Books-n-Kisses is pleased to welcome back Mia Marlowe to the blog. Mia, for those who missed you the first time around can you please share with us a little about yourself.
Mia: First, thanks so much for having me on Books-n-Kisses, but this is always the hardest question on any interview. I can write happily about anything but myself! I wish I could tell you I’m a black belt who sky-dives on weekends, but I’m not that girl. I always say if I was a reality show, I’d be cancelled. My life is pretty calm. I’ve been blessed with a happy marriage, grown kids who still speak to me and two little dogs who like to cuddle on either side of me as I write. All the drama and angst in my world are between the covers of my books.
Have you always wanted to be an author?
Mia: I didn’t plan on making things up for a living. Like a lot of the best things in my life, I stumbled into writing. After meeting a romance author, I simply decided, “Well, I could do that.” (The Greeks had a word for this–‘hubris.’)
My DH and children supported my decision completely. I overheard one of my daughters tell a friend, “Of course, my mom can be a writer. She’s a Renaissance Woman. She can do anything!”
After that, I didn’t dare fail.
What is your most interesting writing quirk?
Mia: To my horror, I am a pantser, but I seriously wish I were a plotter. I’ve tried to plan my books out, but when I do too much pre-work, the prose comes off flat. It’s as if I’ve already told the story once and it’s not as fresh as it is when I wake each day wondering where my characters are going to take me.
However, on the plus side of pantsing, if I’m surprised by the outcome, my readers will be too!
Can you please tell us about your latest book(s)?
Mia: I’m so excited about this story! Between a Rake and a Hard Place is Book 3 in the Royal Rakes series. Here’s the blurb:
Lady Serena’s List of Forbidden Pleasures
Attend an exclusively male club.
Smoke a cigar.
Have a fortune told by gypsies.
Dance the scandalous waltz.
Sir Jonah Sharp thinks Lady Serena Osbourne will be just like any other debutante, and seducing her will be one of the easiest services he’s ever done for the Crown. Then he catches her wearing trousers and a mustache in his gentleman’s club and she demands he teach her to smoke a cigar. But what will truly be Jonah’s undoing is finding out he’s an item on her list too, which makes him determined to bring her all the forbidden pleasures she can handle.
There are many more pleasures on Lady Serena’s list and she checks every one of them off by the end of the book!
How did you come with the idea for this story?
Mia: The premise for the entire series is based on the actual “Hymen Race Terrific.” In 1817, when Princess Charlotte died along with her newborn son, the Prince Regent’s three younger brothers realized they had an opportunity to wed, and then sire the child who would someday wear the crown. So the three Royal Dukes went a-courting. In my fictional world, not everyone wants them to succeed, so three dashing rakes are called in to foil their plans by seducing the ladies they have their royal eyes on.
Can you share with us your current work(s) in progress?
Mia: I’m working on the second book in my upcoming Somerfield Park series. It’s a delightful world I like to think of as “Downton Abbey meets Jane Austen with a tip of the hat to Oscar Wilde.” There’s a big house, a big cast and big trouble!
The first book, A Rake by Any Other Name, comes out in November 2014. Book 2, Say Yes to the Marquess, will hit the bookstore shelves in spring 2015.
Who is the one author that you would love to meet someday and why?
Mia: You didn’t specify whether the author had to be living or not. I’d love to meet MM Kaye, who is no longer with us. She wrote my favorite adventure romance of all time—The Far Pavilions. The first time I read that book, I lived the lives of her characters in such excruciating detail, it still gives me shivers.
What is the best piece of advice you would give to someone that wants to get into writing?
Mia: Write every day. If you want to make this your career, get used to producing on a deadline. Even when I was working 40+ hours a week, I wrote 25 pages a week by doing 2 pages on week nights, 10 pages on Saturday and 5 on Sunday. Don’t wait for the Muse. She’s an excuse for writers who don’t want to work on their craft.
Can you share with us something off your bucket list?
Mia: I don’t have an ultimate bucket list, but I do have some things I intend to accomplish this year. Near the top of that list is to renovate the house we’re moving to this spring. There are a gagillion decisions to be made. I’m not terribly confident in my decorating choices, but the DH and I want this to be our “forever” home, so I want to get it right. If you care to follow along with my reno peaks and valleys, follow me on Facebook! I’ve been asking my friends there to help choose colors and materials, etc.
What is in your To Read Pile that you are dying to start or upcoming release you can’t wait for?
Mia: Anything Sherry Thomas writes. She has another new YA coming out in September, but the title hasn’t been announced yet. Love her singing prose.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Mia: I’m a cancer survivor so I take every opportunity to encourage others to get the screening their doctor recommends. I’m alive today because my doc said I “deserved” a colonoscopy. I was aware of zero symptoms at the time, but the cancer was already at Stage 2. Now I’m 5 years clean (Thank you, God!) but if I’d pushed the screening off, the outcome could have been much different.
Take care of yourself. I’ll see to it you have a lot of romance in your future! I also love to connect with readers. Join me at www.miamarlowe.com for my blog, and on Twitter, Goodreads & Facebook!
BETWEEN A RAKE AND A HARD PLACE
By CONNIE MASON AND MIA MARLOWE
JANUARY 2014
Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Books-a-Million | Chapters/Indigo | iBookstore | IndieBound | Discover a New Love | Sourcebooks
Lady Serena’s List of Forbidden Pleasures
Attend an exclusively male club.
Smoke a cigar.
