Marlena R. Smith was born in Atlanta, Georgia, but considers Texas to be her home state. She regularly finds herself travelling across the southern states, and the long road trips provide plenty of opportunity for her to occupy her mind with word and number games.
Marlena attended Flower Mound High School, where she became a member of the cross country running team, and set up an illicit writers’ club. Her prolific writing sometimes got her into trouble, but allowed her to develop her style combining fast paced action with intimate inter-personal relationships.
After graduating from high school, Marlena studied at Mississippi State University for two years until she was forced to give up for health reasons after being diagnosed with depression and schizophrenia. She feels strongly about mental health issues, openly campaigning for people to speak out and not suffer in silence.
Now living back in Texas, she spends her free time writing fiction, watching Japanese anime with her younger brother, and looking after her beloved pet dog, Ashley.
Hobbies: anything to do with Japanese culture, looking after and loving cats and dogs, and dreaming up new ideas for stories.
Favourite movies: The first three Harry Potter movies, Mulan.
Favourite books: The Inkheart series.
Favourite songs: Too many to list, but generally speaking, the weirder the better.
Marlena’s debut novel is called Brothers.
Mightier Than the Sword UK Publications 