Author Bio

Meet Mary Ellen Taylor…

Mary Ellen Taylor’s love of her home state, Virginia, and its history is evident in the first of her contemporary novels, The Union Street Bakery. Its protagonists, the McCrae family, own the bakery, which has been in Alexandria’s Old Town for more than 150 years. They returned in Sweet Expectations. In both instances their stories intertwine with those of the city and the nation, presenting mysteries rooted in the past. While the McCraes are not the focus of Mary Ellen’s new novel, AT THE CORNER OF KING STREET, events of the past and their impact on the present remain a constant.

A southerner by birth, Mary Ellen was born in Richmond and has spent most of her life there, but also lived in Alexandria for four years, which is when she fell in love with Old Town. She grew up in a family that embraced stories of all kinds, from a well-told anecdote to a good yarn or a tall tale. It may have been inevitable that Mary Ellen would embrace her storytelling heritage, walk away from her job and challenge herself to become a published author.

“I realized early on the tremendous power stories have to inspire laughter, love, sorrow and even fear. It didn’t matter if they were found in the pages of a book, spoken in hushed tones around a campfire, or shared at an old-fashioned family reunion. Stories created connections, and I knew that’s what I wanted to do,” says Mary Ellen.

In addition to writing, cooking and baking are important creative outlets for Mary Ellen and she’s been known to name recipes in honor of her characters. She recently earned her Baking and Pastry Arts Certificate at the University of Richmond’s Culinary Arts Program. “In some ways, I liken baking to my efforts as a writer. You need to learn the basic tools of the trade of both cooking and writing before you can push the envelope and create a distinctive sweet dessert or savory novel.” Her two passions —writing and baking—merged for the first time in The Union Street Bakery and, though AT THE CORNER OF KING STREET is not set in the Union Street bakery, Mary Ellen manages to slip in some food and tips about baking.

Mary Ellen received her degree in English from Virginia’s Hollins University. After a decade of working in marketing and sales, she left to devote her time to writing. Today, in addition to her books as Mary Ellen Taylor, twenty-three of her romantic suspense novels and five novellas written as Mary Burton have been published and have earned spots on The New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists. The latest, Be Afraid, has just been published.

When not digging for mysteries in Alexandria’s history or arranging murders, Mary is involved with Sisters in Crime’s Virginia chapter and Coordinators2inc, a lifetime adoption resource organization.  In fact, Mary explores issues of adoption and family in all three books, an interest which stems from her own family.   Her grandmother was adopted as was her daughter.

She and her husband spend time alternately enjoying and lamenting their newly empty nest and spoiling their miniature dachshunds, Buddy, Bella and Tiki.

www.maryellentaylor.com • facebook.com/maryellentaylorfanpage • @METBooks

AT THE CORNER OF KING STREET
Mary Ellen Taylor

A Berkley Books Trade Paperback Original/Fiction

On Sale 5-5-15/$16.00 ($18.00)

978-0425278253 · 0425278255

Contact: Joan Schulhafer, Joan Schulhafer Publishing & Media Consulting, joan@joanschulhafer.com, 973-338-7428

Berkley Books Contact: Kayleigh Clark, kayleigh.clark@penguinrandomhouse.com