Maria Santos

ICU nurse for 15 years, currently working nights at a Level 1 trauma center in Phoenix. I've seen things that would make most thriller authors blush and then ask for details. Audiobooks keep me sane during 3 AM charting sessions when the unit is quiet (knock on wood, always knock on wood). Filipina-American, eldest of five, first in my family to go to college. My mom wanted me to be a doctor. Nursing school was my rebellion - turns out I like being the one who actually talks to patients. Now I'm the nurse doctors call when they've run out of ideas. Mom's finally proud. Only took 15 years. I listen on my drive home from night shift - 45 minutes of audiobook helps me decompress before I wake my husband Carlos and the kids with breakfast smells. My favorite thing is when a medical thriller gets something wrong and I can yell at my dashboard. "THAT'S NOT HOW DEFIBRILLATORS WORK!" My car has heard things. When a book gets medicine right, I notice. When it gets it wrong, I notice more. There is no in-between.