Pictured from left: MFA Creative Writing Mentor John Williams, Illustrator Marra Mackas Evans, Adjunct MFA Professor Maria Mackas, Ph.D., and MFA Creative Writing Mentor Michael Luckor.
2025 proved to be another year of accomplishments for faculty in Reinhardt’s Etowah Valley Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Creative Writing Program. Adjunct Professor Maria Mackas, Ph.D., and Creative Writing Mentors Michael Lucker and John Williams all published books.
Being an adoptive mother, Mackas became inspired to write a children’s book to share their family’s story of unconditional love, with sales proceeds given to charity. The title Marra’s Star (1010 Publishing, 2025) not only bears her daughter’s name, Marra Mackas Evans, but she also serves as the book’s illustrator. “One of Marra’s first words was “star,” explained Maria Mackas. “I felt it was in the stars for her to be ours.”
Lucker drew inspiration for his debut novel and crime thriller RULE ONE (Wordeee, 2025) from his experience being ill and misdiagnosed, and feeling mistreated. With a plot surrounding the murder of doctors from coast to coast, Lucker explained, “I always wish those doctors knew what it felt like to be in my shoes — to be in all of our shoes — when we are in pain. RULE ONE puts them there.” MFA alumna Dr. Donna Bearden (RU-2022) served as editor of RULE ONE, for whom Lucker expressed gratitude. “Not only did she lend a deft hand to tightening my prose, but she brought a lifetime of experience as a physician helping keep my medical thriller believable.” RULE TWO is in the works.
Williams wrote his seventh published book, End Times (Sartoris Literary Group, 2025), after seeing an interesting-looking young man and woman in a grocery store and trying to imagine their story. The mystical dark comedy describes the orphaned brother and sister surviving the best and the worst of a small town and proving love conquers all.
Together, these faculty works showcase the remarkable talent that continues to define Reinhardt’s MFA in Creative Writing program.
-By Suzy Alstrin
