Benita and the Night Creatures
(Bilingual Spanish & English)

Mariana Llanos is not a vampire, but just like Vampirita, she's from Lima, Perú. Since she was a little girl Mariana wrote stories, plays, and poetry. She loved everything related to books, movies, music, and the arts. She studied Theater and Marketing. After she moved to Oklahoma in 2002, Mariana began writing in English. Her first book, Tristan Wolf, came out in 2013. She hasn't stopped publishing books and writing stories since, in both English and Spanish. Her latest works include Luca's Bridge/El Puente de Luca (Penny Candy Books 2019, 2020 ALSC Notable Book), Eunice and Kate (Penny Candy Books 2019), and Run Little Chaski! (Barefoot Books 2021, JLG Gold Standard Selection, Oklahoma Book Awards Finalist). Mariana believes the love for reading is contagious, that's why she enjoys visiting schools to tell children how much she loves reading. She's visited over 200 schools around the world thanks to virtual technology. She's the co-founder of LatinxPitch, a Twitter event that looks to boost the representation of Latino creators in children's literature. Vampirita is Mariana's first chapter book series. Mariana has three children and still lives in Oklahoma. Just like Vampirita, she misses the grim grey skies of Lima but has learned to make some friends.