Now that the Council have found out about Opal's ability to steal other magician's powers they immediately see her as a threat. Readers are welcome to check out her website for book excerpts, free short stories, maps, blog, and her schedule at.

Where else can you take fencing lessons, learn how to ride a horse, study marital arts, learn how to pick a lock, take glass blowing classes and attend Astronomy Camp and call it research? Maria will be the first one to tell you it's not working as a meteorologist. When she's not writing she's either playing volleyball, traveling, or taking pictures. Note: She mentions her cat before her family. Maria also has a husband and two children who are an inspiration for her writing when they aren't being a distraction. She loves dogs, but is allergic, instead she has a big black tom cat named…Kitty (apparently naming cats isn’t in her skill set either). She’s been on the New York Times bestseller list, won a dozen awards, and has earned her Masters of Arts degree in Writing from Seton Hill University, where she is now a faculty member.

Over twenty novels and numerous short stories later, Maria’s learned a thing or three about writing. Bored at work and needing a creative outlet, she started writing fantasy and science fiction stories. Much to her chagrin, forecasting the weather wasn’t in her skill set so she spent a number of years as an environmental meteorologist, which is not exciting.at all. Snyder was younger, she aspired to be a storm chaser in the American Midwest so she attended Pennsylvania State University and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Meteorology.

Sea Glass by Maria V. Snyder