Interview Mia Storm : The Jailbait Series

Hello Mia,

thank you so much for answering my Q and A. I love the Jailbait Series so much and I’d like to talk with you about it.

Certainly. Thanks for having me!

Let’s begin!

I just discovered that Mia Storm is an alias….so I suspect you are a very famous writer, a USA Today bestselling author, for crying out loud!  Why did you decide to go undercover?

Here is my open letter to readers regarding the reason for my pseudonym for the Jail Bait series.

Dear Potential Reader,

I’ve had several bloggers and readers contact me asking about the content of GETTING DIRTY and how the underage relationship was handled, so I thought I’d give you some background.

As you can easily see from the book description, this is a story about an underage girl hooking up with a older man. I know there may be some of you who are a bit squeamish about this topic. It is illegal, I am aware of that. But there is a reason I wanted to write this book that has nothing to do with sensationalism or shock value.

This book is a fictionalized autobiography.

Just a month before I turned seventeen, I met a man who was twenty-four. Our connection was instant. For months we kept it platonic, even though neither of us could deny the attraction. We never had the actual discussion, but we both knew our relationship would be viewed by others (including my parents and the law) as inappropriate. But, despite our best efforts, we fell in love and started dating when I was seventeen. I’ve always wanted to write a love story that reflected everything I was feeling at that age, in that situation. So here it is.

For you hesitant readers, I can tell you that this illegal affair is not glamorized or sensationalized. There are severe consequences to the actions my characters choose to take. I wanted the topic handled honestly and realistically. I know this story isn’t for everyone, but if you choose to read, I hope you enjoy.

All my best,

Mia

I simply adore the Jailbait series, how was born in your mind?

As I said in my letter, I took this opportunity to write my own story. In the case of Caiden and Blaire, their love is forbidden, but that doesn’t necessarily make it wrong. (Unfortunately, Amazon doesn’t see it that way, and Getting Dirty is currently blocked for purchase because of “inappropriate content.”)

Getting Dirty is phenomenal, the slam poetry is an additional work. Your talent is amazing. Is it a passion of yours?

I have all the respect in the world for poets, but I am NOT one. I had fun playing with poetry, but the reality is I totally suck at it. For Getting Dirty, I tapped into everything Blaire was feeling and poured that raw emotion onto the page in the form of her slam poetry…then hoped readers wouldn’t realize that I have NO IDEA what I’m doing.

Student/professor love taboo is one of my favourite kinds of romance novels!

Blair is one of a kind girl.  She is strong yet very much alone.  Also witty and clever, ready to embrace real life at only sixteen years old. She doesn’t fear the consequences of her actions, I envy her determination. Where did her character come from?

All of my characters come to life in my head fully formed. Generally, they’re not based on anyone in particular, but there’s a little bit of me in every one of them. I’ve been called stubborn and determined. I don’t easily give up. So, that part of Blaire is me.

She’s underage, like every female characters of this series. Here’s where the title Jailbait comes into play. Can you explain this term for your readers that have never heard the term, please?

Jail Bait is a U.S. colloquialism that refers to a tempting underage girl. She is like bait on a hook…that will send you to jail if you’re tempted enough to bite.

Could you tell us (without spoilers), why did you decide to put Caiden in prison? This is very interesting, because it’s the right thing to do but sometimes in books of this nature, the “hero”, or “antihero” somehow are not legally pursued. I think it’s revolutionary in this kind of plot!

Caiden fell in love with Blaire and acted on his feelings by sleeping with her, even though he knew she was underage and it was illegal. They were caught in the act by a professor at the university Caiden worked for. I knew where Caiden and Blaire were headed, just like every person who read Getting Dirty did. What I didn’t know for sure was what the consequences would be when the inevitable happened. As it turned out, Caiden went to jail. I think this is a realistic outcome, based on the circumstances. Had they been discovered by a friend or family member, it would have been up to that person to decide whether to report Caiden to the authorities. But his place of work, especially a university, would have no choice. My intention with these books was never to glamorize underage romance, and I don’t think that was the case with Caiden and Blaire.

Getting Played, is the second book and Blaire’s brother Marcus is the main character. It’s another student/professor novel, sweet and intense at the same time. In this story Marcus is a water polo coach. Addie, the female character, is so fragile and broken, it's overwhelming sometimes. How did this story come to you?

