About the AuthorJust like Gillian Matthews, the heroine in her debut romance novel, THE REUNION, Marina Martindale began her career as a graphic designer and artist, and several of her paintings have been featured in juried art shows. Over time, however, she discovered that writing was her true life's passion. "I love creating conflicted characters," says Martindale. "I think they're more like the people we meet in real life. I also like the complexity of romance. It's an opportunity to delve deep into the human condition and try to understand what it is that motivates us to make the choices in life that we make."Martindale draws her inspiration from her own real life experiences, as well as those of the people around her. The stories, however, are fiction."The path to true love is never an easy one," adds Martindale. "Some are haunted by people from their past. Others have been deceived or betrayed by the people they trusted the most. All of us make bad choices, even if we don't realize it at the time. My stories are about the unintended consequences of those bad choices, how the characters resolve them, and how they grow and become better people as a result."Marina Martindale resides in Tucson, Arizona. In her spare time she enjoys traveling, photography, quilt making, and cooking.