We're are so excited to have Saundra Mitchell on our site today! Recently we had the chance to ask Saundra a few questions about her newest release, The Vespertine!
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Released on March 7th, 2011
The summer of 1889 is the one between childhood and womanhood for Amelia van den Broek-and thankfully, she's not spending it at home in rural Maine. She's been sent to Baltimore to stay with her stylish cousin, Zora, who will show her all the pleasures of city life and help her find a suitable man to marry. Archery in the park, dazzling balls and hints of forbidden romance-Victorian Baltimore is more exciting than Amelia imagined. But her gaiety is interrupted by disturbing, dreamlike visions she has only at sunset-visions that offer glimpses of the future. Soon, friends and strangers alike call on Amelia to hear her prophecies. Newly dubbed "Maine's Own Mystic", Amelia is suddenly quite in demand. However, her attraction to Nathaniel, an artist who is decidedly outside of Zora's circle, threatens the new life Amelia is building in Baltimore. This enigmatic young man is keeping secrets of his own- still, Amelia finds herself irrepressibly drawn to him. And while she has no trouble seeing the futures of others, she cannot predict whether Nathaniel will remain in hers. When one of her darkest visions comes to pass, Amelia's world is thrown into chaos. And those around her begin to wonder if she's not the seer of dark portents, but the cause.
What do you find most intriguing about writing a historical fiction?
It's like time travel for me! I like to immerse myself in a book when I'm writing it; when things work out, I feel like I don't so much sit down to write, as I go to another place and try capture what's really happening there. I enjoy this when I write contemporary books as well, but adding history to the mix makes it especially exciting. That's one of the reasons I invariably cry when I finish the first draft- that world is over, and I can't go back. I can only reminisce!
What is one thing you admire most about each of your characters, Amelia, Nathaniel, Zora and Thomas?
Ooh, intriguing question. I admire Amelia's honesty about herself. She knows she's a follower; she admits her darker impulses. She may not be proud of those things, but she doesn't try to pretend they're not there.
I admire Nathaniel's determination. It doesn't matter that he's poor, or that he has to struggle- when he sets his mind to something, he gets it done.
I admire Zora's strength and loyalty. She can be pushy, and she knows it-- but she's not fickle. She loves the people she loves, and she's unerringly on their side.
As for Thomas, I admire his patience. Pretty much every single person he knows goes out of their way to try it, but he perseveres.
If you could go back in time, what era would you want to visit and why?
I want to go to so many whens! I wish I could see 18th dynasty Egypt, when the pyramids were still clad in limestone and capped in gold. I wish I could go to imperial Rome, when all the statues still wore their dazzling colors. It would be amazing to be there when the Emperor of China ordered 10,000 terracotta warriors for his tomb. To stand on the top of Macchu Picchu and marvel at the waterways and horizon. To be there when Stonehenge was new, and the stones were still blue.
History is this great, spiraling thread of human beings, remarkable human beings who walked, and breathed, and loved, and to get a chance to be immediately connected to that, wow. It would be amazing.
What is one of your favorite historical fictions to read?
There are so so many, it's impossible to pick just one. But one that doesn't get enough credit, I think, is FEVER 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson. That book knocked my socks off.
What three books are you most looking forward to reading this year?
I'm super looking forward to Myra McEntire's HOURGLASS, which has flavor of timeslip in it, Sonia Gensler's THE REVENANT, which is both historical AND haunted, and Malinda Lo's HUNTRESS, which takes us back to the world she created with her extraordinary debut, ASH.
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Thank you Saundra for being with us today!
Be sure to visit The Vespertine Blog Tour page to get more information about the tour and visit these sites here-
March-
1st- Mundie Moms
4th- Novel Thoughts
14th- Page Turners
17th- Reading Teen
20th & 21st- Book Nerds
23rd- Mundie Moms
26th- Novel Novice
29th- Late Bloomers
31st- LIVE author chat on Mundie Moms
April
Mark your calendars for our LIVE author chat with Saundra on March 31st here on the blog at 8 pm CST! Be sure to visit Saundra's site on April 1st to enter her AWESOME The Vespertine giveaways!!
We have TWO signed The Vespertine Dance cards we're giving away today. To ENTER all you have to do is-
* Be a Blog Follower
* Be at least 13 yrs and older
* this is OPEN to all followers, both in the US and International
Posts
Ah, what a wondeful answer to the "where in history" question. As usual, Saundra is beyond eloquent even in interviews. I do need to pick up Fever 1793. Thank you, MMs.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the chance to win!
ReplyDeleteMinas- Thank you and you're so welcome!
ReplyDeleteSophie- I love Saundra's answers.
Mary Ellen- You are so welcome!
Thanks for the chance to win!!
ReplyDeleteAnd for the interview!!