MarÃa Luisa Retana was born in Cuba. She received her B.A. in Spanish and Comparative Literature from the University of California, Riverside. She has worked extensively with children of all ages in scholastic and cultural events as well as in theater. Mrs. Retana lives with her husband, Guillermo, in Bisbee, AZ. She is the proud mother of three marvelous children: Ismael, Talia Alina and Ludim. On November 3rd, 2008,  Ariel Cruz Retana, her first grandchild was born. Also on May 3rd, 2010 a second grandchild, Magnolia Lyric Simone Retana, arrived at the Retana’s family. They are the Retana’s  pride and joy. Mrs. Retana is the author of eight published bilingual children’s books, Mrs. Retana is a literary presenter for students, teachers, librarians, and parents. She enjoys doing school visits along with one of her illustrators, Pat Pollock Rhoads. She believes that a book is a passport to any place or any period in time.
Mrs. Retana has been influenced by the classic writers as well as those writers responsible for the rich French, Russian, Italian, German, English, Spanish and Latin American Literature. However, there is a writer that fired her passion for writing. This writer is the English crime writer Agatha Christie. She made a powerful impact in Mrs. Retana’s teen years. Mrs. Retana hopes someday to write under the category “mystery” for young adults. She will dedicate the first book under the already mentioned category to Agatha Christie. In Mrs. Retana’s traveling research trips, when visiting London, she visited The Madame Tussauds (London Wax Museum) and found Agatha Christie. Proudly and respectfully she took this picture with her.
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A note from Maria:
I have been asked many times about the open endings of my stories. An open ending to a story gives the reader the opportunity to make up his or her own ending. I firmly believe that my study of those classic writers responsible for much of the French, Russian, Italian, German, and English literature influenced my writing style. For example, the French writer Gustave Flaubert is one of several writers that crafted stories with open endings. In both Madame Bovary (1857) and The Sentimental Education (1869), Flaubert gives the final words to a character who speaks in simplistic banalities. This leaves the reader with no concluding authorial overview which might create a surer sense of resolution. This is an example of a story in which what will happen after the story has ended is left unresolved, allowing for future changes or revisions. The result is known as an open ending.
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