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From Goodreads:
Heartbroken over the tragic death of her fiancé, seventeen-year-old Zora Stewart leaves Baltimore for the frontier town of West Glory, Oklahoma, to help her young widowed aunt keep her homestead going. There she discovers that she possesses the astonishing ability to sense water under the parched earth. When her aunt hires her out as a "springsweet” to advise other settlers where to dig their wells, Zora feels the burden of holding the key to something so essential to survival in this unforgiving land. Even more, she finds herself longing for love the way the prairie thirsts for water. Maybe, in the wildness of the territories, Zora can finally move beyond simply surviving and start living.
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2 Comments on Spring Fling Giveaway Hop (INTL), last added: 5/3/2012
Posted on 8/5/2011
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An Englishman in New Jersey
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The lovely Saundra Mitchell is here today with a rollercoaster ride of a Cover Story for her latest novel, The Vespertine! Here goes:
"I didn't have a specific image in mind for the cover, but I knew in my soul that I wanted the book to be in russet, sunset colors. The main character, Amelia, can see the future, but only at sunset--and the book is full of loving descriptions of that time of day.
"My editor, Julie, sent me a note one Thursday afternoon and asked for a detailed description of Amelia, the main character. She told me that the design department was scheduled to start my cover the next day.
"She didn't ask for any particular input beyond that. But I come from a filmmaking background, where we make contact sheets for everything from paint colors, to car styles, to actors. So I put together this contact sheet and forwarded it with my notes.
"When I wrote the book, I'd had Malese Jow in my mind as Amelia (I loved her as Anna on The Vampire Diaries) and I'd taken all the clothing directly out of Harper's Bazar, circa 1881-1889. Lucky for me, costume designers do the same thing. The exact gown that Amelia wears in my book is the same pattern that costume designer Janet Patterson used when dressing the cast of Portrait of a Lady. And of course, everything in sunset colors, because that's how I saw the book.
"The first time I saw the cover, I cried! Because what I saw first was the concept art for the cover..."
Read the rest of Saundra's Cover Story (and see the three versions of the cover) at melissacwalker.com.
I recently got the chance to interview oh-so-awesome Saundra Mitchell, author of THE VESPERTINE and SHADOWED SUMMER. Check out her answers to my questions below!
Thank you for joining us on YABC today! First off, can you tell us a little bit about your latest novel,
The Vespertine?
Thank you for having me! The Vespertine is about Amelia van den Broek, who goes to spend the summer with her cousin in Baltimore, for the purpose of finding a husband. Instead, she finds a completely unsuitable suitor in the shape of a hired guest and painter -- as well as discovering she can see the future in the fires of sunset. At first, her gift is a parlour trick, and brings her and her cousin Zora all kinds of popularity. But when darker visions come, people start to wonder if Amelia isn't just telling future disasters -- but creating them.How did you come to the decision to set
The Vespertine in late 1800's Baltimore?
I tried writing the book in contemporary Indiana, then in contemporary New England, and the story never gelled. It wasn't until I decided to move it to Baltimore, and back in time, that everything blossomed. I'm not so much sure I came to a decision as the book slowly nudged me that way until it got what it wanted.How did you do your research on the time period? Were there any specific resources you turned to?
I read a lot of books -- books on Spiritualism and women in society, the early suffragette movement, household management, middle class social histories, period architecture and medicine, man, I read a ton of books. I also went online, and dug through the Baltimore Historical Society's website thoroughly, traipsed through the Library of Congress, and read a ton of period newspapers. I re-read novels written in the period to check my language.Plus, I talked to some incredibly nice people at Pacific Yew Longbows about the archery aspects. Then, when I revised, I broke out the etymology dictionaries to make sure nothing was anachronistic, and did alot of cross-checking sources to make sure everything matched up.The fashions are a little off, though. I originally set the book in 1881, then later moved it to 1889. So the girls' dresses are actually out of date. But, they all came out of period editions of Harper's Bazar, as did Nathaniel's wardrobe. Yow, we think of that period of time as being very sedate, but the real period color choices are WILD. I actually toned them down a little, because a purple and orange silk dress just doesn't sound like it would look good in 2011, even though it was a very popular color combination in the 1880s.I loved the inclusion of calling cards. It's so similar to shooting a friend an email or a tweet nowadays. Did you know you wanted to use calling cards as an integral part of the story from the beginning? Or did you stumble across the idea by chance?
