Maryann Lesert lives and works in West Michigan, where she is an Assistant Professor of English at Grand Rapids Community College. During her undergraduate years, Maryann studied art, writing, and biomedical sciences, graduating in 1988 from Western Michigan University with a dual BA in Art and English. In 2003 she earned her Master of Fine Arts in Writing from Spalding University in Louisville, Kentucky.

Maryann is a prolific playwright whose works include Superwoman, The Music in the Mess, and Natural Causes, a finalist for the 2001 Princess Grace Foundation's National Playwright's Fellowship. Recently, she has published short plays in The Art of the One Act (New Issues Press, 2007) and 2007 The Best Ten Minute Plays (Smith & Kraus, 2008). "Assessment Number Two," an excerpt from her current novel-in-progress, appears in The Healing Project’s Voices of Alzheimer’s anthology (LaChance Publishing, 2007).

In Base Ten, her first novel, Maryann combines her love of nature with her interest in science. Although a work of fiction, Base Ten deals with the all-too real problems women face when trying to love and nurture a family and any complex career. The author believes that "the lack of real-life female role models sends a strong message that is difficult to counteract: that only certain, special women have what it takes to achieve in careers as demanding as science."