Have a fortune told by gypsies.
Dance the scandalous waltz.
Sir Jonah Sharp thinks Lady Serena Osbourne will be just like any other debutante, and seducing her will be one of the easiest services he’s ever done for the Crown. Then he catches her wearing trousers and a mustache in his gentleman’s club and she demands he teach her to smoke a cigar. But what will truly be Jonah’s undoing is finding out he’s an item on her list too, which makes him determined to bring her all the forbidden pleasures she can handle.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Mia Marlowe is the award winning historical romance author of the Touch of Seduction Series and various Rock*It Reads. She lives in Boston. Connie Mason is a New York Times bestselling author of more than 50 novels. She was named Storyteller of the Year in 1990 and received a Career Achievement Award from RT Book Reviews in 1994. She currently lives in Florida. Together, Mia and Connie have written Sins of the Highlander, Lord of Fire and Ice, Lord of Devil Isle and the other books in the Royal Rakes Series: Waking Up with a Rake and One Night with a Rake. For more information, please visit http://www.miamarlowe.com.
Hi Mia!
Congratulations on your up-coming move into a new home! That’s what on my TO-DO list for 2013 – TO MOVE!
For years my husband and I have “talked” about moving but he’s never follow through so last year my resolution was to patiently talk to him (often) about the good and bad sides of moving from our home of 40 years.
I’ve begged, I pleaded and even used that it would mean being close to our grandchildren to no avail so far! This year I’m going to be patient (no more yelling) and hopefully be able to convince him (like Marvin K Mooney) that the time to do it is NOW!
In the long run though I think it’s the amount our property taxes are going up that will be what will actually do and me the final straw (but I’ll take the credit for it anyway!).
When we moved to Boston seven years ago, we always had it in our minds that we’d move back to the Midwest eventually. We’ve really enjoyed New England and met some wonderful people, but our families are mostly in the Midwest and it’ll be so good to be closer to them.
Hi Mia –
S0 glad that your home again! Hopefully we’ll feel the same way but home will be in another state!
I’d like to try to find a job I’d enjoy – or win the lottery!
I don’t think I forbid myself pleasures, just try to keep them in moderation – like dark chocolate.
It’s always fun to fanatasize about what I’d do if I won the lottery. For one thing, I’d never fly coach again!
For 2014 I’d like to try to change my eating habits so that I can not only lose the extra weight but keep it off! And you probably know what my forbidden pleasures are since weight is a problem…..chocolate, ice cream (almost any flavor). ;o)
Reaching and maintaining a healthy weight is always on my short list of goals. It’s been a lifelong struggle for me. The combination of a a sedentary lifestyle and my love of delicious things makes it hard. I’ve got a few headwinds against me–I’ve been on steroids for a lung condition since 2010, and have a thyroid that hasn’t worked in 15 years, but in the end, I’m in control of what I put in my mouth and whether or not I hit the treadmill.
Good luck with your up coming move and renovation. I hate moving.
The DH and I have lived in 9 states, all four time zones. I have one more move in me. The upside is that moving is a good time to cull the possessions and cut down on clutter. I’ve already donated several boxes of books and clothing. We have some furniture that isn’t going to make the final cut either. Things have never been terribly important to me. I like to be comfortable in my home, but I don’t get too attached to “stuff.”
Hi Mia,
I Love this book 🙂 I can’t wait to begin the next series. Wish November 2014 wasn’t quite so far away. Good luck on your moving!
not really; nothing’s forbidden
It’s a perversity of human nature that if something is “forbidden,” it’s all the more enticing. Eve didn’t take a bite of the apple simply because she was hungry.
I love any woman who is brave enough to try “the forbidden.” Congratulations on slaying the forbidden dragon.
Thanks, Renee. Doing something no one else has had the courage to try is always something I like to see in my heroes & heroines.
Can’t really think of any “forbidden treasures.” For other things to try, though, I’d like to try to get myself in better physical shape. I’m starting to work on it, but I have some issues with my knee that may keep me from doing some of what I want – at least for a while.
I’m no expert, but I bet a trainer could help you devise a routine around your knee troubles. But sometimes, rest is the only answer.
Not much is totally forbidden. I like the motto “Everything in Moderation”. Chocolate of course counts as vegetable since it grows on a tree, so it can be consumed at all times. 😉
Honestly, I do have the goal of improving the whole family’s eating habits to prevent any more spreading of our assets. 🙂
First off, congratulations on 5 years cancer free!! I look forward to reading your up coming books!
Kelly, I’m so sorry I didn’t make it by yesterday. We had to put down our dear little dog Harry and I was a wreck. Still am.
I’ll tweet this link today and hopefully some of my readers will pop by. How long is the giveaway open?
So sorry to hear about Harry. I’ve been there and it’s awful!
I don’t have a forbidden list, but it would be lovely to indulge more in general.
I don’t really have a forbidden fantasy list but I can tell you if I did it would be to find a Highlander from around the 1700’s and have a torrid affair. lol Talk about wild fantasies. I guess it’s allowed as age approaches quite quickly lately. lol Congrats on the new house and most importantly Mia, God Bless and congrats on your 5 years of remission. Nothing will ever top that. My 26 year old daughter is 18 years Healthy and thriving after Bone cancer. Not a thing in the world mattered after that. 🙂
Happy belated New Year.
Carol L
I don’t have a forbidden fantasy list, but I’d love to visit Scotland and see real Highland Games. 😉