Maria is a solicitor as well as a novelist and short story writer.  She studied law at Middlesex University, and qualified as a solicitor in 1996.  She has worked in the fields of family law, criminal law, litigation, probate, and conveyancing.  Maria has always loved creative writing and started work on her first novel in 1997 when she was in between jobs.  'Coincidences' a dramatic work of contemporary fiction, about a young girl looking for her father, was published in 2001.  Maria went on to publish 'A Time to Tell' in December 2006.  'A Time to Tell' is the story of Cara, a grandmother, looking back over her life and having to face up to secrets she has kept from her family, it is also the parallel story of her granddaughter, Penelope, a victim of domestic violence.  The inspiration for the character of Penelope was developed from Maria's experience of working as a family lawyer, dealing mainly with victims of domestic abuse.  As well as writing novels, Maria is a successful writer of short stories.  She won a short story competition run by 'Writers' News' Magazine'.  The winning story 'The Game of Life', can be read on Maria's official website http://www.mariasavva.com Maria is the author of many collections of short stories, and her short stories also appear in the BestsellerBound anthologies as well as the Mind's Eye series of books. Maria has published six novels; her most recent being "The Spider". Maria is also an avid reader and enjoys all types of novels; influences include Paulo Coelho, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Marian Keyes, and Maeve Binchy.