I'm happy to meet you.
Welcome! I'm so glad you're here.
I've always believed that every old building has a story, every forgotten legend holds a spark of truth, and history is often far more mysterious than fiction. That's what inspires the stories I love to write.
History is filled with fascinating people whose stories deserve to be remembered. While my novels are works of fiction, they're rooted in real history, inspired by authentic places, and woven around the legends that make those places unforgettable. Best of all, many of the locations featured in my books are places you can visit and experience for yourself.
“Ghosts are not the souls of the dead, but the souls of people written out of history when history changes.”
Alastair Reynolds
Sci-fi Author
My Background
My Story...
A Childhood Memory
My fascination with the unexplained didn't begin because I went looking for haunted places. If anything, they seemed to find me.
One of my earliest memories is from when I was five years old. My mother and one of her friends were upstairs while I sat alone in the basement with a Ouija board. A little while later, I walked upstairs and matter-of-factly announced, "Grandma Lehmann is downstairs and wants to say hi."
The women laughed. They knew my grandmother had passed away, and they were certain a five-year-old couldn't even spell Lehmann.
So they asked me to.
I did.
Without hesitation.
My mother's smile disappeared. She quietly walked downstairs, picked up the Ouija board, and threw it in the trash.
I was too young to understand why everyone suddenly became so serious. Looking back, I don't know what happened that day, and I don't expect everyone to believe it the way my family did. But I do know it sparked a lifelong curiosity about the mysteries we can't always explain.
Falling in Love with History
As I got older, I had a fantastic history teacher who sparked a lifelong fascination with the past. I couldn't learn enough. The more I studied, the more I realized that true history can be far stranger than fiction.
I began wondering about the ordinary people history books often overlook. Who were they? What dreams did they have? What stories have been forgotten?
When History Felt Alive
After graduating from UCF, I began working at Church Street Station in Orlando. There were always stories about strange things that happened there, but for a long time, I never experienced anything myself.
That changed one evening while I was filling in at the Train Station Antique Store. It was late, and I was alone closing up for the night. First, I heard footsteps upstairs. I wondered if I had accidentally locked a customer inside. As I started up the stairs, I heard doors opening and closing. That didn't make any sense. Every one of those doors was locked, and I had the only keys.
When I reached the second floor, there was no one there.
Instead of frightening me, it left me wondering. Who had I heard? And if someone—or something—had been there, what time in history had they come from?
Following the Stories
Years later, a visit to New Orleans captured my imagination in much the same way. Its streets, history, and legends refused to let go of me. While living in Nashville, I began writing what would eventually become The Last Thing She Saw. Like many dreams, though, life had other plans, and the manuscript found its way into a drawer for a while.
Finding My Way
After my husband and I moved to St. Augustine, everything seemed to come full circle.
I joined a writers' group, studied the craft of storytelling, and slowly found my voice as a novelist.
Around the same time, I became a tour guide, immersing myself in the city's remarkable history and legendary hauntings. Eventually, I opened my own tour company, where I had the privilege of sharing those stories with visitors from around the world.
Coming Home to the Story
After my mother's passing, writing became both an anchor and a way forward. I returned to the manuscript I'd begun years earlier and finally finished THE LAST THING SHE SAW. In many ways, it felt as though every chapter of my life had been quietly preparing me to tell that story.
Today
Today, I still spend countless hours researching forgotten history, exploring historic towns, and asking far too many questions. Every novel begins with a real place, a forgotten story, or a mystery that refuses to let go.
I hope when you turn the final page, you'll find yourself wanting to visit those places, walk those streets, and wonder what stories history might still be hiding.
“Crafting stories born from real places, forgotten history, and unanswered questions.”
Mia Bain
This is what I do.
Explore My Website
What You'll Find Here...
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- Behind-the-scenes looks at my books.
- Research adventures.
- Haunted history.
- Writing updates.
- Meet Lucy Brown.
- Journal entries.
- A peek into the creative process.
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