Paradise

I'm Karen Anne Coccioli I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t writing. I believe the stutter I experienced as a child had a lot to do with all the words building up in my head for future stories that weren’t ready to make their debut. By age five, I’d decorated the pages of my mother’s Italian cookbooks with short verses and vignettes while the women in the family prepared the meals. When I was old enough to climb the steep stairs into the attic of the colonial house I grew up in, I’d sit cross-legged in front of the fanlight window and compose poems about the mysteries of the night—the moon, stars, and unseen planets. I still love all things mystical, magical, sensual, and dark. My most inspired moments are those spent in exploring humanity’s dark desires and divining how to reach the light. My love of writing and books coupled with my identity as an androgenous gay woman manifested an aspiration to delve into academic studies that married my innate passions. I hold a Ph.D. in comparative literature, within the context of women’s meditations regarding gender identity, sexuality, and madness. In my spare time, I meditate, cook, take long walks with my two mixed-breed labs, read or listen to audiobooks from one of the many gay romance authors I follow.

Maria McCann is an audiobook narrator who graduated from the UCLA School of Theater, Film & Television. She has appeared in over forty films and television shows, including Lucifer, Shameless, and Grey’s Anatomy, and works as an acting coach. A Los Angeles native who is proud of her Mexican heritage, she is a busy wife and mother who serves on the board of directors for Colorado’s Wild Animal Sanctuary.