We chat with author Nita Prose about The Maid’s Secret, which sees a daring art heist take place at the Regency Grand and Molly’s life is threatened. The question is who’s out to get her, and why?
Hi, Nita! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
I’m the author of The Maid and other books in the same series, starring Molly, a maid at the Regency Grand Hotel. Prior to becoming a novelist, I worked as an editor for about 20 years. I credit the many amazing authors I worked with for teaching me everything I ever needed to know about narrative craft. After reading my books, you might wonder if I’m a neat freak. I’m not. My house, at best, is only moderately clean.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
I actually remember the first time I read something on my own. I was four or five years old, and the book was a Sesame Street activity book. I read an entire paragraph to myself, and for the first time ever, the letters were no longer indecipherable hieroglyphs. Suddenly they were words that contained wondrous meaning!
I ran to my parents in the kitchen, and I announced “I can read! I can read!” It was a massive Eureka moment for me (I really did feel like Archimedes splashing out of the bathtub), but let’s just say my parents weren’t quite so excited. In their defense, I probably announced new accomplishments on a daily basis, and the thrill had worn off. Still, I remember the sensation vividly, the feeling like a door had opened and I was about to step into a world rich with discovery. I don’t think I’ve ever lost that feeling. To this day, reading feels like magic. So does writing.
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: Well, apart from the Sesame Street activity book mentioned above, I fondly recall reading Charlotte’s Web … and sobbing like a baby at the ending.
- The one that made you want to become an author: A Prayer for Owen Meany, by John Irving
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: right now, that’s Broken Country, by Clare Leslie Hall
The Maid’s Secret is the third instalment in your Molly the Maid series and it’s out April 8th! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Heist! Secrets! Love story! Wedding!
For those who haven’t picked up the series, what can they expect?
The maid series introduces you to Molly the Maid, an endearing young woman who struggles with social cues yet excels at her job as a room maid in a high-end boutique hotel. On the one hand, the novels are whodunits that might remind you of that old board game Clue—was it the bartender with a poisoned drink in the lobby? Or was it the maid with a pillow in a hotel suite? On the other hand, my mysteries are unusual because they can only be solved through a connection to the human heart. In the end, it’s character that matters most—not just the ones that populate the books but your own as well.
And for those who have, what’s to come in The Maid’s Secret?
In this novel, art appraisers from the hit TV roadshow Hidden Treasures shoot an episode at the Regency Grand hotel where Molly works. Molly has a few her Gran’s old trinkets appraised only to discover that one of her gran’s old things is actually a precious long-lost work of art worth millions of dollars. But no sooner does Molly discover she’s rich, she also finds herself the victim of a brazen art heist that places her life in serious danger. Who’s after Molly this time? The secret lies in the past, and for the first time ever, we hear from Gran, Molly’s beloved grandmother, as she recounts the epic, star-crossed love story that reveals many surprising things about who Molly was and where she really came from.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring further?
I absolutely loved writing from Gran’s point of view. I wanted to write a grandiose love story that not only explains Molly’s origins but illuminates the depth of sacrifice her grandmother made for her. I love novels that combine genres, and in this book, I mix in a heist novel, a mystery, and an upstairs-downstair Downton Abbey-like fairy tale. Here’s hoping readers enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?
It’s always a challenge finding new territory to explore in a series while remaining true to everything that has come before. By bringing in Gran and her childhood, I was able to introduce a whole new cast of characters.
What’s next for you?
I’m currently working on a mystery-thriller that’s entirely different from world of Molly the Maid. Set in cottage country, it features Jane, a woman living with a dreadful secret that literally bubbles up from her past. It’s a novel about the mysterious power of the wilderness to both destroy and to heal. It examines how memory can reverberate through time and across generations, delivering closure and peace, but never as expected. As you can tell from that description it is not exactly a cozy, and yet, I hope that just like with Molly, readers will see beyond my protagonist’s prickly exterior to a woman deserving of much love and compassion.
Lastly, what books are you looking forward to picking up this year?
I just finished Broken Country, and I’m completely entranced by it. I’m also looking forward to reading Fredrik Backman’s My Friends and Lisa Jewell’s Don’t Let Him In.