Getting Played was really about Marcus coming to terms with what happened between Caiden and his younger sister. He is so intolerant of Caiden, so sure he’s taking advantage of Blaire even though Blaire tells him she’s in love with Caiden. The first time Marcus sees Addie outside the pool is at Blaire and Caiden’s wedding reception. He doesn’t recognize her from his water polo team, but feels an instant attraction. When he realizes who she is, he does his best to back off. But he finds, just like with his sister and Caiden, that sometimes the lines blur between what you want and what you can’t have.

Were you afraid that your readers would find the same sub genre, (the taboo student/professor relationship), overused? Personally, I can assure you that didn’t happen in my case!

Not really. I knew those stories were out there, but I’d only read one (Unteachable by Leah Reader). A few days before Getting Dirty published, I read Slammed by Colleen Hoover and realized there were similarities. I read it because I wanted to see how Colleen handled the slam poetry, but I had no idea until I was reading that it was a student/teacher romance. As I read, I knew that was the book people would draw comparisons to, and some readers did. But Slammed and Getting Dirty really are very different stories. The reality is, in the literary world, EVERYTHING has already been done. Over and over and over, in the case of vampires. It’s all in how you tell the story. If it’s fresh and original, readers will appreciate that.

In Getting Hot and Getting Lucky, both novels portray real life TV shows such as, The Voice and The Tonight Show.  I think that this put the characters in a closer position to readers. Why this choice? Was it just for the plot?

Honestly, it wasn’t really a choice I made consciously. I don’t outline my stories. The characters pop into my head and start telling me their story. I take dictation as fast as I can. The stories unfold organically, and I write pretty much as a reader. I have no sense of what’s going to happen in a scene until my character takes me there. The whole thing with Shiloh winning The Voice happened because, as I was writing Lilah and Bran’s story in Getting Hot, that’s where it took me. The next logical story to tell was Shiloh’s, in Getting Lucky. The first sense I had from Shiloh was that she was totally overwhelmed by everything that was happening to her. And, so, it made sense to open that story on the Tonight Show stage, where all her fears and insecurities would be hard to hide. Especially with the hottest guy in music, Tro Gunnison, there pushing all her buttons.

In Getting Hot, there’s a bit of very welcomed suspense. Was there a reason that made you go in that direction?

As I said, I don’t make a story go in any direction. The story unfolds organically. That is where this one went.

Getting Lucky is different. Music is what connect Lucky and Tro. You explain very clearly what kind of music they play.  Are there specific groups that influenced you and that you listened to while writing?

Not specifically. My musical taste is very eclectic, like Lilah’s in Getting Hot. I have everything from Disturbed and Slipknot (which is who I see Roadkill being similar to) to Bruno Mars, Imagine Dragons, and The Script on every play list. Some include oldies, like Aerosmith, Queen, Fleetwood Mac, and The Police. Others are mellower, with Adele, Colbie Calliat, and Ed Sherran. And I’ve got classical playlists too. I just go with my mood and give credit to the artist who most inspired each story in the Acknowledgements section of each book. (This is the case with every book I’ve published, under my real name and my pseudonym.) (Which is a hint. ;p)

As I said previously, this subgenre is one I love very much. I'm guessing reading about sixteen year old girls having sexual relationships with older and influential men might not always be appreciated. I’m thirty one and don't have a daughter, though if I did, the idea that my daughter could experience what you describe in your books frighten me. What do you think about this point of view?

I have two teenage girls. I get why some readers would be squeamish about this topic. I truly understand the need for laws protecting children from sexual predators, however, I can tell you firsthand that not every older guy who falls for a younger girl should be lumped into that category. The guy I dated before the older guy was a 17 year old junior, and captain of the football team. All he cared about was losing his virginity. He dumped me when he figured out I wasn’t giving it up. My dad loved that guy. He had no idea. But he hated the older guy because he said he was a “gun notcher,” meaning he was only looking to score. He believed this solely based on his age. He couldn’t have been more wrong. I dated the older guy for two and a half years, and my father finally came around.

Is there any chance that your novels will be translated into Italian?

Many of my books have been translated into Italian, and I would love to see interest from an Italian publisher for the Jail Bait series. As of now, however, there are no plans for that, unfortunately.

What is in the future of Mia Storm? More Jailbait series or other books?

Getting Lucky is the last of the Jail Bait novels. At the moment, Mia is on hiatus while I launch my new series under my real name this month. There are four planned books in that series, so it’s likely to keep me busy for the next several months.

I consider you the most interesting discovery of 2015. I really thank you for giving me your free time and answering my questions. Hope you had fun.

Thank you for your enthusiasm. So glad you enjoyed the Jail Bait series. =)