Sourcebooks Tour: Sins of the Highlander (Interview w/Mia Marlowe & Giveaway)

Who says Friday the 13th can't be a lucky day? Today I'd like to welcome Mia Marlowe, co-author of Sins of the Highlander, who is joining us for an interview and a giveaway at the end!

Hi Mia, thank you so much for joining us today at Reading Between the Wines!  Can you start off by sharing with readers a little about yourself, please?

MM: I’m a travel junkie. I’d rather have an adventure than a new sofa. My DH and I have two daughters and two dogs. The dogs are ever so much more trouble, but at least we don’t have to worry about college funds for them. ;-) If your readers would like to get to know me more, I can be found at my cyber-home, http://www.miamarlowe.com ! The website is updated frequently and my blog is a pretty lively hang out for readers. 

You and author Connie Mason have joined together to write a new novel that was just released last week, Sins of the Highlander; can you tell us a bit about it?

MM: I LOVE this story. It’s about “Mad Rob” MacLaren, who decides to take revenge for his dead wife by abducting his enemy’s bride at the altar. He never expects Elspeth Stewart to bring his heart back to life. I’m a sucker for 2^nd chance stories and this is Rob’s chance to find love again.

What inspired you and Connie to come together and create this story?

MM: Our agent and editor, Natasha Kern and Leah Hultenschmidt, deserve credit for putting us together. Connie and I had met once before in 2006. She was kind enough to give me a cover quote for my first novel and I’d grown up reading her fabulous stories. Imagine how excited I was to have RT compare my debut title to some of Connie’s work. We seemed destined to join forces from the start.

Can you tell us a little about the writing process you ladies shared?

MM: Authors are very protective of their words. Fortunately, our writing styles are very similar so there were few disagreements. Connie and I both enjoy crafting sensual, adventurous stories, so our ideas about how the story should progress were very much in sync.    

I am a huge Scottish romance fan as are many of our readers, what’s not to love about sexy men in kilts with lilting brogues and big swords? But I believe this is the first time you’ve released a Scottish romance, how is this novel different from your other historical romances?  Writing, research, characters, etc.

MM: You’re right. My work is mostly set in Regency/Victorian England (with a brief foray into Medieval Scandinavia!). Connie’s readers are accustomed to following her stories all around the globe. When Connie decided she’d like us to do a Scottish story, I had to do some serious research to catch up. I discovered that Mary, Queen of Scots was abducted and forced to marry and so the idea for our hero snatching the heroine from the altar was born.

Without giving too much away, what is your favorite scene from Sins of the Highlander?

MM: That’s a toughie. There are so many I love. Part of what I brought to the mix was a sparkle of magic. We gave our heroine the gift of Sight. Unfortunately, Elspeth’s glimpses into the future often come too late to do any good. Our hero also has some very vivid dreams—a drug-laced visit from a succubus ranks high on my list of interesting scenes and reveals a lot of what’s going on inside Rob’s head and heart. (Just to be clear, he wasn’t doing recreational drugs. He was being held captive by someone who knew her way around an herb garden.) One of my favorite scenes is the first time Rob tells Elspeth about his wife. There’s such a vulnerability to this rugged Highlander, you can’t help but love him.

What are three words each that would describe Elspeth and Rob the best?

MM: Oh, boy. I take 80K-90K words to bring a story to life. It’s hard to sketch a character in just 3, but here goes:

Rob—loving, faithful, determined

Elspeth—courageous, smart, intuitive

Is Sins of the Highlander going to be part of a series or will it be a single title?

MM: This is a single title, but I’m looking forward to doing another Scottish story. In fact, I just finalized a contract for a Scottish set tale with Kensington for 2013. Men in kilts are hard to get out of your heart once you start writing them. 

If you could travel back in time, what period would you visit and why?

MM: This may sound like heresy coming from a historical author, but I really wouldn’t want to travel back in time. Perhaps it’s because I know too much about how brutish and violent, how unhealthy and oppressive other time periods really were. I couldn’t bear living in an age when women were viewed as little better than imbeciles with no legal standing apart from the men in their lives. Being a wellborn lady might have been tenable, but what if I went back as a scullery maid? The life of a working class girl was filled with back-breaking drudgery.  Or just imagine losing children to diseases for which we have safe vaccines today? No, thank you. I’ll keep my internet, abundant caffeine and modern medicine. ;-)

However, I love armchair traveling to those worlds gone by and spending a few hours in them. Romance is wonderful that way.

What’s next for you?

MM: My next release is Touch of a Rogue (Feb. 28, 2012), the second book in my “Touch of Seduction” series. My hero has the paranormal “gift of touch.” Then next summer, Touch of a Scoundrel rounds out that series. Connie and I have another collaborative novel coming in August 2012 called Lord of Fire and Ice! Our hero is a fire mage as well as a viking warrior. Talk about an uber-alpha!  

Connie Mason and I are also working on a new trio of Regency-set stories for 2013 called “The Royal Rakes” series.  If you’d like to be notified about these books, I invite you to sign up for my newsletter. I only send one out if I have a new release, a special price reduction or a contest to share. Speaking of contests, I hope you’ll enter mine at http://miamarlowe.com/contest.php . Not only will you be automatically signed up for my newsletter, you’ll also have a shot at winning a NEW KINDLE!

I’d like to invite you to leave me a comment or question. Here’s a question to start the ball rolling:

Connie Mason and Mia Marlowe have books planned that will take you to 16^th century Scotland, Medieval Scandinavia, and Regency England. What’s your favorite time period and place for a romance setting?

Thanks so much for having me today. 

Thank you for stopping by, Mia; it was a pleasure having you! 

SINS OF THE HIGHLANDER BY CONNIE MASON & MIA MARLOWE – IN STORES JANUARY 2012

Abduction                                              Never had Elspeth Stewart imagined her wedding would be interrupted by a dark-haired stranger  charging in on a black stallion, scooping her into his arms, and carrying her off across the wild Scottish highlands. Pressed against his hard chest and nestled between his trong thighs, she ought to have feared for her life. But her captor silenced all protests with a soul-searing kiss, giving Elspeth a glimpse of the pain behind his passion—a pain only she could ease.
 Obsession                                             “Mad Rob” MacLaren thought stealing his rival’s bride-to-be was the prefect revenge. But Rob never reckoned that this beautiful, innocent lass would awaken the part of him he thought dead and buried with his wife. Against all reason, he longed to introduce the luscious Elspeth to the pleasures of the flesh, to make her his, and only his, forever.
 With two clans against them burning for battle, they must find a way to join together—body, breath and soul. Or both will be made to pay for the Sins of the Highlander.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

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. Mia Marlowe is a highly acclaimed new voice in romance whose debut novel released in Spring 2011 from Kensington. She lives in Boston, MA. Together, they are working on a new Regency romance series for Sourcebooks Casablanca, the first of which will be in stores in Fall 2012. For more information, please visit http://www.conniemason.com/, http://miamarlowe.com/ and follow Mia on Twitter @Mia_Marlowe. 

~*GIVEAWAY*~

Sourcebooks is offering Sins of the Highlander to two readers who reside in the US or Canada! To enter, just leave a comment on this post answering Mia's question and then fill out the RaffleCopter below with your name and email address. Additional entries are available but not required. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway