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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
Blog:
Read Now Sleep Later
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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
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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:
This books sounds so interesting! It combines a lot of things I like, I'm looking forward to it.
I saw that this book is being given away as part of a contest on the Beyond Her Book blog, too. In the huge list of giveaways, something about this title caught my attention and I wrote it down. Now to see this interview - it's fate! And good marketing.
I have a soft spot for R.L. Stine from my teen years, too.
Great interview! The Vespertine sounds really unique. Getting to talk to Tamora Pierce would make the ten year old in me absolutely DIE. I don't think I would stop squeeing for days!
Sara
http://smreine.com/