M.M. DeLuca
I have two new books coming out:
THE SAVAGE INSTINCT: is about Mary Ann Cotton who was regarded as one of England’s most infamous and prolific serial murderers, arsenic being her poison of choice. I first became acquainted with her story when I discovered that she was born just around the corner from the street my grandmother lived in, in a place called Lower Moorsley, County Durham. That street was a place I visited many times as a child. In my research I read various accounts of her life, her actual letters from prison and many of the newspaper articles that filled the press all over the country. This case was notable for the media attention it received, and that inspired me to create a story, not necessarily about Mary Ann Cotton’s crimes, though the story does touch on them, but about the impact her arrest and trial had on Victorian society at the time, as well as what it revealed about that society’s attitudes towards women who “strayed from their natural ‘God-given’ roles" and might often be labelled as "insane."
THE SECRET SISTER: Before I became a full-time writer I was an English Lit teacher. During my teaching career I spent eight years working in an inner-city school with kids from marginalized backgrounds. I was in awe of the courage they displayed in getting to school every day, often overcoming almost insurmountable odds to get there. I discovered that education and the love of learning often unlocked doors that had been closed to them and gave them a feeling of self-worth which would often propel them towards success. I was also inspired by research I'd done on the long term effects of chronic grief among children of multiple foster homes—a problem that has been largely ignored in the past, as well as several real criminal cases of those who would take advantage of marginalized children.
THE SAVAGE INSTINCT: is about Mary Ann Cotton who was regarded as one of England’s most infamous and prolific serial murderers, arsenic being her poison of choice. I first became acquainted with her story when I discovered that she was born just around the corner from the street my grandmother lived in, in a place called Lower Moorsley, County Durham. That street was a place I visited many times as a child. In my research I read various accounts of her life, her actual letters from prison and many of the newspaper articles that filled the press all over the country. This case was notable for the media attention it received, and that inspired me to create a story, not necessarily about Mary Ann Cotton’s crimes, though the story does touch on them, but about the impact her arrest and trial had on Victorian society at the time, as well as what it revealed about that society’s attitudes towards women who “strayed from their natural ‘God-given’ roles" and might often be labelled as "insane."
THE SECRET SISTER: Before I became a full-time writer I was an English Lit teacher. During my teaching career I spent eight years working in an inner-city school with kids from marginalized backgrounds. I was in awe of the courage they displayed in getting to school every day, often overcoming almost insurmountable odds to get there. I discovered that education and the love of learning often unlocked doors that had been closed to them and gave them a feeling of self-worth which would often propel them towards success. I was also inspired by research I'd done on the long term effects of chronic grief among children of multiple foster homes—a problem that has been largely ignored in the past, as well as several real criminal cases of those who would take advantage of marginalized children.
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