Joe: Before we dive into the interview, tell us a bit about your upcoming release.
Mia: Beautiful, Once is a book about the end of the world. Only it’s a very small world and a very quick end—essentially an apocalypse done in a day.
The world torn apart in my book is a purpose-built community on a remote island and is completely manmade. The man who made it is a controversial tech billionaire named Ronan Bard. In a great display of unchecked hubris, he believes he can create a perfect place, free of all the problems left behind on the mainland. A beautiful place. Once his dream is realized, he starts wanting more, as is his nature. The consequences of this wanting will be devastating.
The story is told from the perspectives of three different characters: two islanders and a visiting reporter. Blending horror, action, science fiction, and thriller elements, it creates a breathless survival tale.
Or, to put it more succinctly, Beautiful, Once is a day-long survival epic with sentient zombies, mad science, and wild twists.
Joe: Tell us about your backstory and your writing journey so far. How do you think your experiences affected your career?
Mia: In the summer of 2021, stories began flooding my brain. My wife insisted I write them down. I started doing it and haven’t been able to stop since. Beautiful, Once is my third published novel. It’s joining Estate Sale and Haven, plus one short fiction collection, five novellas, and a veritable slew of short fiction. While I’m currently best known for my horror work, I write across genres. Mysteries and noir are another forte of mine, one recognized in 2024 by the Crime Writers Association, which shortlisted me for their Dagger awards. And I’ve done sci-fi, humor, and literary fiction.
While I’m a very private person, I do tend to put a lot of myself into my work, so one might say my stories are full of biographical easter eggs. I’ll leave it to my readers to find them.
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Beautiful, Once will be released Friday 20th.
Pre-order HERE.