Marlene

Also writes as Zaria.

Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Marlene moved to the United States at the age of eight. Growing up her love for books began her very first summer in the U.S. when her stepmother literally dragged her to the library so that she would not spend her entire summer running the streets. Like a match made in heaven Marlene took to reading like a fish to water.

Growing up some of her favorite authors were Laura Ingalls Wilder, Beverley Cleary and like most other young girls Judy Blume. She felt that growing up in a house with three brothers and no sister she was lucky to find an author like Ms Blume to educate her on the trials and tribulations of being a young girl. Marlene laughingly states that due to having a tight-lipped, strict stepmother, she was happy to have access to such books as Are You There God, Its Me Margaret, Blubber and Forever to keep her informed as she advance into womanhood.

Marlene began writing poetry at the age of eleven and says that from that point on she felt lost if she didnt have a pen and her trusty composition notebook with her at all time.

In 2004 while between jobs she began the task of writing her first book, Life of a Jamaican Girl. Marlene states that she wrote this book to bring some of the island feel to the readers. She rarely sees too many books depicting her home or use of the dialect. Drawing from her memories and experiences of her first eight years she painted a vivid picture of what it was like living in Jamaica, moving to a different country at such a young age and trying to integrate into such a different culture.

To maintain more control of her book, Marlene self-published her second book, Babies Daddies in May 2005. She published her third book Making It On My Own in March 2007 and her fourth book, Island Beauty was released June 2009. She is currently working on her fifth book Sins Of The Daughter. Along with fellow author King Jewel, Marlene opened New World Publishing in December 2006, where she and Jewel plan to help other new writers to accomplish their dreams."