Maria V. Snyder was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She earned a Bachelor's of Science degree in Meteorology at Pennsylvania State University in 1988, before deciding to become a novelist in 1995. Snyder graduated with a Master's degree in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University in 2007. The first two books in Snyder's popular fantasy/romance Study series, Poison Study and Magic Study, were Booksense picks in 2005 and 2006, respectively. Poison Study received a starred review in Publishers Weekly, and Magic Study was a RITA Award finalist. Snyder has also written science fiction short stories and freelance magazine and newspaper articles, in addition to teaching… fiction writing classes at a local college. Her book Spy Glass was published in 2010 and landed on the New York Times bestseller list.