About Me

When a local policeman visited MaryAnn Diorio’s home to respond to a sounding burglar alarm, his eyes grew as big as frisbees when she told him she was carrying a .38 caliber Smith & Wesson revolver. Trained in self-defense, MaryAnn surprised her shooting instructor when she hit her practice target squarely in the bull’s eye. This feat garnered her the coveted title of “sharp-shooter.” Her instructor suggested she put her bull’s eye template on her front door. “Nobody will mess with you when they see that!”

So, the point is: Don’t mess with MaryAnn Diorio. Despite her outgoing, warm and friendly personality, she means business when business needs to be meant.

At the same time, she is a softie when it comes to kids, dogs, and grandmothering. Her seven grandchildren will attest to her fun-loving, silly antics. “Never let a day go by without having fun” is MaryAnn’s constant advice to them.

Born the eldest of eight children in a mid-size town outside of Philadelphia, MaryAnn learned responsibility at an early age. She also learned the meaning of commitment, perseverance, and teamwork.

When asked about MaryAnn, family and close friends describe her as loyal, loving, and generous. She has great compassion for the underdog, having been one herself. When her parents went bankrupt during her teen years, MaryAnn experienced what it was like to be homeless for a while. She also experienced the faithfulness of God in providing a home for her family.

This same faithfulness was what caused MaryAnn to accept Jesus Christ as her Savior and Lord several years later at the age of 25. A year later, she was baptized in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues. It was after these two life-changing experiences that God called MaryAnn to write for him.

At first, she didn’t recognize the call. It seemed to have come out of nowhere as a desire to write. Already established in a career as a Professor of French and Italian, MaryAnn was not looking for a career change.

But God had other plans.

After a series of miraculous events in which God confirmed His call on MaryAnn’s life, she yielded to it and has never turned back. Today she is a widely published, award-winning author of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Her writing has appeared in such publications as The Saturday Evening Post, Human Events, and The Press of Atlantic City, as well as in numerous Christian and secular magazines. MaryAnn’s novels, novellas, and short stories have garnered awards from such professional organizations as American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW), various chapters of Romance Writers of America (RWA), Faith, Hope, and Love Christian Writers, and Writer’s Digest Magazine. She has also won awards in nonfiction, notably an award from the AMY Foundation for her essay titled “From Feminism to Freedom.”

Indeed, freedom and truth are MaryAnn’s highest values in life. As a Bible teacher, she encourages her students to seek truth, for as Jesus Himself taught, only the truth sets one free. Jesus Christ is Truth. Truth set MaryAnn free from bondages of the soul and body. Her passion is to help others know the truth so that they, too, can be set free.

MaryAnn does this best through writing stories in which her characters move from believing a lie to believing the truth. In the process, they are set free from the deception that had kept them bound.

MaryAnn has also worked as a Certified Life Coach, helping people to identify the lies in their lives, renounce them, and replace them with the truth.

Writing has not always been easy for MaryAnn. She has faced many obstacles along the road to publication, including the death of loved ones, illness, financial setbacks, distracting technology issues, and a host of other challenges faced by those who seek to promote the truth of the Bible in any way. Yet she has persevered and, by God’s grace, will continue to do so.

Of all the types of writing MaryAnn has done, her favorite is writing fiction, especially fiction for hurting women. As she often notes, “Whereas nonfiction appeals to the intellect, stories appeal to the heart. And the heart is where true transformation occurs.”

MaryAnn describes her stories as “heart-mending.” If you haven’t yet experienced her entertaining, inspiring, and life-changing fiction, do so without delay. You can find a complete list of MaryAnn’s books at maryanndiorio.com/bookstore.

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Copyright 2000-2023 by MaryAnn Diorio, PhD. All Rights Reserved.

MY LIFE PURPOSE

To know Jesus and to make Him known.