Once I knew the book would be set in that particular era, I totally knew calling cards (and dance cards) would play into the story somehow. If you're going to jaunt back to 1889, you have to take advantage of all the goodies. I'm still sorry that I didn't manage to
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By: Read Now Sleep Later,
on 1/6/2011
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Category: Young Adult Fantasy
Format: Netgalley e-ARC (will be available in hardcover)
Keywords: Premonitions, Fantasy, Romance, Historical
From goodreads.com: It’s the summer of 1889, and Amelia van den Broek is new to Baltimore and eager to take in all the pleasures the city has to offer. 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. However, a forbidden romance with Nathaniel, an artist, 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.
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. How I found out about this book: I read Saundra Mitchell's Shadowed Summer last year and didn't quite like it; I think I was just kind of burned out on Southern Gothic at the time. But when I saw Vespertine up for grabs at Netgalley, I jumped on it--and was gratified when the insides lived up to the gorgeous cover :)
My review: During a very busy holiday week I tried desperately to stay awake through the night to finish this in one sitting--it actually took me three or four nights--but I can still give it my *stay up all night* rating because the desire to finish the book before dawn was definitely there. I was this close to taping my eyelids open.
Not only is Mitchell's tale a tantalizing mix of old and new; her prose at times verges on poetry. Some lines just beg to be read out loud: "A crimson beam streaked across my face, a rosy sunset full of wine hues, extraordinary to admire but different from the usual gold that tempted my sight." Her talent for Amelia's voice transports the reader from their mundane milieu to the society ballrooms of Baltimore and Annapolis in 1889, and through the mists, into the burning visions that tempt and plague her at sunset.
I couldn't turn the
By:
Kimberly Pauley,
on 7/6/2010
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Congrats, everyone! Click here to enter this month's giveaways!
This post is part of a year-long series of blog interviews I'll be hosting with my fellow 2009 Debut Authors, called "How They Got Here."
It should be an especially helpful series for teens who write, teachers, and anyone who wants to write for kids. 2009 debut authors will be dropping by to talk about how their writing in school shaped the authors they are today, what teachers can do to make a difference, how they revise, and how they found their agents and editors. (You'll even be able to read some successful query letters!) If you know a teacher or two who might be interested, please share the link!
Today...Saundra Mitchell, author of SHADOWED SUMMER!
Nothing ever happened in Ondine, Louisiana, not even the summer Elijah Landry disappeared. His mother knew he ascended to heaven, the police believed he ran away, and his girlfriend thought he was murdered.
Decades later, certain she saw his ghost in the town cemetery, fourteen-year-old Iris Rhame is determined to find out the truth behind "The Incident With the Landry Boy."
Enlisting the help of her best friend Collette, and forced to endure the company of Collette's latest crush, Ben, Iris spends a summer digging into the past and stirring old ghosts, in search of a boy she never knew.
What she doesn't realize is that in a town as small as Ondine, every secret is a family secret.
Welcome, Saundra! Tell us about the first thing you ever wrote that made you think maybe you were a writer.
Even though I've been writing all my life, and had been selling stories and articles, it wasn't until my second or third year as the head writer on the Fresh Films series that I realized that writing was my calling and career. So I was a little slow in that regard.
What books did you love when you were a kid?
I loved The Outsiders, the Little House books, The Song of the Lioness series, pretty much everything by Lois Duncan, Zilpha Keatly Snyder, Stephen King, Jack London... this list is actually shorter if I list the books I loathed as a kid. (The Red Badge of Courage, if anyone's curious. Why, Stephen Crane, whyyyyy?)
