Photo by Benet Pols

Mary Pols is the author of "Accidentally on Purpose" (June 2008, Ecco/Harper Collins), a memoir with one of those long subtitles ("A One-Night Stand, My Unplanned Parenthood and Loving the Best Mistake I Ever Made") that give away a lot (but not everything). A native of Maine, Pols has spent most of her professional life as a journalist in California. For the last eight years, she was the film critic for the Contra Costa Times, and her reviews could be found in the San Jose Mercury News and the Oakland Tribune.

Pols lives in Northern California with her son Dolan, who is four years old. Having taken a buyout from the Contra Costa Times in March 2008, she is freelancing and working on her next book, a novel.