Magic Study

　　You know your life is bad when you miss your days as a poison taster . . . With her greatest enemy dead, and on her way to be reunited with the family she'd been stolen from long ago, Yelena should be pleased. But though she has gained her freedom, she can't help feeling isolated in Sitia. Her Ixian background has changed her in many ways -- and her newfound friends and relatives don't think it's for the better . . .

　　Despite the turmoil, she's eager to start her magic training -- especially as she's been given one year to harness her power or be put to death. But her plans take a radical turn when she becomes involved with a plot to reclaim Ixia's throne for a lost prince -- and gets entangled in powerful rivalries with her fellow magicians.

　　If that wasn't bad enough, it appears her brother would love to see her dead. Luckily, Yelena has some old friends to help her with all her new enemies . . .

　　Maria V. Snyder has been writing fiction and nonfiction since 1995. She has published numerous freelance articles in magazines and newspapers. Poison Study (LUNA Books, 10/05) was her first published novel. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Maria earned a bachelor of science degree in meteorology at Penn State University. She discovered, much to her chagrin, that forecasting the weather wasn't one of her skills.

　　Her research on food-tasting methods with an expert chocolate taster, her husband, turned out to be a delicious bonus while writing her novels. Maria has a brown belt in Isshinryu karate, and enjoys playing volleyball and the cello.

Maria lives with her husband, son, daughter and yellow lab in Pennsylvania.