Is there a particular teacher or librarian who was a mentor for you in your reading and writing life?
My high school English teacher, Mrs. Redman. She got me. She just got me in a way none of the other teachers did, and she let me learn instead of making me conform. She was the first teacher who actively encouraged me to do more than read the text and spit out the approved answers. More than once, she said she was a great lover of words, and in her classes, I learned to be a great lover of words, too.
Moving on to the here and now, most writers admit that making time to write can sometimes be a challenge. When and where do you write? Do you have any special rituals? Music? Food & beverages?
Mostly, I just need people to leave me alone. I like to have a cocola, and some music, and a heating pad in my lap. But mostly, I just need my family to fend for themselves unless there's blood involved!
Do you have a favorite strategy for revision?
I like to order my revision notes- easiest (things like spelling errors or badly-worded sentences in need of rescue) to hardest (adding in an entire storyline, rewriting large portions of the story.) Then I print them out so I can check off each revision as I complete it. When I do it this way, I can see what I'm accomplishing, so it doesn't feel like such an endless task.
What’s your best advice for young writers?
Read. A lot. And don't let anyone tell you that fan fiction is NOT a great way to learn to be a good writer. In my opinion, it's the *best* way!
What’s special about your debut novel?
Though I always strive for honesty and truth in my work, I think Shadowed Summer is different from a lot of books right now because it's not stark. It reflects the reality of being suspended- in youth, in poverty, in ignorance- without insisting on the inevitability of hopelessness.
What were the best and worst parts of writing it?
This book was hard for me to write in a lot of ways. Mostly, I wanted to tell a wicked ghost story. That was the specific goal. But Shadowed Summer was also a way for me to ask *why*, and explore the answers, and the silences that come in response.
Would you like to share part or all of your successful query letter with blog readers?
Nothing ever happened in Ondine, Louisiana, not even the summer Elijah Landry disappeared. His mother believed he ascended to heaven, the police believed he ran away, but twenty-five years later, fourteen-year-old Iris Rhame is determined to find out for sure. Enlisting the help of her best friend Collette, and forced to endure the company of Collette's latest crush, Ben, Iris spends a summer digging into the past and stirring old ghosts in search of the truth. What she doesn't realize is that in a town as small as Ondine, every secret is a family secret.
My name is Saundra Mitchell, and I have been a working writer for twelve years. For the last four years (and currently,) I've been the head writer for Dreaming Tree Films' short film series, "Book of Stories," with over forty short film productions, and next year, principal photography will begin on my first feature, "A Rain of Blood." I have published fiction with ATM Magazine and Smokelong Quarterly, poetry with Poems Niederngasse, Doll World Magazine, and Parnassus, non-fiction with @Internet Magazine and The Familiar Magazine, among others, and I am a member of SCBWI.
"Incident" is my first young adult novel, however. It's complete at 70,455 words, and I'd like to offer it to you for your consideration. As requested on Agents Actively Looking, I've enclosed the first chapter, and an SASE for your reply. Thank you in advance for your time, and I look forward to hearing from you.
(When I wrote this query, in 2003, Incident was the original title for Shadowed Summer. The book is now complete at about 45,000 words, and since then, I've written and produced over 300 short films! What a difference 6 years, a million revisions, and publication make!)
~ Shadowed Summer ~
Delacorte Press
www.shadowedsummer.com
You can pick up SHADOWED SUMMER at your local independent bookseller, order it through one of my favorite indies, Flying Pig Bookstore
(they ship!), or find an indie near you by checking out IndieBound!
Up next in the "How They Got Here" Debut 2009 series...Stacey Jay, author of YOU ARE SO UNDEAD TO ME, will be stopping by on Friday, February 20th.
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Thanks for the giveaway!!!
:)
Brianne @ http://memoriesovertakingme.blogspot.com/2012/04/spring-fling-giveaway-hop.html#more
Thanks for the giveaway!