Sarah MacLean: THE SEASON

I told you this was going to be a busy week, and today I have the incredible pleasure of introducing you to Sarah MacLean, author of THE SEASON.

Okay, so some of you might find this strange considering the kind of freaky paranormal stuff that I write, but I have to confess that I love (LOVE!) a good historical romance. THE SEASON is in my Amazon cart right now, beside the Forest of Hands and Teeth (which for those of you who don’t know, is about a world post-zombie-apocalypse).

So, I’m an enigma, right? Right! But here’s the deal, I love the gowns (not in the zombie book). I love the language. And I love the settings.

Which brings me to THE SEASON:

Seventeen-year-old Lady Alexandra Stafford doesn't fit into the world of Regency London — she's strong-willed, sharp-tongued, and she absolutely loathes dress fittings. Unfortunately, her mother has been waiting for years for Alex to be old enough to take part in the social whirlwind of a London Season so she can be married off to someone safe, respectable, wealthy, and almost certainly boring. But Alex is much more interested in adventure than romance.

Between sumptuous balls, lavish dinner parties and country weekends, Alex, along with her two best friends, Ella and Vivi, manages to get entangled in her biggest scrape yet. When the Earl of Blackmoor is killed in a puzzling accident, Alex decides to help his son, the brooding and devilishly handsome Gavin, uncover the truth. It's a mystery brimming with espionage, murder, and suspicion. As she and Gavin grow closer, will Alex's heart be stolen in the process?

Romance and danger fill the air, as this year's Season begins!


Sarah MacLean is the author of THE SEASON, a YA novel coming in March 2009 from Scholastic. She grew up in Rhode Island, where she spent much of her free time bemoaning the fact that she was more than a century too late for own Season. Her unabashed addiction to historical fiction helped to earn her a degree in European History from Smith College before she moved to New York City to pursue a career in publishing. After receiving a Masters in Education from Harvard University, Sarah returned to New York, where she lives with her husband, their dog, and a ridiculously large collection of romance novels. She is currently working on a series of regency-set romances to be released in 2010 from Avon/HarperCollins.

So, here’s the way this works, Sarah. I’ll ask you five questions and one bonus. Elaborate as much as you wish, except for the one-word bonus!

Here we go:


1) Would you rather be the Bestselling Rockstar Author or an Acclaimed Literary Award Winner?

Oh, Bestselling Rockstar Author, please. Then I'm just writing plain old books that people like to read. Acclaimed Literary Award Writers are too remarkable (and a little scary).

2) Make people laugh, cry, or hide under the covers?

Laugh. Teary from happiness at that perfectly romantic scene where the hero realizes he's in love with the heroine works too.

3) Retire early or just keep writing from your beach house(s)?

Keep writing from my beach house!

4) FaceBook or MySpace?

Facebook. MySpace scares me.

5) After a period, one space or two?

Two. Much to my editor's dismay. When I'm done with my first draft, the first thing I do is Find __ and Replace with _.

And your bonus question: What ONE WORD of advice would give to any aspiring writer?

Read.

Thanks Kimberly! This was so fun!

This book is getting great reviews and I say: BUY IT! For more about THE SEASON, and its lovely author Sarah, check out her website at http://www.macleanspace.com/!

Comments

Alea said…
Yup Yup Yup love it! Sarah has been giving me historical romance book suggestions do you have any Kimberly? :)
The Season will be my first YA romance, but I have some great suggestions. First of all, I LOVED "Whitney, My Love" by Judith McNaught. She wrote a TON of great historicals! Also, Julie Garwood's "Saving Grace" (again, there were others, but I can't remember all of them). And for something grittier/less romancey (yep, I'll make up words!), try "The Other Boleyn Girl"...this is not one you want to read when you want to be swept off your feet!
Alea said…
Thanks! I actually got about 100 pages into The Other Boleyn Girl a few summers ago and then had to go back to school and didn't finish lol! But I still have it!
I wouldn't even really call that one a historical romance, more historical fiction. It's great, but for the butterflies and a fun read, I'd try something else! I like Jane Austen too, but they're not always an easy read because of the cultural and language differences. I suppose it just depends on what you're going for :)
Alea said…
Yeah I did see the whole movie, pretty depressing actually, like The Tudors tv show. I'm going for something that's easy to read and understand, when I need to look up a word I usually don't and end up skipping over parts :( I do have Pride and Prejudice, it will happen someday, probably not for a long while but I WILL read it! :D
I vote Whitney, My Love. It's a good love story!
lisa and laura said…
Kimberly - You're referencing Judith McNaught and Julie Garwood!? Laura and I devoured those books in high school/college. I have to go back and re-read some of those books, because it's been too long. I just love the way a good romance sweeps you off your feet and makes you remember what it's like to fall in love. Sigh...

Alea - you can't go wrong with any Judith McNaught or Julie Garwood. They're all great. There was another author that I just loved and I her name is escaping me...got it! Johanna Lindsay. Fab.

I can't wait to read The Season! I remember reading about it a couple of months ago and thinking that it was right up my alley.
Alea said…
Lisa- Thank you for the suggestions! The Season is fabulous! I hope you enjoy it!
love these fun interviews Kimberly!
I'm glad you like them, Shelli!

And, Lisa, I went through all of McNaught's and Garwood's (and, yes, some of Lindsay's too) when I was in my twenties! And then they started writing the contemporary books which do *nothing* for me. I love a good love story...*sigh*
Looking forward to this one. I am a firm believer of reading across genres to keep it interesting :)
Barrie said…
Fun interview and great sounding book!
Barrie said…
Kimberly, congrats on your upcoming release!!
I definitely read across genres, Lenore. I'm not even sure I have a *favorite* book type.

And, thanks Barrie, it's all been so exciting!!! :)
JKB said…
This was a great interview, Kimberly! Well done~!
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