Interview with Author Mia Marlowe and Giveaway

Today I would like to welcome author Mia Marlowe to the blog. Mia is super nice and she has a bunch of books that will be releasing soon. Also, Mia is one of the fabulous authors behind the Rock*It Reads group, which is a group of published authors who got together to help readers identify quality self published stories. With everything Mia has got going on right now she took some time to answer some questions I had for her, though before we get to the interview, lets get to know a bit about Mia.

Award winning author Mia Marlowe writes historical romance for Kensington Publishing and Sourcebooks. Her debut title received acclaim from romance luminaries. #1 New York Times bestseller Victoria Alexander says Mia's Touch of a Thief has "adventure and heat and everything I want in a great story!" UK's BooksMonthly has crowned Mia Marlowe "the queen of saucy historical romance."

Mia learned much of what she knows about storytelling from singing. A classically trained soprano, she won the District Metropolitan Opera Auditions and shared a stage with Placido Domingo. As she prepared for operatic roles, she devised back stories for her characters. Since she's worn a real corset, and had to sing high C's in one, she empathizes with the trials of her fictional heroines. But in Mia's stories, they don't die in a Parisian garret. They get to live and keep the hero!

Places to find Mia:

| Site | Blog | Facebook | Twitter |

First off, can you tell us a bit about you?
Words are my life, but writing about myself is the hardest topic I ever tackle. I never know what people might find interesting. You see, most of the really dramatic and dangerous things in my life have never really happened. It's all in my head . . . and in my books!

I've been married to the same wonderful guy since we were in college together. We have two daughters and have lived in 9 different states, but we make our home in New England for now. I've learned to be flexible and treat all our moves as extended vacations. We just happen to drag along all our stuff too.

Did you always want to be a writer?
Nope. I've had a very checkered past. I've been--hold on!--a professional opera singer, a choir director, teacher, childrens' ministry director, realtor, banker and now finally, full-time author. Writing has forced me to keep learning, to dig deep into the human psyche, to try to master a whole new craft. I love it.

What kind of writer are you? Panster or Plotter?
To my horror, I'm a pantser. I so envy my critique partner, Ashlyn Chase, who can crank out a detailed outline, even down to the POV of each scene before she starts writing. I know the characters well before I begin, but I discover the story as I write. I believe everything flows organically from the characters and their goals, so that's how I have to work. Now in the back of my mind, I'm still ticking off plot points and making sure I hit the hot buttons, but that's secondary. My characters are the ones who shape my stories.

Where do your ideas come from?

Lots of different places. My next release, LORD OF FIRE AND ICE, is a collaborative novel I wrote with New York Times bestseller Connie Mason. She wanted to do another viking story, so that settled the time period for us. I like to take standard tropes and stand them on their heads. So often in viking romances, the hero makes the heroine a slave. I decided the hero should wear the iron collar in this story. And I wanted him to have a special ability, so we decided to make him a fire mage! Brandr can call flames from thin air and control the element with a thought.

And doesn't the cover art make him look like Thor? Yum!

A la Twitter style, can you describe your book (or series) in 140 characters or less.
Sexy fire mage melts an ice princess in @Mia_Marlowe's LORD OF FIRE AND ICE. Serious heat!

What are some of your favorite kinds of stories to read?
Setting, time period or genre isn't as important to me as the characters. I really love stories where the characters grow and change, where the goal they were chasing in the beginning has morphed into something else entirely by the time I reach "the end." A flawed hero or heroine pulls me in. I'm pulling for them to rise to meet the challenge. I enjoy action and adventure, even a little danger in my romances. I want to feel I've lived the adventure with the H/h, fallen in love, defeated the villain and basked in my own Happily Ever After.

Do you have a favorite book and if so what is it?
I adore MM Kaye's THE FAR PAVILIONS. This doorstop of a book is an epic love story with British India as its riotous backdrop. Action, adventure, danger, forbidden love, a hero I loved even as a boy--and yes, you see him grow from his birth in a tent in the Himalayas to manhood--this story has it all

What are the scenes that are the hardest for you to write?
If a scene is hard to write, I have to ask myself if I'm trying to force my characters to do something that's out of their essence. Or maybe I don't know what the subtext of the scene is. In every scene, there's the action and dialogue you can see. Then there's what's going on in the character's hearts and minds about it. That's the subtext. If I know what the subtext of the scene is, the surface action and dialogue comes fairly smoothly.

I have a rigorous writing schedule since I write for both Sourcebooks and Kensington. Deadlines are sacred to me. I will push through whatever difficulty my manuscript is giving me in order to meet them.

If you could have dinner with any three authors, who would you choose and why?
That's a toughie. There are so many I admire. If I'm forced to limit it to 3, I'd love to have Diana Gabaldon, Eloisa James and Sherry Thomas around a table. Each of them bring their characters to aching life and I'd love to pick their brains about their writing process.

Last question, are you working on anything right now?
Actually, I've got two irons in the fire at present. I'm finishing up ROMANCED BY A RAKE, the 2nd book in the Royal Rakes trilogy that'll start with WAKING UP WITH A RAKE in January 2013 with Sourcebooks. In November 1817, Princess Charlotte died with her stillborn son. She was the only legitimate grandchild of George III. The king's three youngest sons suddenly realized they had the opportunity to wed, bed and breed, producing a child that would eventually wear the crown. However, not everyone wants the House of Hanover to continue on the throne. Who better to keep them from the virgins of their choice than three determined rakes?

And I'm just starting a light-hearted Christmas story set in Scotland. My working title is such fun I've been ordered to keep it a secret. There's a curse that needs to be lifted, a ghost or two in the castle, kilts galore, and a hero and heroine who discover love where they least expect it. Kensington will release this book in October 2013.


But you don't have to wait till next year for more of my books. I'm bookending the month of July. After LORD OF FIRE AND ICE is released on July 3rd, be sure to watch for TOUCH OF A SCOUNDREL on July 31st!

If you're an ebook fan like me, you'll also want to check out my books page for my self-pubbed Rock*It Reads. I joined a group of talented authors to form an ebook brand called Rock*It Reads to help readers identify quality self-published stories.

His Duty is to Fulfill Her Every Desire...

Brandr the Far–Traveled has seen the world and a good many of the beautiful women in it. His bed skills are the stuff of steamy legend, his sword sings death, and he can call up fire from thin air. No one in a hundred years ever thought he could be enslaved through trickery and forced to wear the iron collar of a thrall—least of all him.

Until All She Desires is Him...

Katla the Black isn't just called so for her dark, silky hair. His new mistress has a temper as fierce as a warrior's and a heart as icy as the frozen North. But inch by delicious inch, Brandr means to make her melt...

Places to Purchase:

| Amazon | Kindle | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository | 

Want to win a some books? Check out whats for grabs.

Up For Grabs:

• Maidensong eBook
• Lord of Fire and Ice US/Canada Shipping ONLY

To Enter:

• Leave a meaningful comment or question for Mia.
• Fill out the Rafflecopter form below.  

Good Luck =)

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