So, I have a thing for blacksmiths.

And shifters. And medieval history.

Tropes? Love ’em. Friends to lovers, enemies to lovers, age gap, hurt/comfort, grumpy/sunshine, beauty vs beast, forced proximity.

Also, secrets. Secret crushes, secret relationships, secret identities. Sexy secrets, embarrassing secrets, secrets exposed at the worst possible moment.

You’ll find all of these things in my romance universe. Some stories feel historical, some contemporary. Most are M/M romance, and everything is connected.

If you like strong, stubborn heroes who aren’t gonna change a damn thing until they meet that one guy they might have to give up their secrets for…

You’re in the right place.

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My stories are human-created, by me (Mia, known IRL as Shannon).

I plan them in Excel, type them in Scrivener, and proof them with my own (mostly reliable) brain cells.

I don’t use generative AI to create my stories. For me, that would take away the joy of discovering each couple’s arc toward love, of getting the little zaps of insight that bring everything — and everyone — together.

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I do, however, use AI tools to create my covers.

In 2024, I started using generative AI to create images for my book covers. I found myself needing to re-cover the Sons of Britain series, and since I give away my ebooks, I decided to use currently free AI tools for image generation. For Sons of Britain, I used Microsoft Designer’s Image Creator to generate images, then Canva to add the title text. I don’t use artist names in my prompts, but general descriptive words and phrases (eg: brushstroke style, stern expression, feather texture).

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Need a shorter bio? Here you go:

Mia West writes epic romance, two heroes at a time. Her story universe features warriors and blacksmiths, rescue swimmers and hockey players, treasure hunters and time travelers, and quite a few shifters.

Her favorite hero: a grumpy f*cker who’ll do anything for the man he loves. 🖤

Most days, you can find Mia at AO3, where her universe is growing in real time, including finished books and series, bonus stories, and works in progress.

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New Release Alerts

I now send a newsletter only when I have significant news to share, like a new release. If you’d like to be notified when I have a new book, you can sign up here.

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Media

Queer Romance Readers: Podcast Interview about Marked by Fire

Goodreads: Indie Romances to Push Your Buttons (and Boundaries)

Frolic: 4 Kindle Unlimited Romance Reads That Ruined Me

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For a few years, I offered forge, a newsletter for writers, makers, and other creatives. You can check out a partial forge archive here.

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Finally, here’s a bit I wrote in 2016 on coming out.

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Have a question not answered on this site? Drop me a line: mia at miawest dot com