Mariana is my favorite alias, rather than my name. It started in a Spanish class in college, but really took hold when I lived in Spain and nobody could pronounce real name. It’s pronounced with a Spanish accent: mahr-EE-ah-na, not mary-ann-ah. The ísima is the superlative; in other words, the “most Mariana.” It’s my reminder to myself be the most and the best that I can be.

I grew up in the SF suburb of Daly City and have since lived in and around my favorite city by the bay. I’ve worked in teaching & in non-profits, and now I’m ramping up my writing efforts so that I may eventually say “I’m a writer,” without any disclaimers and without feeling like a fraud.