An award-winning poet and bestselling author with a Ph.D. in literature and creative writing, Marisa de los Santos lives in Wilmington, Delaware, with her husband and children. She's the author of the bestseller Love Walked In.

The child of a general surgeon hailing from Cebu City, Philippines and a nurse hailing from Westminster, Maryland, Marisa de los Santos grew up in Baltimore and Northern Virginia. She was a happy if somewhat neurotic kid, and had a little sister, Kristina, whom she both antagonized and adored, usually at the same time.

Enamored of Louisa May Alcott, Helen Keller, Joan of Arc, and Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross, Marisa read while skating, turning cartwheels, descending stairs, and/or bathing, sometimes with disastrous results.                           photo credit: Luigi Ciufetelli

Marisa found early success with the publication of her poetry collection, From The Bones Out. However, her son Charles soon arrived. Along with being handsome and brilliant, Charles screamed more than any baby on the planet. Three years later, Charles’s sister Annabel, also lovely and brilliant, also a maniac, made the scene. Their caterwauling, combined with Marisa’s distractingly large love for them, made mustering the concentration necessary for writing poetry difficult, so she produced less and less. That’s her story, anyway. (When in doubt, blame the kids.)

Around this time, Marisa started hearing a voice in her head. While this was initially a little weird, the voice turned out to belong to a fictional character, Cornelia Brown. Cornelia kept talking until Marisa was compelled to write Love Walked In.

Charles and Annabel turned out to be great kids.

   photo credit: David Teague