Maria Elena Alonso-Sierra

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A.F.
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Maria Elena Alonso-Sierra

Goodreads Author


Born
Havanna, Cuba
Website

Twitter

Genre

Influences
Myths, music, dance, literature, travel, history

Member Since
May 2013


I'm María Elena Alonso-Sierra, and I write award-winning stories shaped by place, secrets, and the quiet moments when everything changes. My novels are born from a life lived across borders—an international upbringing, years spent traveling and living abroad, and a deep love for the cities, streets, and hidden corners where stories like to linger.
My international suspense novels, The Coin and The Book of Hours, explore paths I know well, being far from home, adding a sense of danger, intrigue, discovery, and unease that finds its way onto every page.
My short literary fiction collection, The Fish Tank: And Other Short Stories, explore a wide range of voices and genres, including deeply personal tales inspired by my experience of exile and th
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Popular Answered Questions

Maria Elena Alonso-Sierra I was awake, yet frozen, my body lax, without will of movement, without stimulus, yet aware. And when the spark reached me, when it embedded itself wi…moreI was awake, yet frozen, my body lax, without will of movement, without stimulus, yet aware. And when the spark reached me, when it embedded itself within the soft folds of my nightgown, I knew my death would be torture--a spontaneous combustion death, where my body would be consumed by a slow burn for many agonizing hours.(less)
Maria Elena Alonso-Sierra How about many? With my mind, I can turn any event in my life into a mystery. Something about plotting all the time.
But, seriously, I have a few momen…more
How about many? With my mind, I can turn any event in my life into a mystery. Something about plotting all the time.
But, seriously, I have a few moments in life where I could even have been the mystery. When I was living in New York (way back when--and this will definitely date me), I used to walk home alone from the subway late at night. There was a moment where the Son of Sam was picking victims in my neighborhood, and I actually fit the victimology (physically speaking). So, I could have been stalked by a serial killer and the plot would involve the detective desperately trying to find the killer before he got me. Hopefully it would be my Detective Nick Larson (the novel about him and his love, Laura Howard, will be coming out sometime September this year).
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Average rating: 4.47 · 326 ratings · 200 reviews · 17 distinct worksSimilar authors
The Coin

4.40 avg rating — 111 ratings — published 2013 — 9 editions
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Hanging Softly in the Night...

4.72 avg rating — 67 ratings — published 2020 — 5 editions
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The Book of Hours (Coin/Hou...

4.44 avg rating — 66 ratings — published 2015 — 5 editions
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Rhapsody in Black: An Elena...

4.44 avg rating — 32 ratings2 editions
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The Fish Tank: And Other Sh...

4.61 avg rating — 28 ratings — published 2016 — 5 editions
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Mirror, Mirror (Detective N...

really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 15 ratings — published 2020
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Rhapsody in Black: An Elena...

4.20 avg rating — 5 ratings2 editions
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Maudite Monnaie (Monnaie / ...

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it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating
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The Coin Duology: (Coin/Hou...

really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1 rating2 editions
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More books by Maria Elena Alonso-Sierra…

MY NEW SWEET ROMANCE IS ON PRE-ORDER NOW!

My newest novel, A Flower from Keanu: A Town of Hidden Glen Novella, is finally here!!! Hurray!!

You can get it now for a whopping $0.99 until publication date, which is on June 12, 2026. Afterward, it will be at the normal price of $5.99.

It is a beautiful story of hope, healing, and love. Click on the link and enjoy!

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Published on May 19, 2026 14:28
The Coin The Book of Hours
(2 books)
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4.41 avg rating — 177 ratings

Hanging Softly in the Night
(1 book)
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4.59 avg rating — 82 ratings

Maria’s Recent Updates

Maria Elena Alonso-Sierra wrote a new blog post

MY NEW SWEET ROMANCE IS ON PRE-ORDER NOW!

My newest novel, A Flower from Keanu: A Town of Hidden Glen Novella, is finally here!!! Hurray!!You can get it now for a whopping $0.99 until publicat Read more of this blog post »
The Coin by Maria Elena Alonso-Sierra
"I am super happy! My detective novel, Hanging Softly in the Night: A Detective Nick Larson Novel has received the 2025 Book Viral Longlisted Millennium Book Award!What an honor! And, to boot, the review given was incredible! Here is a portion of t..." Read more of this blog post »
" Short stories about family, Cuban exile, ghosts...and murder.

https://books.by/maria-elena-writes#t...
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Salvation by Michael Patrick Barber
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Salvation by Michael Patrick Barber
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Quotes by Maria Elena Alonso-Sierra  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“He scanned her face quickly and recognized anger rather than fear.
"Are you insane?" His whisper was rough. "This could be a set up."
"And allow this sack of refuse to violate my home undisturbed?" She pushed at him. "No way."
"Listen." Richard refused to budge. "We are at a slight disadvantage here. I don't have a gun."
"But I have knives. The kitchen is at the end of this room, remember?”
Maria Elena Alonso-Sierra, The Coin

“This is part of my heritage, my identity. Normally, people don't understand, even think it sounds stupid, but it is important to me. We were stripped of so many things.”
Maria Elena Alonso-Sierra, The Coin

“Richard looked at her stubborn jaw, her defiant eyes, and could not decide whether to admire her for her courage or to scoff at her utter lack of common survival sense. "You stick to me..."
"Like flypaper.”
Maria Elena Alonso-Sierra, The Coin

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“I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought; and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.”
G.K. Chesterton

“Fallacies do not cease to be fallacies because they become fashions.”
G.K. Chesterton

“Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live taking the form of a readiness to die.”
G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy

“There's a lot of difference between listening and hearing.”
G.K. Chesterton

“Tolerance is the virtue of the man without convictions.”
G.K. Chesterton

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