{"id":12996,"date":"2024-01-02T11:49:00","date_gmt":"2024-01-02T16:49:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/regalhousepublishing.com\/?page_id=12996"},"modified":"2025-07-16T08:57:24","modified_gmt":"2025-07-16T12:57:24","slug":"maryka-biaggio","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/regalhousepublishing.com\/maryka-biaggio\/","title":{"rendered":"Maryka Biaggio"},"content":{"rendered":"
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I didn\u2019t begin writing novels until my middle years, and I’ve been writing up a storm since then. Sure, I was one of those youngsters who always wanted to be a writer, but I was reluctant to take the leap. My adventures and intrigues were confined to the books I read\u2014Mark Twain, Daphne DuMaurier, and anything about the early North Pole expeditions. After working a few decades as a Professor of Psychology, I decided the time was right to launch my writing career. In the course of genealogy research, I had uncovered a mystery: My Swiss-Italian grandfather immigrated to New York City in the 1890s but no one in the family knew about his life there. So I made up a story and filled it with corruption, murder, and suspense (though maybe not enough since it still sits lonely on the shelf). But I loved writing it, and I decided historical fiction was the genre for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I wrote a few more novels, pitching and querying agents along the way without much luck. Then I stumbled on the story of May Dugas, a conwoman who the Pinkerton detectives chased all over the globe. I thought her story would make a rip-roaring historical novel. Several agents agreed, and I signed with an agent at the Gernert Company in New York. She sold the novel to Doubleday, and it was published in 2013. Best-selling author Daisy Goodwin called Parlor Games<\/em> \u201ca wildly entertaining and constantly surprising ride,\u201d and I\u2019m quite proud of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since then, I have published three other novels, all with Sunbury Press. Eden Waits<\/em> (2019) is based on the true story of a utopian community founded in Michigan in the 1890s. The adventures of child prodigy author Barbara Follett are the subject of The Point of Vanishing<\/em> (2021). In 2022, The Model Spy<\/em> was released, which recounts the tale of the brave and beautiful Toto Koopman, a model for Coco Chanel and others and a spy for the Italian Resistance and Allies during World War II. In 2026, Regal House will publish my novel Margery and Me<\/em>, and I\u2019m thrilled to be joining the Regal family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So my hard work and perseverance have paid off. Now I’m an award-winning novelist specializing in historical fiction based on actual people. My fiction has won several accolades, including the Willamette Writers Award, an Oregon Writers Colony Award, the Historical Novel Society Review Editors\u2019 Choice, La Belle Lettre Award, the U.P. (Upper Peninsula of Michigan) Notable Books Award, and a Regional Arts and Culture Council grant. I have served on the Board of the Historical Novel Society North America Conference since 2015.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I love unearthing the stories of people overlooked by history and bringing them back to life\u2014portraying their challenges and foibles and rekindling their emotional world. I pride myself on carefully researching the period, place, and people and providing readers with an immersive experience. I’m an avid opera fan and enjoy gardening, art films, and, of course, great fiction. I live in Portland, Oregon. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I didn\u2019t begin writing novels until my middle years, and I’ve been writing up a storm since then. Sure, I was one of those youngsters who always wanted to be a writer, but I was reluctant to take the leap. My adventures and intrigues were confined to the books I read\u2014Mark Twain, Daphne DuMaurier, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12997,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":{"0":"post-12996","1":"page","2":"type-page","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"entry"},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P9DpGh-3nC","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":14296,"url":"https:\/\/regalhousepublishing.com\/author-resources\/","url_meta":{"origin":12996,"position":0},"title":"Author Resources","author":"Jaynie","date":"July 1, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Purdue OWL (Online Writing Lab)\u00a0- Comprehensive writing guides including creative writing sections with character development, plot structure, and narrative techniques.\u00a0https:\/\/owl.purdue.edu\/owl\/index.html# Writer's Digest website\u00a0- Free articles, writing prompts, and craft advice (also offers paid content).\u00a0https:\/\/www.writersdigest.com\/ Helping Writers Become Authors\u00a0by K.M. Weiland - Detailed blog posts on story structure, character arcs, and\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9362,"url":"https:\/\/regalhousepublishing.com\/2022-rhp-summer-scholars\/","url_meta":{"origin":12996,"position":1},"title":"2022 RHP Summer Scholars","author":"Jaynie","date":"April 21, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Savannah Dowdy Savannah is a senior at Appalachian State University, and will be graduating this fall with her BA in English with a concentration in Creative Writing. When she is not reading, Savannah enjoys listening to True Crime podcasts, watching movies, and spending time with her friends and family. Huang\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/regalhousepublishing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/savannah.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/regalhousepublishing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/savannah.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/regalhousepublishing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/savannah.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/regalhousepublishing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/savannah.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/regalhousepublishing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/savannah.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/regalhousepublishing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/savannah.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14281,"url":"https:\/\/regalhousepublishing.com\/2025-rhp-summer-scholars\/","url_meta":{"origin":12996,"position":2},"title":"2025 RHP Summer Scholars","author":"Jaynie","date":"June 26, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Dugan Lentz Hi, I\u2019m Dugan Lentz. I\u2019m a current student at Appalachian State University studying English with a concentration in Creative Writing. For the last two years, I\u2019ve served as the associate prose editor for my school\u2019s literary magazine,\u00a0The Peel. When I\u2019m not at school, you can find me in\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/regalhousepublishing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Dugan-Headshot-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":14599,"url":"https:\/\/regalhousepublishing.com\/thais-miller\/","url_meta":{"origin":12996,"position":3},"title":"Tha\u00efs Miller","author":"Jaynie","date":"February 11, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Tha\u00efs Miller grew up in Los Angeles, surrounded by movie theater marquees. 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Schikora","author":"Jaynie","date":"January 3, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Megan A. Schikora grew up filling notebooks and devouring novels.\u00a0\u00a0She earned a B.A. in English from the University of Michigan and a M.A. in English with a creative writing concentration from Wayne State University.\u00a0\u00a0After working for several years in the mental health field, she became a writing instructor, all the\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"Megan A. 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