Many readers yearn for a good light-hearted romance novel filled with emotional depth, cute dialogue, and compelling love interests. But what if you added aliens to the mix?
This past August, Mallory Marlowe, Emerson ‘17, published her second novel, “Love at First Sighting,” a sci-fi romance novel following the relationship between a social media influencer who sees a UFO and the man in black sent to work her sighting case.
The story takes place in Los Angeles, where the main character, El Martin, makes a living as an influencer. Martin ends up with mysterious footage of a UFO after her sighting, leading to the interference of the Men in Black. Agent Carter Brody is assigned to the job, and the two work together to solve the case, falling in love along the way.
Marlowe has always been drawn to the paranormal and all things “otherworldly and unexplained,” as she described in an interview with The Beacon.
This fascination is woven into her most recent novel with the genre she has loved since high school: romance. The clear focus on aliens has become her trademark throughout her last two books, not only as an element of fun but also as a way to drive her main purpose—embracing the unconventional—home.
“I think the biggest thing I was trying to convey is a story about people who may be a little bit different and may be a little bit odd finding people who understand them,” Marlowe said.
Although both of her novels were published after graduating from Emerson, Marlowe’s experience at the college impacted and enhanced her writing in many ways. Some of these influences are immediately noticeable to readers, particularly in her choice of setting and characters. In her first book, for example, “Love and Other Conspiracies,” the love interest is from Boston and went to Emerson himself, a clear nod to her own experience.
Her upcoming novel, currently untitled and set to be released next year, also takes place in Boston and draws inspiration from her favorite spots in the city.
“Boston is such a historic city, and it is a bit of a spooky place,” Marlowe said, describing why the setting works well for her paranormal stories.
Other influences are more subtle, like the reasoning behind the atmosphere that defines her works. After earning a BA in Writing for Film and Television, she has been told by readers that her books read very visually, immersing readers in the story as if there were a movie screen in front of them.
Marlowe’s cinematic approach to storytelling and her distinct paranormal flair come together in “Love at First Sighting,” where romance, mystery, and science fiction all collide.
“I think that Emerson also taught me a lot about expanding into genres and challenging myself with new approaches to storytelling,” she said. “I definitely take all those lessons with me as I write now.”
Marlowe began her writing journey at Emerson, balancing her film and television coursework with her creative projects on the side. She wrote a lot of fantasy romance, or “romantasy,” and some contemporary romance, both geared towards young adults.
According to her, however, those will never see the light of day, due to the fact that she feels they were not her most well developed works.
After participating in the Emerson LA program, Marlowe fell in love with the city and moved there after graduation. Trying to work her way up in the film industry, she landed a job at a talent agency and continued to write as a hobby. However, the job required much of her attention, and she ended up putting writing aside fully for a while. At the time, she saw virtually no future for her writing.
“Just adjusting to being an adult and figuring out what kinds of stories I wanted to tell—that took time for sure,” Marlowe said.
All of her plans changed during COVID-19, around three years after graduating. Isolated at home, she rediscovered reading for leisure, which also reignited her spark for writing. This creative outlet she had deemed just a hobby ultimately grew into something more. She started writing her debut novel in 2020, putting it down a couple of times before finishing it in 2022 and publishing it in 2024 through Berkley, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group.
Despite the challenges, Marlowe was able to find her passion and publish something she is truly proud of.
“I like to describe my books as a little bit weird but a lot of heart,” she said.
It’s a fitting description for an author who likes to write about the unexpected and has had a journey that can be described the same way. Marlowe is a reminder to Emerson students to never stop writing stories—you never know when you’ll get beamed up for your big break.
