Hola, I'm ​​Marie. ​​
I write books for young adults - and for adults like me, who wonder if they'll ever feel like a grown up.​​​​​ ​​
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I’m a San Diego girl, born and raised - which means I measure seasons in marine layers, love the word dude, and have serious opinions about fish tacos.
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In addition to writing, I’m an attorney, wife, mom to four (two with fur/two without), and read approximately one novel per sink-load of dishes I avoid.
Eventually the stories living rent-free in my head got loud enough that I had to write them down. We all know how California rent can bankrupt your average millionaire.
In my endless quest for sanity, I alternate between yoga and writing Young Adult and New Adult fiction set in California about love, identity, family, friendship, and the messy, beautiful business of becoming yourself.
Welcome to California. I’m so glad you’re here.
MORE ABOUT ME
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Even the pen name has a story.
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Lagos is a combination of my maiden and married surnames. Spanish for lakes, it's a subtle nod to where Heavenly is set, and a loving tribute to my abuela who taught me how to make frijoles y tortillas. I've been trying Nana, I swear. But I may have to accept the L.
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​I've lived on both coasts - and on the other side of the pond.
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In addition to California, I’ve lived in New York, Mexico and Spain. Even a brief, weird summer in Delaware. (Dela-where? Exactly.) In my coast-to-coast days, I drove across the country three times – the flashback inspiration for the adventures in The Five Joaquíns.
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​​Caffeine. Chaos. Care.
While I dream of a writing nook overlooking the Pacific, you can find me with a cup of coffee, hunched over my laptop in whatever corner of the house that hasn’t been claimed by kids' discarded hoodies, my husband's abandoned shoes or my dogs' severe opinions on whose belly I should rub first.
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​​​​Audiobooks are books! I mean, 'books' is literally part of the word!
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As a busy mom and professional, I am a huge audiobook fan. I just read a 400-page thriller while driving to work, folding laundry, walking the dogs, making dinner and parallel parking. If that’s not a superpower, I don’t know what is.