Hi, I’m Mara and I write stories about...

My debut novel, Strike A Chord, is the first in The Makers Series, a collection of interconnected novels that explore how women make meaning through art, love, and the people they collide with. This story has been inside me for years, stitched together from memory, imagination, and a heavy helping of nostalgia.

In my 20’s I was a musician and songwriter in New York City, living for musical collaborations, grimy green rooms, and fleeting creative moments. After I lost a close friend from that era, I found myself tumbling back into those luminous years. I wrote Strike A Chord using mostly true stories to honor the people, the music, and a very particular time in New York City.

Now, I’m a writer, therapist, doula, researcher, and educator. I live just outside New Haven with my three children, two cats, two guinea pigs, one loyal dog, and one brilliant and hilarious husband. Our house is full of dance parties and distinctly lacking in organized sports, which feels like the right kind of balance. And even after 30 years, people still tell me I look like “the bad witch from The Craft,” which I choose to take as the highest of compliments.

Thanks for being here.