Q: Mia will be writing a couple books with New York Times bestselling author Connie Mason. How did this collaboration come about?
A: First, Mia wants you to know she’s thrilled about this project. Connie is a romance legend who delights readers around the world. Since Mia loves a little swashbuckling and mystery in her stories, Connie’s brand of adventurous romance fits well with hers. The credit for linking them up goes to their agent, Natasha Kern, and their editor, Leah Hultenschmidt, who saw the creative potential in their pairing. Because Connie frequently places her romances outside the usual Regency setting, their first story together takes place during the reign of Mary, Queen of Scots. Look for Sins of the Highlander in January 2012. Then in August of 2012, the Mason and Marlowe team will bring you the quintessential alpha–a Viking hero–in Lord of Fire and Ice.
Q: Mia’s Touch of Seduction series features characters with a paranormal gift. They can receive information, or even visions, from inanimate objects. Where did this idea come from? Does Mia know someone who can do this?
A: No, she’s never met anyone with the gift of psychometry. To be honest, she’s not even sure it exists. But when Mia dreamed up Lady Viola Preston, the sticky-fingered heroine in Touch of a Thief, she wanted something beyond a guilty conscience to make thievery hard for her. So Mia decided to make her sensitive to gemstones. Viola doesn’t know why she can hear them speak to her, but all her life she’s been plagued by their screechy voices. Because precious things are frequently surrounded by murder and mayhem, the visions she receives from them are often disturbing. And to make matters worse, a prolonged vision leaves Viola with a sick headache.
One of Mia’s pet peeves about magical elements in stories is that they frequently come with no price tag. Not in her fictional world. The scales have to balance. If Viola is set on using her special abilities, she must pay for the privilege.
Q: Who is Emily Bryan? Why does Mia write under another pen name?
A: She pens light-hearted Georgian-Regency-Victorian romances as Emily Bryan. When she moved to a different publisher, Mia added a few paranormal elements to her writing. Her new publisher requested she take Mia Marlowe as her new pen name.
It seems confusing but it’s a common practice in publishing. Jayne Ann Krentz writes under multiple names. So do Nora Roberts, Elizabeth Hoyt and Jennifer Ashley. Mia is in good company.