On sale now: Mia Love already subject of unauthorized biography

Not many incoming freshmen to Congress have books written about them, but Mia Love is different.

Love is the first black Republican woman elected to Congress, and she'll represent a Utah district in the Salt Lake City suburbs.

Within 24 hours of her election last week, a version of Mia Love: The Rise, Stumble and Resurgence of the Next GOP Star by three Salt Lake Tribune reporters was online. It is an unauthorized biography, told via interviews with Love, her family, friends and critics.

"Our reporters decided Mia Love's story deserved more than the usual coverage and we gave them the support needed to tell it in its entirety," said Terry Orme, Tribune editor and publisher, in the newspaper's explanation about the book.

Love, the daughter of Haitian immigrants, has played down the significance of her race and gender in her election. She attributed her victory to representing "Utah values" in a post-election interview with CNN.

Matt Canham, Thomas Burr and Robert Gehrke began writing the book in July. Their goal was to fill in the blanks about Love, who had no interest in politics in her youth and endured a "bumpy" 2012 congressional race to defeat Democrat Doug Owens last week for the seat of retiring Democratic Rep. Jim Matheson -- the man who beat Love two years ago.

Yes, Love consented to six to eight hours of interviews with the Tribune reporters, but Gehrke stressed to KUTV that "this is not a puff piece." A fun tidbit he shared with the TV station: Love originally wanted to be on Broadway.