Category Archives: asktheauthor

July 31, 2012

Sabrina Darby and Angelina Whitcombe are here!

By Sarah MacLean

Love this cover!

I’m the luckiest writer in the world.

I know, I know…Stephen King seems pretty lucky. Salman Rushdie survived a fatwa. Whatever. I’m throwing my hat in the ring for this one, because I’m pretty sure neither Stephen nor Salman have critique partners as awesome as mine. They’re a tremendous trio–Sabrina Darby, Sophie Jordan and Carrie Ryan read everything that I write. They tell me I’m terrible when I’m terrible. They tell me what’s wrong when I can’t see it. And they tell me I’m fabulous when I’m fairly certain they’d rather bang heads against the wall.

This all said, today, July 31st (Happy Birthday, Harry Potter!), two of these fabulous ladies have new releases out! So this is the part where I get to give back and tell *you* that they’re fabulous. And I don’t want to bang my head against the wall even a little. We’re going to talk about Sophie later this week (why not read her book in advance of that blog post?)…but today, we’re going to talk about the amazing Sabrina, whom I met at our first RWA, four years ago in Washington, DC, and whom I have loved ever since.

Here’s proof:

Ok. So here’s the deal. A year ago, Sabrina and I joined some other fabulous authors over at The Ballroom Blog; we have to blog at least once a month over there, and one day, in discussion of what on earth I was going to blog about next, Sabrina said something along the lines of, “I have the best idea ever.” (Ok, not really that, because Sabrina is much more modest…but it *could* have been that.)

The idea was this: What was the Regency equivalent of Match.com? And what if someone’s mom did what embarrassing moms do in the 21st Century, and essentially, posted a profile? And what happens if, when one answered that profile, they had to travel into the hinterlands to meet a grouchy, handsome war hero?

What. Indeed.

The idea became a few posts on The Ballroom Blog…and then a novella: The Short & Fascinating Tale of Angelina Whitcombe! (Which is only .99 and the best dollar you’ll ever spend!) Also…check out the acknowledgments!

Squee!!! That’s my name in there!

And I am so so so excited to tell you that I ADORE this story. So much, that last week, while goofing off with Sabrina in my hotel room at RWA, I made her do an 11 questions video (and yes…Sophie makes an appearance)…oh…and I totally lied to her and told her I’d cut part of it out. I didn’t. So enjoy our giggling!


So! You heard it…What’s the one thing your mom has done that has embarrassed you more than anything else? Leave the answer in comments, and we’ll choose one commenter to win a copy of this awesome story! We’ll choose the winner tomorrow (Wednesday)!

26 comments | posted in asktheauthor, contests and giveaways, on romance, people i want to be when i grow up

May 29, 2010

Who would win in a fight?

By Sarah MacLean

So, every few weeks, when I’m putting off writing, I look at my keyword analytics for this site. For the most part, they’re what you would expect: people searching “Sarah MacLean” or “Best Historical Romance Novels” or “International Debutantes Ball” (ok…these are things I expect because I look at my analytics quite a bit.

But every once in a while, something really surprises me. For example: “Who would win in a fight a mole or a koala?”

I’ll give you a moment to process that question and ask the inevitable two follow-up questions: 1) Why on earth did that question send someone to your blog? and 2) Who would win in a fight between a mole and a koala?!

I’m so happy you asked. Because I’m starting a new feature on the blog. Once a month, I will highlight a weird keyword search that delivered unsuspecting googlers here. And if it’s a question, I will do my very best to answer it.

So…

A simple google search for “Who would win in a fight, a mole or a koala?” drives readers to Pamela Palmer’s Nine Rules for Dating a Feral Warrior Shapeshifter. Which makes perfect sense, as both moles AND koalas would make excellent Feral Warriors…I’m sure Pam will agree.

But, because the spirit of inquiry lives deep within me, I’m not just stopping there. And neither did our intrepid googler. Indeed he/she stayed on the site for several minutes, obviously excited by the prospect of hot naked were-lions (and who can blame them?!). Like any good researcher, I took to the internet. And I asked the question. And thank god for the brilliance of Kate Noble, Micol Ostow and my friend Kevin. Because they put their heads together and worked out a solution.

First, Kevin (a scientist by day, and therefore keenly skilled at this kind of problem solving) asked an important question: What kind of mole? After some discussion, we decided that, since Google thought my blog was a viable source for the answer, we were dealing with romantically-inclined moles.

Fair enough.

Then, the fabulous Kate Noble (Go read THE SUMMER OF YOU immediately if you haven’t already) piped in: What about location? Is the koala armed? I need to know more variables. See, Kate’s an excellent writer and this is obviously because she considers all options before setting pen to paper.

Bringing artist and scientist together proved to be a tremendous match, as Kevin, inspired by Kate’s journalistic tendencies, posited the following:

We might assume the battle is in Australia, if the mole is a marsupial mole. In which case, my money is on the koala, since the marsupial mole is basically a big blind furry worm-like thing. Really nature? WTF is up with that? Of course, the mole IS a carnivore and eats small lizards and insects. And anything that’s blind that can still catch prey must be a sneaky bastard, not to be underestimated. But it’s also 1/100 the size of the koala, and from UFC and professional wrestling we know that size does matter. So it might just come down to who wants it more…and since the koala eats poisonous trees, we know it has the stomach for a fight.

This solution seems airtight. I mean…it includes references to specific types of moles and professional wrestling, so it’s obviously scientific.

Problem solved! Koala wins!

But wait.

Here comes Micol Ostow with her real-life experience: The thing about koalas is that they take in about four calories a day. I learned this in Oz. So they’re sort of lacking in get-up-and-go.

Rats.

So, it’s the blind vs. the lame, y’all. And I fear we might never know the truth.

