Also known as Auntie M, MK, and Marnette, Marni grew up in Floral Park, NY. She currently resides in rural North Carolina and lives on the Pungo River, part of the coast’s Intracoastal Waterway, with her husband and two Aussie Doodles, Seamus and Fiona.

Marni is the author of screenplays, stories, essays, and poetry, in addition to two mystery series. Her creative nonfiction was most recently seen in the book of collected essays The Who, The What and the When; Southern Women’s Review; Fine Line Anthology; and Shelf Pleasures. Her poem about Amelia Earhart is part of an anthology of poems dedicated to the pilot that is on display in Earhart’s hometown museum.

Marni’s background as a registered nurse always encompassed her love of writing.  She was a feature writer for Nursing Spectrum for six years and editor of a nursing journal for three. Her favorite nursing position was as a medical consultant for television and motion pictures, working on scripts from home and medical scenes on set in Manhattan.

For seven years Marni wrote interview articles for Mystery Review, it was an opportunity to interview and learn from many of her favorite mystery authors, including Val McDermid, Deborah Crombie, Ian Rankin, and the Queen of British Mystery, P D James, who remained a mentor and friend until the Baroness’ death in 2014. Graff later attended her memorial service in London’s Inner Court.

Leaving nursing to pursue writing full-time has taken Marni to study literature six times at the University of Iowa and one summer at Oxford University, as well as courses at New York University, Harvard, and Radcliffe.  She has taught Creative Writing and Memoir in North Carolina and has done book reviews for Raleigh’s largest paper, The News and Observer.  Marni edits manuscripts, conducts writing workshops, and has twice been the recipient of month-long writing residencies at the Vermont Studio Center.

One of the founders of the ground-breaking Screw Iowa! Writers Group, Marni is a member of Sisters in Crime National, two satellite arms in NC and NY;  and of Mystery People in the UK, and has twice attended St Hilda’s Mystery and Crime Conference in Oxford, England. She is a member of the NC Writers Network and the International Association of Crime Writers.