Maite Irene Merino is a poster child for every untrained writer at heart who just never gave up on their dream.

   

A graduate and recipient of a University of Miami School of Continuing Education Certificate of Paralegal Studies (a long, long time ago).  Some will say that Maite grew up surrounded for decades by curtains of law books and legal precedent.  Traditionally trained as a Legal Assistant from “skirts and panty hose days”, she flourished in her chosen career with an impressive resume to date.

  

The child of immigrant Cubans back in the 60’s, an only child to older parents — life destined her as a born dreamer and molded her into the resilient go getter she is in present life.

  

As a child, her parents noticed her aptitude to learning music by ear on a toy piano.  They would then make the sacrifice of saving enough money to buy her a piano when she was eight and pay for lessons. Her life was filled with the likes of Beethoven, Chopin, Gershwin… and Harlequin Romances?  Graduating high school at the early age of 15, her life consisted of her music and the six romance novels she would receive as a monthly subscriber.  This is all her parents were able to afford.  She would swallow those novels in about 3 days and save every other penny to buy as many other ones she could to fill the time till the next shipment came.  Hundreds of romance novels for a series of years were Maite’s companions and sitters. 

  

By her early 20’s, now married and a parent, she knew that writing a book was a certainty in her future. Some day… Her first writing vehicle was a traditional IBM Selectric II typewriter, followed by a dial-up ‘prodigy’ computer purchased by her parents on her 24th birthday. 

Dozens upon dozens of writing projects begun and put aside for other important life circumstances such as marriage and parenthood made the dream more of a dream than a prospect.

   

It would take decades of marriage and a sudden change in life to jump start a writing career which had basically become a distant possibility.  Back, front and center, was the dream and ambition resulting in the masterpiece/love child you are hopefully holding in your hands as you read this humble biography.

   

Her lack of writing accomplishments are masqued and overcompensated by her over-enthusiastic personality, love and respect for what she feels she has mastered and is now able to flaunt — checked off her bucket list.

    

On a personal level, she is a typical middle-aged 25 year old, scattered, friendly and waiting for butterflies again.