But I commit to this, Dear Readers: As long as I am the most reliable source on mole v. koala battles, I will work to tackle this important question. Which is the best this humble novelist can do.

5 comments | posted in asktheauthor, that's funny, the internets

October 12, 2009

Readers’ Questions: Answered! (GIVEAWAY BELOW!)

By Sarah MacLean

I’ve been saying that I would do a Readers Q&A post for ages…and finally…here it is! I’ve received a ton of questions by email, twitter and facebook, and am psyched to have a chance to respond!

So, in no particular order, let’s get to it!

Q. Will there be a sequel to The Season?
A. Ok, this is probably the question I get asked the most…online and in the real world…and I’m afraid I don’t have a great answer, except to say that, as of now, there are no plans for sequels to The Season.

Q. When will Freddie, Lord Stanhope get his book?
A. When I wrote The Season I had no idea that Freddie would be such a popular character–although I shouldn’t be surprised, because we girls definitely like our bad boys. Of course, there’s nothing terribly wicked about Freddie–he’s more bark than bite when you really get to know him. That said, Freddie has many many oats to sow before he’ll be ready to settle down–but when he does meet his match, I can assure you that fireworks will ensue! I’d like to write Freddie’s story one day–but he needs to cook for a few years before he’s ready to fall in love.

Q. How long does it take you to write a book? What’s your process like?
A. This question makes writing a book seem way more organized that it is for me. I love the idea of having a process, but mainly I spend a lot of time being insane before I actually get myself into a zone. My books take between 4 and 6 months to write, and then require another 2 or 3 months for editing and revisions. I’m very lucky to work with two of the most incredible editors in the world–they’re brilliant, insightful women who make me look like a far far better writer than I actually am. :)

As for Process, so far, all three of my books have come to me with the very first scene: The Season began with Alex’s dress-fitting for her coming out; Nine Rules… began with a meeting that happened 10 years before the actual book is set (which is now the prologue); and I met my current WIP’s heroine while she was receiving the news of her father’s death–and responding to it in a rather bizarre way.

After I meet them, though…my characters can’t do anything else without me knowing precisely where they’re going and what they’re doing. I’m a heavy outliner…my outlines are very stream of conscious–they tell the story from beginning to end, but range in format, voice, tense, tone and can even be snippets of dialogue that pop into my head and ultimately become a part of the finished book.

Once I have an outline, I write longhand…everything related to a book goes into a single notebook and then I edit it into my computer…so I tell myself that I’m really handing in a second draft when I send my editors my first draft.

Because of my deadlines, I write as much as I can, whenever I can. There’s no rhyme or reason to it. It’s just all the time. This makes my process harried and harrowing–but boy is it awesome when you write that last word!

Q. What’s your favorite part of writing? Your least favorite?
A. Revisions are my favorite part, because that’s the time when you’re really working to make it a terrific book. Editors are incredible. My editors are two of my favorite people in the world because they look at my messy, unpleasant manuscript and they see the gold in it. And then they help me mine it. I like the “team” feel to revisions. They’re hard, but you’re not alone.

My least favorite part is the second to last chapter. Always. In my books, it’s usually a chapter where lots of stuff is happening, plots are at their climax, characters are having their moments of clarity, loose ends are tying themselves up into (I hope) neat little bows. And I’m SO CLOSE to the end. But not there yet. I HATE not being there yet.

Q. When did you know you wanted to be a writer? When did you first know you ARE a writer?
A. When I was in high school, some teacher in some class asked us to make an “About Us” card–it’s a half a piece of construction paper with a picture of 16-year-old me and a bunch of random facts…favorite book, favorite movie, weakness, etc. One of those things was “dream job.” I wrote Romance Novelist. So, I don’t know when, exactly, I knew I wanted to be a writer, but it was pretty early on.

As for the second half of that question, well…I guess it shows a bit of my weakness that I don’t usually show…but I still don’t think of myself as a writer. It’s such a scary, amazing, unbelievable thing…it’s almost like i’ll jinx myself if I actually say the words out loud.

Q. What music inspires you when you write?
A. I listen almost exclusively to classical music (on my Pandora station) when I write. Boccherini, Strauss, Mozart, Beethoven, Rossini, and dozens of others. But almost all of my books have a pop song that serves as their modern inspiration. Nine Rules… was inspiried by Jason Mraz‘s I’m Yours, my current WIP’s theme song is Brett Dennen‘s Darlin Do Not Fear.

I think that’s a good list for now…if y’all would like, I’m happy to do this feature more frequently…maybe once a month? If you’re interested, post your questions for November in comments or tweet them @sarahmaclean! I’ll answer them…and give one lucky questioner a signed copy of The Season!

12 comments | posted in 9 rules, asktheauthor, contests and giveaways, new project, the season, the writer's life

April 27, 2007

Doing a project on Sarah?

By Sarah MacLean

I’m so excited that you’ve chosen to do a project on me!  That’s so fun!  But here’s the thing…the most important part of a research project or a book report is *your* work.  So, it wouldn’t be fair if I helped you actually do the work.  After all–if someone else chose to write about Shakespeare or Austen, they couldn’t just email them, could they? 

So…in the interest of fairness…I’m just going to point you in the right direction to do your research.  Everything you need is at your fingertips–since you clearly have an internet connection! 

Start with my bio,  then check out the YA section and the Reviews section of the site.  Once you’ve done that, try the hot off the press, the writer’s life and ask the author pages. If you’re writing about The Season specifically, try looking at posts tagged The Season and the Regency. Finally, there are  lots of little nuggets of information buried in the blog–and you should be able to find everything you need to know.

Good luck!

1 comment | posted in asktheauthor, the writer's life