Read This Book: THE SEASON

A Valentine's treat today: I'm celebrating the release of the page-turner THE SEASON, by Sarah MacLean, a fellow Debutante. Romance! Intrigue! Frothy dresses! Put down that box of chocolates and curl up with this instead--it's far tastier. Here's a sneak peek:

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 graciously consented to answer a few questions for me:

I think teen books can, and should, be read by grown-ups. Tell my grandma Grace why she should read your book.
Grammy, this book harkens back to a day when men were gentlemen and smooching was scandalous...but everyone did it anyway. Who doesn't love gentlemen and scandals?

What would your 16-year-old self say if she read your book?
"Oh. My. God. This is the book is exactly the kind of book I would write!"

I am fascinated by writers' inspirations. Tell me about a real-life setting that found its way into your book.
The last time I was in London with my mom we flew a red eye in, landing at Heathrow at 6am. Our hotel, which was right on Hyde Park, didn't have a room ready for us at that ungodly an hour, so we dropped our bags, grabbed some tea-to-go and headed for the Park.

We walked for a while through the greensward, and ended up at the horridly gaudy Albert Memorial, where my mom took a nap while I wrote in my journal. While the Albert Memorial wasn't built until long after my girls had their picnic in Hyde Park, I like to think that they sat under a tree that wasn't too far away from where mom and I spent time that morning.

And here's some info about Lady Sarah:

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.

Many thanks to Sarah for visiting my blog today. Happy Valentine's Day, all!