a comment below, and I'll make sure it gets to her!

Want to learn more about Maria?

Visit her today:

• IG: @maria.raye.writes

What would you like to learn from other authors? I'd love to know your questions! More authors are signing up for the Meet an Author Monday series daily.

Are you an author or writer? Would you like to be part of the Meet an Author Spotlight? Let me know, and I'll send you some questions so we can get started.

Looking forward to hearing from you soon!

All the best,

Kara