About the Author

A Storyteller at Heart

Mary Ann Hayes writes stories for readers who still believe in wonder.

From her home on Camano Island in Washington State, where she lives with her husband and two golden retrievers, Mary Ann draws inspiration from family, nature, memory, and the quiet magic of ordinary days. As a mother of three and grandmother of three, she has long understood the power of a story told with heart — the kind that begins at bedtime and stays with a child long after the lights go out.

Her middle grade fantasy series began as stories for her own children and eventually grew into The Carnelian Game, a globe-spanning adventure filled with courage, mystery, imagination, and discovery. Over more than 25 years of writing, Mary Ann has published articles, short stories, contemporary novels, and books for young readers, always returning to the same essential themes: curiosity, compassion, resilience, and our connection to the natural world.

Whether she is writing about children called into extraordinary adventures or revisiting the lake summers of childhood in Adeline, Mary Ann’s work invites readers to look closer, feel deeply, and remember that wonder is never as far away as it seems.